The Google Pixel 8 is getting a surprise update next week

By Bryan M. Wolfe Published January 19, 2024

Someone holding the Bay blue Google Pixel 8 Pro. — Joe Maring / Digital Trends

You’re in luck if you’ve been holding off on ordering a new Google Pixel 8 Pro. According to a post on the official Made by Google account on X (formerly Twitter), a new color option is coming.

The Pixel 8 Pro is currently available in three colors: the blueish Bay, the black-like Obsidian, and Porcelain. The Bay Pixel 8 Pro is drawn over in a light green shade in the post. A link in the post takes you to a “Minty Fresh” page that notes Thursday, January 25, as the big reveal date. Furthermore, the binary code in the post translates to “Fresh year, fresh drop.”

Recommended Videos

What isn’t yet unknown is whether the new color option will also be extended to the regular Google Pixel 8 model. The Pixel 8 is available in Hazel, Obsidian, and Rose.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

01000110 01110010 01100101 01110011 01101000 00100000 01111001 01100101 01100001 01110010 00101100 00100000 01100110 01110010 01100101 01110011 01101000 00100000 01100100 01110010 01101111 01110000 00101110 00100000 https://t.co/1nhhiCtNCe pic.twitter.com/CyOeJ9Czvd

— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) January 19, 2024

Increasing the color options for the Pixel 8 Pro lineup is an excellent idea. Adding a fourth color to the current lineup will give customers more choices, which is always good. A light green color sounds like a perfect addition, especially as we approach the warmer spring months.

However, while I appreciate the idea of a light green color, I must say that nothing can compare to the existing blue one. The blue color for the Pixel 8 Pro is unique and attractive. It’s a color that stands out and is sure to turn heads, and I’m not sure a minty green can top it.

The Google Pixel 8 series was released in October and received positive reviews. Our review of the Pixel 8 Pro highlighted its excellent design and praised its beautiful and vivid display. The phone’s cameras and photo-editing tools were also highly praised, as was Google’s decision to release seven years of software updates.

If you’ve yet to pick up a Pixel 8 for yourself, you may want to hold off until next Thursday to do so.

Topics

Mobile and A/V Freelancer

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

Mobile

Getting a Google Play services error? You’re not the only one

Rose Quartz Pixel 9 Pro on a peppermint background.

If you've received an alert from Google Play Services to install an update but you can't find, don't worry: you aren't alone. The error message warns that certain official Google apps won't work unless you update through the Play Store, but no update is available. The problem seems to be affecting a wide number of people, many of whom took to social media to find an answer to the problem.

Tipster CID (@theonecid) reports this same error, and it has been confirmed from several other outlets. The source of the bug isn't clear, but it seems to affect users on both the stable and beta releases of Play Services.

Mobile

Oppo’s next phone has an iPhone 16 Pro-beating feature

Close up of the Find X8 Pro camera on a colorful background

Oppo's compact flagship phone is close to launching, is confirmed to be called the Oppo Find X8s. The company has been teasing its advancements over the competition fervently and recently threw light on the phone's display upgrades over other phones, including one way it beats the iPhone 16 Pro.

The Oppo Find X8s is claimed to feature extremely thin bezels along all four sides of its display. Zhou Yibao, the product manager for Oppo's flagship Find series, shared an image on Chinese social media Weibo comparing the bezels on the upcoming compact phone -- previously speculated to be called the Find X8 Mini -- with those on what appears to be an iPhone 16 Pro or the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Mobile

Comprehensive Google Pixel 9a leak reveals pretty much everything

Alleged depiction of Google Pixel 9a.

Google’s next mid-range smartphone in the Pixel-A series is reportedly right around the corner. Unsurprisingly, Google has done a poor job of keeping the leaks in check. The latest one gives a full-fledged video review treatment to the upcoming Pixel 9a, diving deep into its hardware, specs, and performance based on real-life testing.

The video comes courtesy of tech influencer Sahil Karoul, and shows the phone in a light pink shade. In the video, Karoul mentions two storage variants — 128GB and 256GB — for the Pixel 9a. The packaging is nearly identical to the mainline Pixel 9 series phones, which also means there is no charging brick in the box.
Those bezels are an eyesore