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Latest Pixel 8a News
- Updated April 8
- A specs leak and sneaky in-ad appearance show off a whole bunch of the Pixel 8's key details.
- The Pixel 6a is no longer on sale at Google's store, clearing space for the Pixel 8a.
- The Pixel 8a's display could have a 120Hz refresh rate.
- Google I/O will take place on May 14 and May 15, giving us a possible preview date for the Pixel 8a.
The Google Pixel 8a is expected to be the first of several phones the company delivers this year, and it comes at a curious moment for handsets in the midrange.
Recently, some of the finest phones to hit the market were inexpensive devices that nonetheless had some high-end capabilities. This includes the recent Pixel 7a, which astounded us with its excellent cameras, quick-to-refresh screen, and under-$500 pricing.
However, other phone manufacturers are also releasing low-cost phones with complete features. Year after year, Samsung's Galaxy A series has improved, and the recently unveiled Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 could aim to steal Google's thunder when the Pixel 8a makes its appearance. Additionally, the OnePlus 12R, which is now available for purchase, presents a serious threat to those phones. That phone costs the same as the $499 Pixel 7a, but it offers superior power and battery life.
What is Google's response to this increased competition, then? We may infer some information from some preliminary Pixel 8a rumors, and we anticipate learning more information in the days leading up to the phone's potential release.
This is everything we currently know about the Google Pixel 8a and what we anticipate seeing in the updated model of Google's more affordable smartphone.
Pixel 8A Rumor Cheat Sheet: Biggest Speculations
Google Pixel 8A Cheat Sheet: Biggest Rumors
- Rumored Release Date: May 14, 2024
- Predicted Price: $549
- Design: Similar to Pixel 8, with 6.1-inch 120Hz display
- Cameras: Similar to Pixel 7a (64MP main; 13MP ultrawide, 13MP selfie)
- Specs: Tensor G3, 128GB or 256GB storage, 4,500 mAh battery, 27W charging
- Software: Android 14
Pixel 8A Release Date Rumors
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Since Google has revealed the date of Google I/O 2024, we have a fair idea of when the Pixel 8a may ship, even if there isn't any official statement on when it will happen. In particular, the yearly developer conference takes place in Mountain View, California, close to the company's headquarters, and begins on May 14. It lasts for two days.
Why is the date of Google I/O important? due to the fact that at Google's yearly Google I/O conference, the firm unveiled the first three of the five Pixel A series phones. The Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 caused Google I/O to be canceled, and in 2021, supply issues caused the Pixel 5a launch to be rescheduled till August. Those were the only two outliers.
We would expect the Pixel 8a to arrive no later than early summer, regardless of whether Google makes the phone accessible right away following I/O or schedules a delivery date for a few weeks later. Now that Google has discontinued selling the two-year-old Pixel 6a at its online shop, creating space in its lineup for a new midrange phone, that possibility is much more likely.
Google Pixel 8A Price
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We have even less information on the price if the Pixel 8a's release date is uncertain. To present, no reliable price rumors have surfaced; we wouldn't anticipate any until the phone's debut date, whatever that may be, approaches.
The single-model Pixel 7a is priced at $499. That represented a $50 increase in pricing over the Pixel 6a. We'd be shocked if Google raised the price of its entry-level phone once more, but the cost of manufacturing phones has been rising, which has resulted in increased pricing for all recent smartphone releases.
One thing the business will want to do is keep the $699 Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8a at different price points. Secondly, Google under pressure to maintain low prices for its phones due to the competitive pricing of handsets such as the OnePlus 12R. Releasing the Pixel 8a for $500 or less takes care of those two issues.
According to a German retailer source, the pricing of the 128 GB and 256 GB Pixel 8a in euros was recently disclosed in a story from a German magazine. It is said that the cost of the two versions has increased to €630 for the 256GB model and €569 for the 128GB version. This would represent a roughly €60 price increase over the Pixel 7a. A cost rise in one area does not always translate into price increases elsewhere, even if those figures are true.
Google Pixel 8A Design & Display
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The Pixel A series phones often carry over the design language that Google debuted with the Pixel flagship, which was released the previous autumn. The Pixel 8a is probably going to follow the Pixel 8 in this pattern. Anticipate a rounded-corner, curved camera bar that runs the length of the phone's rear surface.
In fact, the initial renderings of the Pixel 8a that were leaked point to a highly recognizable look for the future phone. The largest change from the Pixel 8 appears to be a somewhat bigger bottom bezel, but Pixel A series smartphones often have that feature.
The leaked render is said to have included information on a slight alteration in the Pixel 8a's measurements, which are estimated to be 152.1 x 72.6 x 8.9 mm. In comparison to the 152.4 x 72.9 x 9.0 mm-Pixel 7a, it would be somewhat smaller.
In the event that those measurements turn out to be true, the Pixel 8a should once again have a 6.1-inch OLED display, much like its predecessor. That is somewhat smaller than the 6.2-inch screen of the Pixel 8.
