Is the Google Pixel 8 Proan excellent smartphone? Absolutely! Its quite possibly the best smartphone Google has ever made, and we werent shy about heaping praise on it in our Google Pixel 8 Pro review. While its battery life isnt anything to write home about, and the temperature sensor is a bit of a whiff, the sheer quality of the camera, gorgeous design, strong specs, and promise of seven years of updates mean its not a phone to miss out on.

Contents Google Pixel 8Samsung Galaxy S24 PlusOnePlus 12Motorola Edge Plus (2023)Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra But while the Pixel 8 Pro is a very strong smartphone, its far from the only choice. In fact, if youre looking at the Pixel 8 Pro right now, there are five other smartphones you should consider buying instead of Googles most expensive flagship.

　　Google Pixel 8

The Google Pixel 8 Pro may be the best Pixel Google has ever made but its only a may because the Google Pixel 8exists. Pound-for-pound, and considering pure value, its difficult for the Pro to claim a total victory over its cheaper sibling and thats why the Pixel 8 is a strong alternative to the Pixel 8 Pro.

Related Were not going to sugarcoat it: You wont get as many advanced features on the Pixel 8 as you do on the Pixel 8 Pro. But theyre undoubtedly features you can live without. The most prominent is the loss of the 5x optical zoom lens, which is definitely a shame. But be honest with yourself; how often do you take 5x zoom pictures anyway? Everything else is just a slight downgrade dropping to a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 6.2-inch display instead of 6.7-inches, and fewer large storage options. You still get the option of 256GB of storage, which is plenty for most people, and the smaller display means the phone itself is smaller (a bonus for those who dont want a phone as comically large as the Pixel 8 Pro).

The best part is that much of the Pixel 8 mirrors what makes the Pro variant so good. You get Googles Tensor G3 processor, a bright OLED display with a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and the same seven years of updates. The battery life on the Pixel 8 should last you about a day, but likely no more. And yes, the camera is just as good, and the AI tricks are here, too.

Whether you buy the Pixel 8 over the Pixel 8 Pro is largely a question of budget. The Pixel 8 is a full $300 less than the Pixel 8 Pro, which makes it an extremely tempting proposition. Is an additional camera lens and larger screen worth $300 to you? For some, it may well be. But for us, its clear the Pixel 8 represents phenomenal value for money, making it an extremely good phone to grab over the Pixel 8 Pro.

　　Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

For many people, Samsung is synonymous with Android, so it makes sense that one of the Pixel 8 Pros strongest competitors is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus. The two devices have a similar price point, with smaller, lower-powered variants beneath them. But it would be a mistake to assume theyre basically the same, as in a lot of ways, these are two diametrically opposed devices. In fact, put a goatee on the S24 Plus, and it could pass for the Pixel 8 Pros mirror universe twin.

Where the Pixel 8 Pro is lacking, the S24 Plus excels, and vice versa. The battery life is the biggest example of this; The S24 Plus comfortably has a two-day lifespan, while the Pixel 8 Pro is very much a single-day smartphone. In fact, on heavier days, you might struggle to get to bedtime with Googles latest. Adding to this, charging is much faster than the Pixel 8 Pros comparatively sluggish 30W. The processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, is also faster than the Pixel 8 Pros Tensor G3 and runs cooler, too. They even have opposite designs; The Pixel embraces gentle curves, while this years Galaxy Plus model has gone in hard on flat edges.

Swings and roundabouts go both ways, of course, and there are some downsides to the S24 Plus. Samsungs One UI software is still based on Android, but its noticeably busier, with a lot of extra Samsung-themed apps. The camera, while great, also isnt as good as the Pixel 8 Pro. While you get an extra camera lens, the overall performance isnt quite as strong, so youre sacrificing quality for versatility.

This comes down to what you value in a smartphone. If you want strong battery life, with a similarly powerful processor, faster charging, and dont mind the more crowded software and a slightly less capable camera, then you should consider the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus for the same price.

　　OnePlus 12

Its hard not to recommend the OnePlus 12every single time one of these recommendation articles comes up. The flagship killer has graduated from taking on mere flagships and has its sights set on the ultra-flagship range. Simply put, the Pixel 8 Pro is out of its league here in pure power though there are still some reasons to choose Googles latest over OnePluss.

In terms of its strengths, the OnePlus 12 is an absolute powerhouse. OnePluss latest phone has been designed to take on some of the most powerful flagships in the world, and that means it uses the stupendously powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, up to 512GB of storage, and up to a ludicrous 16GB of RAM. Those specs alone blow the Pixel 8 Pro out of the water, and then you add in a massive 5,400mAh battery that lasts for two days on one full charge and has up to 80W fast charging starting from $800.

So its a slam dunk for OnePlus, right? Not necessarily. To achieve all this, OnePlus had to jettison everything extraneous, which means there are few extra features of note. Youre lacking the AI smarts youll find on the Pixel 8 Pro, and while the OnePlus 12s camera is good, its not on the Pixels level by a long shot. Plus, when it comes down to it, all that extra power doesnt really do all that much. Sure, its more powerful, but will it actually feel more powerful day-to-day? For some folks, probably not.

Still, its hard to argue against the value for money you get for $800, and for that reason alone, you should really,reallyconsider buying the OnePlus 12 instead of the Pixel 8 Pro.

　　Motorola Edge Plus (2023)

Heres one that might have come out of left field for you. Yes, Motorola is still making flagship phones, and you shouldabsolutely care because theyre pretty darn good.

The Motorola Edge Pluscame out partway through 2023, and as a result, it doesnt have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor a lot of the alternatives on this list have. However, it does have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, a still very powerful chip that powered the last generation of flagships just fine and will still put up a strong fight against the Tensor G3. The OLED display is a particular highlight, with an incredible 165Hz variable refresh rate and some screen tech thats just gorgeous. The battery is another two-day affair, and the 68W fast charging leaves the Pixel 8 Pros charging in the dust. Even the software is quite close to the Pixels Android, with a few of Motorolas gesture controls thrown in for good measure.

It falls in similar places to most other challengers. The camera isnt as good as the Pixel 8 Pros and is probably the weakest on this list. Theres also no always-on display, and the speakers dont hold up to the displays excellent quality, making movie-watching on this a bit of a letdown. However, at a price of $800, its still a very strong contender.

　　Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is a great smartphone, but you can go higher. If you want the most powerful, feature-rich, the mostextra phone around, well, you want the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

It should be no surprise at this point that the S24 Ultra is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and just like in all the other phones, its incredibly powerful. Theres little you can throw at this phone that will faze it, especially when you throw in the 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. But thats notthat great, really, is it? Well, Samsung wasnt done there. The Galaxy S24 Ultra also has a massive 6.8-inch display, running on Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology, with a variable refresh rate between 1-120Hz. When combined with the top-tier specs, it means you get a phone thats fast, responsive, and incredibly smooth.

The camera system is one of the only ones that can go up against the Pixel 8 Pro andwin. Yes, you read that right Digital Trends Andy Boxall put the two phones head-to-head, and it was the Galaxy S24 Ultra that came out on top. Given Googles dominance in phone cameras in recent years, this is an achievement of serious note for the Samsung phone. Throw in an included S Pen and Samsungs new Galaxy AI, and youve got a smartphone thats truly transcendent.

Of course, theres a pretty large caveat here, and its the price. The Pixel 8 Pro is already a pricey phone at $999, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $300 past that, at $1,300. Thats a lot of money to spend on a smartphone, but it really is the only option if you want the most advanced Android smartphone you can buy in 2024.