Every company that makes a smartphone should show us something that's better than last year's design in some way. It doesn't have to be drastically different, though if it seems too familiar, nobody is happy about it, but it should always be sufficiently "new and Improved" when compared to older products. Google certainly did that with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. The phones look a lot like last year's Pixel 7 series at first glance, but there are meaningful changes in key areas that are a step up from the predecessors. Better displays, better cameras, better battery life,...