Google Pixel 8a is an impressive deal even with some lackluster AI features
Last year, I called the Google Pixel 7a a âgreat potential swan-songâ for Googleâs budget Pixel A-series line of phones. I couldnât have been more wrong about the âswan-songâ part, though, because Iâve been using a Pixel 8a for the past several days.
Thatâs fine, though, because Googleâs track record of making really good $500 Android handsets has remained consistent over the years, and is unchanged in 2024. While Iâm not totally enamored with every ânewâ feature packed into the Pixel 8a (enough with the AI stuff), its remarkable parity with a phone that was $200 more back in October makes Pixel 8a a compelling option for anyone whoâs overdue for an affordable Android upgrade.Â
What I like about the Google Pixel 8aItâs important to note up-front that much of what makes the Pixel 8a good also made the Pixel 8 a quality handset late last year. Its design and specs are nearly identical in all the ways that matter, but again, youâre paying $200 less for this one, so thatâs cool.
Google didnât fix what wasn’t broken
Looks like a Pixel, alright.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
When I say the design and specs are similar, I mean it.Â
Pixel 8a looks like the spitting image of Pixel 8, with Googleâs now-distinctive horizontal camera bar situated in the upper portion of the phoneâs backside. Its corners are rounded and its back has a matte finish in one of the four following colorways: Aloe, Bay, Obsidian, and Porcelain.Â
Our review unit came in the cool blue Bay color and I personally adore it. The other colors are fine, I guess, but Bay is definitely the way to go this year.
Here are the basic specs of the review unit Google provided us:
6.1-inch Actua display with 2400×1080 resolution and up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
Google Tensor G3 chipset
128GB of storage
8GB of RAM
You can also upgrade to 256GB of storage this year, which bolts an extra $60 onto the Pixel 8aâs $500 starting price tag.
Those specs are all right in line with the Pixel 8, with the exception of display size, which is a tenth of an inch smaller than the 6-2-inch glass present on last yearâs entry-level Pixel. Despite that, Pixel 8a is actually a tenth of an inch taller than Pixel 8 and two-tenths of an ounce heavier, to boot.Â
Look, these arenât big differences, but they are differences, and they need to be noted, folks.
Almost everything you want is here
I like the new colorway a lot.
Credit: Joe Malonado/Mashable
Point being, this is basically a Pixel 8 with a few small cuts around the edges that barely impact the everyday experience at all. That means all of the AI features that made their debut in Pixel 8 are here, and how you feel about that depends on how you felt about them last year.
The Pixel 8 experience has been pretty faithfully recreated in a cheaper phone. You can use Circle to Search to draw a little circle around anything on the screen and have Googleâs AI bring up a relevant web search for you. You can also use the AI call screening feature to have conversations with service workers without actually talking to them.
That means AI camera features like Magic Editor and Audio Magic Eraser also make their return in Pixel 8a. Best Take allows you to composite together a âperfectâ group photo based on several tries, and Magic Eraser is back to remove photobombers from your vacation pictures.
I haveâŠfeelings about some of these features that Iâll get to in a bit, but itâs at the very least commendable that Google included so much of the Pixel 8 in the comparatively more affordable Pixel 8a.
Flagship-level performanceThat goes for performance, too.
There isnât a ton to say about it, honestly. Pixel 8a uses the same Tensor G3 chip as Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, and my experience from an everyday performance standpoint has been pretty much the same as it was on those phones. It doesnât ever hitch even when several apps are open, everything is smooth as can be, and I havenât found heating to be a problem.
The 120Hz refresh rate doesnât hurt, either. It just makes everything feel more responsive and quick. Points to Google for getting it into the Pixel 8a this year after the 7a could only go up to 90Hz. For reference, the base iPhone 15 is still stuck at 60Hz.
What I dislike about the Google Pixel 8aThereâs nothing functionally wrong with Pixel 8a that I can discern. My main concern is philosophical.
Itâs time for some new ideas
Don’t change the camera bar, though.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Basically, the Pixel 8a suffers from being an iteration of the Pixel 8, which wasnât the most exciting Pixel in years. At least, not for me.
I just donât think most of these AI features are all that useful or would even be desirable if they were useful. Iâve seen the TV commercial where a woman edits a photo so it looks like her husband is throwing a baby dangerously high in the air hundreds of times during basketball games and I still donât understand who exactly Magic Editor is for.Â
Well, I guess features like that and Best Take are for people who want to strip their social media presences of all imperfection and genuine humanity, but thatâs not me.Â
In other words, the things that separate the Pixel 8a from the Pixel 7a (aside from the boosted refresh rate and new chip) arenât all that enticing. This is a very good phone for the price, but the need to upgrade to Pixel 8a is not especially urgent if you bought a Pixel in the last two or three years.
Whatâs âmehâ about the Google Pixel 8aSomewhere along the line, Google has to make cuts to justify dropping the price of the 8a to $500. This year, the only difference that really bothers me is one little cut camera trick.
One missing camera featurePixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro both had a Macro Focus feature that allowed you to position the camera way up close against objects with small, fine details and get snazzy looking shots.Â
[Insert macro shot here]
As you may have guessed by now, Pixel 8a canât do that. Bummer! That said, the camera is still pretty good for what you pay for.
Google Pixel 8a cameraIâm going to keep this section relatively brief because Google didnât do much to the Pixel 8aâs cameras compared to the Pixel 7a. In fact, specs-wise, Google didnât do anything at all. Both Pixel 7a and Pixel 8a share the exact same physical camera specs:
64MP wide rear lens
13MP ultra-wide rear lens
13MP front lens
Thatâs not necessarily a bad thing because this isnât a flagship phone. The Pixel 8aâs cameras combined with Googleâs computational photo software can still create nice-looking shots, even when New York City conspires to be gloomy and grey outside for an entire weekend:
Sorry for the lack of blue skies.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
As someone who loves the 30x zoom in the recent Pixel Pro phones, Iâm a little sad the Pixel 8aâs zoom lens only goes up to 8x, but I get it. That said, shots taken at 8x zoom do look very sharp.
No zoom.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
All the zoom.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
Portrait mode is back and does portrait mode things.
Who wouldn’t hang this in their estate?
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
Night Sight continues to work wonders in the right circumstances, such as my nearly totally pitch-black backyard at night:
You couldn’t see this with your eyes at all.
Credit: Alex Perry/Mashable
This is a perfectly fine camera array for a $500 phone. Hopefully Google finds some more interesting improvements for Pixel 9a that donât involve AI.
Google Pixel 8a battery lifeAnother very marginal cut from Pixel 8 came in the form of battery size. Last yearâs baseline Pixel had a 4,575mAh battery, while the Pixel 8a has a reduced 4,492mAh engine powering itself.Â
As tends to be the case with recent Pixel phones (at least in my experience) though, that doesnât really matter. I was able to go about 24 hours between charges while using the phone regularly for video streaming, web browsing, and social media. Thatâs right in line with both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 7a in my testing. Itâs also more than good enough for me.
Google Pixel 8a final thoughtsWhether or not you should buy the Pixel 8a really depends on where youâre at in your personal phone upgrade journey.
If youâre on an older Android device and desperately need something affordable that will get years of software upgrades and general reliability, the Pixel 8a is a great choice. Its elite performance coupled with a flagship-esque display and decent enough camera specs are more than enough to make up for some lackluster returning AI features.
But if you have a more recent Pixel (even an A-series from the last year or two), I would recommend waiting until the Pixel 9 announcement later this year. Pixel 8a is an appealing option for those in need of an urgent upgrade, but it doesnât create any urgency by itself.
