Notebookcheck has received written confirmation from Google that it deliberately blocked the installation of benchmarks on its Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro devices during the review embargo period. It confirms our earlier report on the issue while raising questions about the company’s practices.
Chalk me up as one of the folks that was adamant this was due to an API mismatch.
Yikes. Low benchmarks in the case of everyday Pixel usage isn't a big deal, but prohibiting the installation without reason will make this a bigger deal than it needs to be. And I can't fault users for feeling that way.
Have an upvote for coming back and acknowledging the mistake. We all get to miss the mark sometimes.
That said, your approach is really the better one - wait until we know for sure before condemning. (Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by basic human stupidity).