This story was updated on February 14th. Update below.
After launching yet another surprise sale for the Pixel 8 last week to U.S. buyers, Google has now extended the promotion to shoppers in the U.K.
The Google U.K. store has slashed the price of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro by £150 $(189.44) and £100 ($126.29) respectively. This is a short-term offer that started on February 9th and runs for nine days until February 18th.
This isn’t the first time Google has discounted both phones in the U.K., or run a limited-time promotion. Last month, the company handed out £125 ($157.87) store credit vouchers to everyone who bought a Pixel 8 directly from Google. In the U.S., all of the company’s current smartphone line-up, including the Pixel Fold, has been discounted.
Other devices are on sale too, with the Pixel Watch 2, Pixel Buds Pro, Pixel Tablet and Pixel 7a all temporarily cheaper. In the U.S., Google, referral codes are being emailed to some Pixel owners. When that code is used by someone purchasing a Pixel 8, 8 Pro or 7a—both parties get a $50 store credit.
These repeated, back-to-back, sales are not normal for Google, despite being one of the major Android smartphone makers that liberally discounts its products. Since October, the company has sent out high-value vouchers to YouTube Premium subscribers to use when buying the Pixel 8, upped its trade-in prices and given $100 store credit coupons to random Google Photos users.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Google keeps this up throughout the year as it looks to claw market share from Samsung and Apple, which dominate smartphone sales. These hyper-aggressive pricing tactics can also be partly explained by other shifts happening in consumer behavior, and how companies have responded to them.
Buyers are holding on to their phones for longer and, in response, both Google and Samsung now offer seven years of Android updates and security patches for their latest flagship phones. To pay for that extra software support, companies like Google, Samsung and Apple want these long-term users to buy subscriptions to the many services they offer.
Google has revamped YouTube Premium recently while upping prices for older users who were on cheaper plans. The company has also run promotions for its Play Pass subscription service. If you buy any Pixel hardware you will be presented with free trials for FitBit Premium, Google One, and YouTube Premium.
At the same time, with the emergence of generative AI taking over more tasks on smartphones, there’s the distinct possibility of owners paying a subscription for certain AI features on their handsets. Samsung has hinted at doing exactly this. On the Pixel 8 landing page of the Google Store for example, “Google AI” is the first thing that is mentioned, so it’s clear what the main selling point—and potential revenue stream—of these devices will be for the foreseeable future.
Update February 14th: If you took advantage of this deal, your Pixel 8 is about to receive some new skills via an upcoming feature drop. For the uninitiated, Google’s quarterly feature drop program adds new security patches and fresh features to select Pixel phones. The next one should be in March, but thanks to Android Central, we have an idea of what’s coming.
The site published a list of upcoming features, some of which have been desperately needed on Pixel phones for a while. The new ability to quickly share Wi-Fi with guests in your home, via a QR code, is a major one. Users will also be able to quickly switch between connected Bluetooth devices by tapping the Bluetooth tile in quick settings, without entering the full Bluetooth settings menu.
Elsewhere, Pixel phones will be able to screen record specific apps instead of entire screens to protect user privacy. Screen mirroring will also allow users to cast a single app instead of the entire display. So your other open apps and notifications won’t be displayed on the larger device that you’re casting too. Another new privacy feature included in the update will make it easier to see, and manage, which apps are actively using the phone’s microphone or camera. From the new pop up, users can quickly close those apps, see recent usage or manage their access to those sensors.
