1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The Google Pixel 8 just got its first update. Here’s what’s new

By
Joe Maring / Digital Trends

Google has started seeding a new software update for its Pixel phones, which also happens to be the first one for its latest Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro models The update notes don’t mention the arrival of any new features, but the update does fix crucial problems that users have been complaining about in online forums for months and apply to the Pixel 8 series as well as its predecessors.

At the top of the list is a solution for display- and graphics-related woes, including the problem of “a green flash when the display is turning off in certain conditions.” Google’s post mentions a specific scenario where the green screen issue appears, but users have been reporting it for a while.

Recommended Videos

Moreover, the “green goblin for Pixels” manifests itself in various ways. One user shared an image of the Pixel 8 Pro on Reddit with a vertical green line running across the screen. Others mention random screen flashing or a permanent tint on the panels, both partial and full-screen. The reports date back at least a couple of years and seem to affect phones as old as the Pixel 6 series. 

Google says it has also fixed NFC-related issues. Once again, Reddit shows a healthy bunch of complaints documenting random NFC failure related to contactless payment. The Pixel 7 series appears to be the hotbed of the NFC problems here, but the complaints extend back a few models and cover oldies like the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4 generation as well. The latest complaint mentions that the Pixel 7 Pro’s NFC system failed after updating to Android 14.

Google says it has also fixed a problem that occasionally caused wallpaper misalignment. It appears that this problem was first spotted during the beta-testing phase of Android and was addressed, but seemingly persisted on the stable software builds.

Interestingly, the release notes don’t mention anything about fixing the recent storage access problem affecting Pixel 8 owners after installing the recent Android 14 update. Google said it was looking into the issue and also released a precautionary fix via the Google Play channel, but for users that had their devices stuck in a boot loop cycle or factory reset, there doesn’t appear to be any recourse available at the moment.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Nadeem Sarwar
Contributor
Nadeem is a tech journalist who started reading about cool smartphone tech out of curiosity and soon started writing…
The Google Pixel 8a is official. Here’s everything that’s new

A week ahead of its annual developers' conference, Google has dropped a new budget phone in its Pixel-A series. The Google Pixel 8a retains the line’s signature look with a horizontal camera island at the back, but serves it in a package that embraces rounded corners and also happens to be fractionally smaller and lighter

The most meaningful changes are reserved for the display, silicon, and battery. The OLED screen’s size remains the same at 6.1 inches with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. However, the refresh rate has been increased to 120Hz, up from the Google Pixel 7a's 90Hz display. This HDR-ready panel offers a peak brightness of up to 2,000 nits and also features a fingerprint sensor underneath.

Read more
Google just launched a new Pixel Tablet … kind of

With the excitement of the Google Pixel 8a launch, it might have passed a little unnoticed that Google also launched a new Pixel Tablet — though not exactly. For one thing, the “new” Pixel Tablet is the exact same device as the “old” Pixel Tablet. We mean that literally: same specs, same look, same screen. The only difference with the newly launched Pixel Tablet is that it’ll be sold without its charging/speaker dock, unlike the previous model, which included it.

At $399, the new Pixel Tablet is $100 cheaper than the earlier model, but that’s to be expected — both because it doesn’t come with any hardware refresh and also because it cuts the dock. It's also worth noting that it will not be launched with any new first-party accessories like a keyboard or stylus, which were previously rumored for the tablet.

Read more
Apple overhauled its two best iPad accessories. Here’s what’s new

Apple has unveiled two new accessories for the iPad Pro 2024 models, an upgraded Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil that offer significant improvements compared to their previous versions.

The latest version of the Magic Keyboard has undergone a redesign, making it thinner and lighter than its predecessor. It is now available in two colors to complement the new iPad Pro models. Some new features include a function row equipped with screen brightness controls, an aluminum palm rest, and a larger trackpad with haptic feedback.

Read more