Summary
There is a possibility that the Google Pixel 8a may be the first of numerous smartphones that Google will introduce this year. It is anticipated that it will be released the following month, at a time that is proving to be highly intriguing for phones in the medium price bracket.
Some of the most impressive mobile devices that have been produced in recent times are those that are more affordable but yet have some premium features. This includes the current Pixel 7a, which impressed us with its excellent cameras, display that refreshed quickly, and budget-friendly pricing of less than $500.
specifications of the Google Pixel 8a
However, other manufacturers of mobile devices are also releasing low-cost phones that are rich in features. The Galaxy A series from Samsung has been steadily improving over the last several years, and the recently introduced Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 are an attempt to compete with Google’s flagship smartphone. We have already had the opportunity to test the OnePlus 12R, which offers premium power and battery life while maintaining a price point that is comparable to that of the Pixel 7a, which is $499.
This increased level of competition has prompted Google to react in a certain way. At the same time as the clock is ticking down to an anticipated Pixel 8a debut in May, a rising number of speculations about the Pixel 8a will give some hints.
In this article, we will discuss everything we have learned about the Google Pixel 8a up to this point, as well as what we anticipate the latest iteration of Google’s more affordable smartphone will include.
GOOGLE PIXEL 8A RELEASE DATE RUMORS
Although there is no official word on when the Pixel 8a may debut, we have a fairly solid idea as to a probable launch date now that Google has confirmed when Google I/O 2024 will take place. This is because Google has stated that the event will take place in 2024. To be more specific, the annual developer event begins on May 14 and continues for two days in Mountain View, California, which is located close to the headquarters of the corporation being discussed.
What is the significance of the date of Google I/O? Due to the fact that three of the five Pixel A series phones that Google has launched have been shown off for the first time at the annual Google I/O conference held by the corporation,. Two notable outliers occurred in the year 2020, when the COVID-19 epidemic caused Google I/O to be canceled, and in the year 2021, when supply issues caused the introduction of the Pixel 5a to be pushed back to August.
The Pixel 8a is expected to arrive no later than the beginning of summer, regardless of whether Google makes the phone accessible immediately after the company’s annual developer conference (I/O) or sets a delivery date for a few weeks later. Now that Google has ceased selling the Pixel 6a, which has been on the market for two years, at its online shop, the possibility of this happening is much more likely. This would allow Google to make room in its product line for a new midrange phone.
GOOGLE PIXEL 8A PRICE
However, the pricing of the Pixel 8a is still a matter of conjecture, despite the fact that the release date of the phone is becoming more certain. There have been very few genuine reports about price that have come up to this point; however, we anticipate that this will change over the next few weeks as Google I/O draws closer.
One thing that we are aware of is that the Pixel 7a, in its single variant, can be purchased for $499. This is a $50 increase in pricing in comparison to the price of the Pixel 6a. We would be quite shocked if Google were to hike pricing once again on its affordable phone, despite the fact that the cost of manufacturing phones has been on the rise, which has resulted in higher costs across the board with their most recent device launches.
The firm is likely to want to keep a certain amount of price difference between the Pixel 8a and the Pixel 8, which is priced at $699. The pricing of smartphones such as the OnePlus 12R puts more pressure on Google to maintain a low price point for its mobile devices. To answer both of those problems, the Pixel 8a should be priced at less than $500.
The pricing of both the 128 GB and the 256 GB Pixel 8a in euros was recently disclosed in a story that was published in Germany. This information was obtained via a German store source. The pricing of the two devices is said to have increased to €569 for the 128GB version and €630 for the 256GB model. This would result in an increase of around sixty euros in comparison to the Pixel 7a.
The pricing information for the Pixel 8a in Canada has been leaked, and it seems that there will be an even bigger price rise of at least $100. In spite of the fact that there are grounds to question the veracity of this specific leak, it seems like we should be ready for Google to raise the price of their ostensibly affordable phone another time.
DESIGN AND DISPLAY OF THE GOOGLE IPhone 8A
The Pixel A series of smartphones often includes designs that are similar to those that Google debuted with the Pixel flagship, which was released in the autumn of the previous year. It is quite probable that this pattern will continue, with the Pixel 8a adhering to the example set by the Pixel 8. You may anticipate a camera bar that is horizontal and runs the length of the rear panel of the phone. It will have rounded edges and a configuration that is curved.
Indeed, the initial renderings of the Pixel 8a that have been leaked reveal that the future phone will have a design that is extremely similar to previous models. A slightly bigger bezel on the bottom of the display seems to be the most significant deviation from the Pixel 8, although this is often the case with smartphones in the Pixel A series. Two pieces of evidence—a snap of the Pixel 8a that was released early at US Cellular and a hands-on video that was leaked—seem to validate the anticipated design.
The Pixel 8a will reportedly be offered in four different hues, which are porcelain, obsidian, bay, and mint, according to a leak. These colors seem to be accessible. The colors are also shown in a second leak, which means that we are quite positive that the story will come true.
The Pixel 8a is said to have dimensions of 152.1 x 72.6 x 8.9 millimeters, according to the information that accompanied the initial render that was released publicly. The 152.4 x 72.9 x 9.0mm Pixel 7a would be somewhat larger than that, which would be significantly smaller.
You would anticipate that the Pixel 8a will make use of a 6.1-inch OLED display, just like its predecessor, in the event that those specifications turn out to be true. When compared to the 6.2-inch screen of the Pixel 8, this is a somewhat lesser dimension.
