Google Pixel 8 Pro vs Vivo X300 Ultra

Google Pixel 8 Pro

4,950mAh battery + Tensor G3 efficiency delivers ~6 hours of SOT typical, fully a day for most. 30W wired charging is modest — slower than 45W on S23+/Ultra, much slower than OnePlus 11's 80W.

• 4,950mAh battery (largest in a Pixel) — fully a day for most users, ~6 hours of screen-on time typical.
• Multi-phone drain test (7-phone shootout): Pixel 8 Pro knocked off first at 8h10m — beaten by iPhone 15 Pro Max (~11h), Vivo X100 Pro, OnePlus 12 and even the S23 Ultra (8h21m).
• 30W wired charging — modest by 2023 standards, 0-50% in ~30 min, full in ~1h20m. Slower than S23+/Ultra's 45W.
• 23W Qi wireless via Pixel Stand 2; standard Qi caps at 12W — wireless charging is a real-world strength on the Pixel.

Vivo X300 Ultra

Vivo grew the silicon-carbon cell 10% to 6,600mAh while keeping the body the same size. Real-world endurance is strong — ~16h active-use score, ~7h heavy screen-on, 13–14 hour days with charge to spare — and 100W wired refills it in under an hour, with 40W wireless.

• Vivo increased the battery by 10% to 6,600mAh despite the phone being practically the same size on paper.
• In our battery test it earned an active-use score of almost 16 hours; 100W charging took it 0–66% in 30 minutes and a full charge in 46 minutes, plus 40W wireless. A charger is in the box except in Europe.
• On the China version I'm finishing entire 13–14 hour days with 25–30% left; the global version keeps the 6,600mAh cell so battery life should comfortably last 12–13 hours of heavy use.
• Getting nearly 7 hours of screen-on time with very heavy usage from the 6,600mAh silicon-carbon unit, with 100W wired and 40W wireless charging support.
• After a 4-hour heavy-usage simulation the phone still had ~45% battery left, which is solid by today's standards, and 100W wired charging takes about 45 minutes to full.
• In a head-to-head charge race against the Oppo Find X9 Ultra (80W), the Vivo on 100W finished first at 50 minutes 20 seconds to the Oppo's 52:39.

Google Pixel 8 Pro

Industry-first 7-year software update commitment (through 2030) — the headline software upgrade. Pure Android 14 at launch with Google AI features (Circle to Search, Now Playing, Recorder summaries). Gemini Nano runs on-device.

• Industry-first 7 years of OS + security + Pixel feature drops — supported through October 2030, meaningfully longer than Samsung's 4 OS / 5 sec at launch.
• Pure Android 14 at launch with Gemini Nano running on-device — first phone to run a small LLM locally for features like Recorder summaries.
• Circle to Search, Now Playing, Recorder summaries, Live Translate — Google services integration remains the platform's strength.
• Modem reliability concerns: real-world signal drops and lower call quality vs Samsung/Apple flagships — recurring complaint across reviews.

Vivo X300 Ultra

Origin OS 6 (Funtouch with full Google services on the global model) is clean and not over-baked with AI, and Vivo now commits to 5 OS upgrades plus 7 years of security patches. The launch software was rough but patched quickly; there's no longer a configurable camera action button.

• Despite being a Chinese device using Google services, you get 5 years of OS updates and 7 years of security updates — a solid, much-improved commitment.
• AI is present across the camera and day-to-day tools, but unlike Samsung you don't have to use AI in every single sense — it's not overbaked to the nth degree.
• Origin OS 6 introduces more transparency in the UI; brands like Vivo and Oppo have changed a lot over the past two years, easing the usual Chinese-variant fears.
• Being the first global launch for a Vivo Ultra there was an early-software rough patch, but an update arrived about 4 days later — the kind of thing Vivo can fix easily via software.
• Disappointingly there's no longer an extra configurable camera button like some previous Vivos and rivals from Oppo and Honor offer — though one reviewer was glad the old, unusable button was removed.

Google Pixel 8 Pro

$999 starting (128GB base) — the first Pixel Pro at four figures. Now $600-800 used in 2026 with 4 more years of support remaining. Best for Google ecosystem users; iPhone/Samsung win on raw performance.

• Launched at $999 (128GB base) — $100 increase over the Pixel 7 Pro's $899, made the Pixel 8 Pro the first Pixel Pro at four figures.
• At $600-800 used in 2026 with 4 more years of Google updates remaining (through 2030) — exceptional long-term value for Pixel ecosystem buyers.
• vs iPhone 15 Pro Max ($1,199) — Google wins on camera AI features + update commitment; Apple wins on chip performance + ecosystem.
• vs Samsung S23 Ultra ($1,199): Samsung wins on battery/zoom/S Pen; Pixel wins on camera AI processing and pure-Android software.
• Phone Arena: 'the best Pixel yet by a comfortable margin' — most complete Google flagship to date.

Vivo X300 Ultra

This is a deliberately niche, camera-first flagship: roughly €1,175 in China for 512GB, around £1,399 globally for the phone, and close to €2,600 for the full kit. For the people it's aimed at it draws some of the strongest praise of any 2026 phone; for everyone else, a cheaper X300 Pro or the Oppo Find X9 Ultra may make more sense.

• Last year's X200 Ultra was, in my opinion, one of the best smartphones of 2025 — and this is the best smartphone I've ever used, with the best camera application I've ever used, provided with zero script from Vivo.
• The cameras are nothing short of amazing — this is the best Android camera phone, with image quality better than anything from Samsung.
• The versatility here is just ridiculous — more like a phone in a camera than the other way around, a camera system built from the sum of its many parts.
• If you accept the 35mm main, are willing to tolerate AI processing in some scenes, and don't mind the front-camera stabilisation limits, this Vivo is an excellent choice.