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Google pioneered eSIMs on modern-day smartphones. While the concept has been there since 2012, Google made it sort of mainstream with the Pixel 2. Later, Apple and Samsung followed suit- adding it to the iPhone XS and Samsung, a bit later than that to the Galaxy S20.
Many rumors say Google will drop support for physical SIM cards with the upcoming Pixel 8 series. Apple already did this with last year’s iPhone 14 models, though it was only in the USA. Despite this, Apple sold millions of iPhones. There wasn’t a noticeable dip that we can attribute to eSIMs. So, we can assume people don’t have issues using eSIMs, at least in the USA.
Heavy rumors are circulating that Google will follow in Apple’s footsteps. However, internal sources at 9To5Google report that this will not happen. Pixels will continue to support eSIM for those who want it. This feature doesn’t have to come at the cost of physical SIM cards since many people still prefer using those.
eSIM eliminates the need for physically popping your SIM Card in. They’re much easier to activate and don’t involve multiple unnecessary steps to insert the card in your phone’s slot. It makes sense for companies, too, since they can remove the slot and use the space effectively for something else. It also helps with water resistance since it’s one less place for water to enter easily.
You can add multiple network profiles and easily switch, too. However, there are also many disadvantages, which is why Google possibly believes it’s not the time to eliminate the slot completely. It’s challenging to troubleshoot; signal stability isn’t as good, and it’s much more complicated if you constantly switch between devices since you can no longer pop a SIM Card in and out.
The leak also specifies that Pixel 8 Pro will bring their excellent Night Sight feature to their videos. They can optimize it well since Google has granular control over the SOC and software. Night Sight got a lot better with the Pixel 6. This was thanks to a larger sensor, faster autofocus module, and better algorithms thanks to Google’s Custom ISP- the Pixel Visual Core.
The Pixel 7 series has better dynamic range performance in low light, and the algorithms are better now. They can capture similar photos in half the exposure time, resulting in much lower motion blur. Pixels continue to nail the capture of moving subjects, like kids or pets. Every year, there are a lot of new camera features for Pixels. We had the Magic Eraser and Photo Unblur, and the landmark for this year looks like Night Sight for videos.
The new Tensor G3 is apparently finally powerful enough to perform real-time advanced video processing. Video capture is much harder for phones. They have to shoot multiple layers of exposures and fuse them for a proper output while maintaining stabilization. Computational photography took a major leap for Pixels last year by introducing the Portrait Mode video. Portraits are much easier with photos, but not for videos since they must be done in real-time.
Low light is where every flagship phone struggles with video quality. Since the Pixel is also moving to a much larger 1/1.12″ GN2 50MP sensor, they could finally have enough hardware and software prowess to beat the iPhone in low-light video recording with this new Night Sight video feature.