We had anticipated that Google would continue to utilize a display with a refresh rate of 90 Hz on the Pixel 8a in order to differentiate the phone from its flagships, which have displays with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The screen of the Pixel 8a, on the other hand, is said to get a 120Hz refresh rate, and its maximum brightness is said to be equal to the 1,400-nit rating of the Pixel 8.
A photograph that was uploaded to X (also known as Twitter) in the autumn of 2017, before to the debut of the Pixel 8, as well as other photos that were published by TechDroider, provide us with the greatest possible glimpse of the probable design of the Pixel 8a. The camera bar, the punch-hole cutout for the front camera in the display of the phone, and everything else that you would expect to see are all very evident in that picture. On the other hand, the bezels are regrettably rather thick.
The Google Fi advertisement has a video that purports to show the Pixel 8a in its natural environment; however, the color and form of the devices in the advertisement do not match any of Google’s current phones.
COMPONENTS OF THE GOOGLE PIXEL 8A
In addition to the appearance of the phone, the other change that can be anticipated with the Pixel 8a is the configuration of the system-on-chip that will be used to run the gadget. The successive A-series models have all been equipped with the same chipset ever since Google made the transition to its own Tensor silicon with the Pixel 6. In the instance of the Pixel 8a, this would translate to the Tensor G3 that was released in the autumn of last year.
Based on the benchmarks that have been leaked, it seems that the Pixel 8a is using a version of the Tensor G3 that has been underclocked. Not only did the Pixel 8a’s performance on Geekbench fall below that of the Pixel 8, but it also fell behind that of the Pixel VII. As the manufacturers of mobile devices continue to experiment with ways to improve the performance of silicon in preparation for the launch of their products, we would advise against placing too much stock in that information. The version of the G3 that was responsible for those unimpressive results could not be the one that is included in the completed phone in certain cases.
The Tensor processor, on the other hand, has not particularly concentrated on performance up until this point. Google’s focus has instead been on the Tensor engine that is included in the silicon and the artificial intelligence-powered capabilities that it is able to enable. Be on the lookout for features that are exclusive to the Pixel 8 and will eventually make their way to the Pixel 8a. These features include the Magic Editor and improved call-screen capabilities.
The Pixel 8a is expected to be the first to include a battery health feature that would reveal statistics on the battery of a device. In response to concerns about the reason why the function emerged on earlier Pixel devices in March and then removed within the same month, an unidentified Google engineer said that this is the case.
cameras based on the Google Pixel 8A
It’s strange that we haven’t heard much about the cameras on the Pixel 8a, considering that cameras are one of the most important components of any Google phone. That would appear to imply that Google is not going to make major adjustments to the 64-megapixel primary camera and the 13-megapixel ultrawide lens that are present on the Pixel 7a and are already available. It would not be surprising if Google did not introduce a significant number of modifications with the Pixel 8a, given that the firm has just made the transition to a 64-megapixel sensor with the debut of the Pixel 7a. The following is a more in-depth examination of the possible distinctions between the Google Pixel 8a and the Pixel 7a.
It is possible that Google may bring a similar improvement to the Pixel 8a. The Pixel 8 used more powerful image processing to enhance the colors and details in the photographs that it took. With the addition of a macro close-up mode to its ultrawide camera, the ultrawide lens of the Pixel 8 also received a new function. This is yet another feature that may be included in the Pixel 8a.
THIS IS THE GOOGLE PIXEL 8A SOFTWARE
The Pixel 8a is expected to make its debut with Android 14, given that Android 15 is not expected to be released until the autumn. Our assumption is that users of the Pixel 8a will be able to install Android 15 beta once they have the phone in their possession. As of the time of this writing, Android 15 is available as a beta.
In addition to the three years of software upgrades that Google pledged to provide with the Pixel 7a, the company also promised to provide enhanced security support for an additional two years. Google has been providing software and security upgrades for seven years to cover the flagships that were released in the autumn of last year. In the meantime, the Pixel 8 provided significantly wider support. According to an advertisement that was leaked, it seems that the Pixel 8a will get seven years’ worth of security upgrades; however, the advertisement does not mention any significant Android updates.
Because the Pixel 8a will have the same Tensor chipset as the rest of the Pixel 8 range, we are curious to find out whether or not Google will reserve prolonged seven-year support for its more costly flagship devices. If it does, then we will be able to compare and contrast the two.
WHAT WE WANT TO see, According to Google Pixel 8A
We began the new year by compiling a list of enhancements that we would want to see implemented on the Pixel 8a platform. The release of the OnePlus 12R makes it more important than ever before for Google’s cheap phone to work on improving its battery life. We won’t rehash that here.
We conducted a unique battery test, and the Pixel 7a was able to achieve the same level of battery life performance as the typical smartphone. This is unquestionably an upgrade over its predecessors. The OnePlus 12R, on the other hand, has excelled beyond its rivals, achieving the second-best result in our rankings of the greatest phone battery life. It is unreasonable to expect the Pixel 8a to be able to reproduce that, but it would be nice to see some more advancements in the area of battery life that can last longer.
However, despite the fact that the display of the Pixel 7a was sufficiently bright in comparison to that of other midrange phones, manufacturers of mobile devices continue to push the limits of how bright their displays can get. Adapting a display that has a maximum brightness of 4,100 nits, the OnePlus 12R once again raises the standard in this segment. The display on the phone is still brighter than the screen on the Pixel 7a, despite the fact that we did not even come close to reaching that figure when you tested it. Our expectation is that the Pixel 8a will be up to the occasion.
Concerning any other alterations, we are awaiting further information on the possible plans for the Pixel 8a right now. The rate of speculation around the Pixel 8a is expected to ramp up significantly now that a possible launch date is getting closer.