We had assumed that Google would keep the Pixel 8a's 90Hz display in place to set it apart from its flagship phones, which have 120Hz displays. But according to a leak, the Pixel 8a's screen would reportedly have a 120Hz refresh rate and a maximum brightness of 1,400 nits, much as the Pixel 8.
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The image that was uploaded on X, also known as Twitter, last autumn before the Pixel 8's release offers us the clearest glimpse yet at the Pixel 8a's possible appearance. That picture clearly shows the camera bar, the punch-hole cutout for the front camera in the phone's display, and other features you would expect to see.
The Pixel 8a may make an appearance in the wild in the video below; the gadgets' color and design in the Google Fi advertisement don't like any of Google's current phones.
Google Pixel 8A Specs
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In addition to the phone's appearance, the Pixel 8a's system-on-chip is another upgrade that can be predicted with ease. With the Pixel 6, Google began using its own Tensor silicon, and that chipset has been a feature of the A series models ever since. That would be the Tensor G3, which was unveiled last autumn, in the instance of the Pixel 8a.
According to leaked benchmarks, the Pixel 8a is using a Tensor G3 processor that is underclocked. The Pixel 8a's Geekbench scores lagged behind those of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 7. However, as phone manufacturers experiment with the best ways to optimize silicon before releasing their phones, we would advise against reading too much into it. In other cases, the G3 variant that yielded such disappointing results might not be the one included in the final phone.
Nevertheless, performance hasn't been the Tensor processor's primary priority up until this point. Google's focus has instead been on the Tensor engine of the silicon and the AI-powered capabilities it can enable. To make their way to the Pixel 8a, look for Pixel 8 features like the Magic Editor and sophisticated Call Screen capabilities.
With the Pixel 8a, a battery health feature that shows data about a device's battery is expected to make its debut. In response to inquiries on the reason behind the feature's appearance and subsequent disappearance on previous Pixel devices in March, an unnamed Google developer made this claim.
The contents of the disclosures thus far, which are summarized by leaker Yogesh Brar, are displayed in the table at the top of this page.
Google Pixel 8A Cameras
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One of the most important components of any Google phone is its camera, so it's odd that the Pixel 8a's cameras have received so little attention. That would appear to indicate that Google has not planned to make major adjustments to the Pixel 7a's 64MP primary camera and 13MP ultrawide lens. Given that Google recently released the Pixel 7a with a 64MP sensor, it wouldn't be shocking if the firm didn't make much modifications with the Pixel 8a. (This is a deeper look at the possible distinctions between the Google Pixel 8a and Pixel 7a.)
More sophisticated image processing helped the Pixel 8 capture images with better colors and details, and Google may release a Pixel 8a improvement along these lines. Another feature that could make its way onto the Pixel 8a is the macro close-up mode that the Pixel 8's ultrawide lens acquired along with its ultrawide camera.
Google Pixel 8A Software
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We'd anticipate the Pixel 8a to launch with Android 14, as Android 15 isn't expected to release until the autumn. Pixel 8a owners should be able to install a beta of Android 15 as soon as it becomes available to the general public. As of this writing, the operating system is only accessible as a developer preview.
What type of software support Google intends to provide for the Pixel 8s is the question we have. Google offers two more years of security support in addition to three years of software upgrades with the 7a. But with the Pixel 8, Google expanded support significantly, providing seven years of software and security upgrades for the flagships from last autumn.
Given that the Pixel 8a will have the same Tensor chipset as the rest of the Pixel 8 range, we're curious to see if the longer support will apply to that phone as well. Alternatively, we wonder if Google would save the extra seven-year support for its more costly flagship phones.
Google Pixel 8A: Wishlist
We created a wish list of enhancements we hoped to see for the Pixel 8a at the beginning of the year. We won't say it again, but Google's low-cost phone needs better battery life now more than it did with the release of the OnePlus 12R.
In our customized battery test, the Pixel 7a was able to equal the average smartphone's battery life performance, which is undoubtedly a gain over its predecessors. However, the OnePlus 12R has completely outperformed the competition, ranking second in our rankings of the best phone batteries. While expecting the Pixel 8a to do that would be unreasonable, more advancements in battery life would be appreciated.
Although the Pixel 7a's display was sufficiently bright in comparison to other midrange phones, manufacturers are always pushing the boundaries of screen brightness. Here again, the OnePlus 12R raises the standard by using a display that reaches a maximum brightness of 4,100 nits. While testing the phone, we didn't come close to that figure, but the display is still brighter than the Pixel 7a's panel. We're hoping the Pixel 8a rises to the occasion.
We're still waiting on further information on possible plans for the Pixel 8a, as far as other upgrades go. Furthermore, we anticipate that the rate of speculations will quicken significantly as we approach the customary late spring/early summer debut date for previous Pixel A series smartphones.