The New Level 1

Since the introduction of levels 9 - 16, level 8 means you just finished the tutorial.

Level 8 is the Ingress equivalent to getting your black belt. In the martial arts, a black belt means you know all the style's fundamentals and how to apply them. Similarly, when you hit level 8 in Ingress, you can use all the gear in the game, and you should understand how to use it reasonably well. In both, this is the point where the focus shifts from tactics to strategy, where you start to square off against other masters, and where the real fun begins. =)