The momentum around Pixel 8a is building up as we stand extremely close to its launch in two weeks time. With that being said, the Pixel 8a will be a cheaper alternative to the Pixel 8 series yet will share the DNA in terms of design, the same processor and a few things beyond that. Obviously, fans are eagerly waiting for the phone as it prepares for its launch in India. We have been hearing a lot o buzz around Google Pixel 8a including rumors that people are eagerly waiting to confirm. Here’s our take on 5 reasons why Pixel fans should be excited it.
Better Design & Display
Pixel 8a shares its DNA with the Pixel 8 series and that gives us a perspective on what to expect. According to many sources, Pixel 8a will have a tad bit curvy design with a chunky body, a metallic visor for the rear cameras, and rounded edges. Although we could see some changes in the design, I am highly skeptical it will given close proximity to the Pixel 9 series coming just a few months later.
The next part is the ‘display’. Yep, according to Yogesh Brar, Pixel 8a will bring onboard a 6.1″ FHD+ OLED panel. Although there’s still some skepticism around the refresh rate (Pixel 7a had 90Hz), we are hoping Google will finally bump it to 120Hz for the Pixel 8a. The increased refresh rate brings fluid motions and actions on the screen coupled with a new chipset and lightweight software, it all acts up.
Moreover, we could see peak brightness balloon as high as 1,400 nits to reach Pixel 8’s levels. For the unversed, Pixel 7a was capable of a peak brightness of merely 931 nits. It gives you a perspective on how bright Pixel 8a will be once it arrives in the coming weeks.
Gaining an Edge with Tensor G3 SoC
Usually, cheaper phones have to cut back on corners to trim the costs which often comes with the expense of chipsets. Fortunately, Pixel 8a won’t be the same and that’s what gets the fans ecstatic about the same.
Google Pixel 8a will gain the advantage of the new-age Tensor G3 SoC fabbed on a 4nm node by Samsung Foundry. Unlike previous generations of SoCs that suffered performance issues, the Tensor G3 SoC offers a comparatively better performance. An earlier Geekbench listing for Pixel 8a suggested 1,218 points and 3,175 points on single-core and multi-core tests. Adding optimizations from Google including faster GPU, RAM, storage system, and others, you can expect a better overall performance on the Pixel 8a than 7a.
Additionally, Pixel 8a’s Tensor G3 SoC is nine-core and has a max frequency of 2.91GHz which gives it a slight edge over Tensor G2’s 2.85GHz. The 1+4+4 cores arrangement is probably what Google is going through with the Tensor G3 SoC including an additional core for AI features. Of course, you cannot expect Pixel 8a to magically outrun any flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen X chips but slowly and steadily, Google could catch up. Meanwhile, Pixel 8a being a cheaper alternative to Pixel 8/ 8 Pro, gets a pricing advantage as well.
A Larger 4500mAh Battery Hurts Nobody
For anyone who uses a smartphone (which is technically every person nowadays), the battery is the lifeline of the phone. Even if you have a James Bond-style tech on your phone, it is nothing without a battery, right?
Pixel 8a is speculated to go for a 4,500mAh battery. Although it doesn’t sound like a lot, when you have that extra mAh on the pack, it counts. Pixel 8a’s 4,500mAh battery is around ~150mAh more than Pixel 7a. It should give you a day’s worth of battery backup without a hitch given Pixel 7a had a 10h 5mn on the durability test.
The best thing about Pixel 8a is the upgrade from 18W charging speed on Pixel 7a to 27W. Although it is purported at best at the moment, we are expecting it since Pixel 8 / 8 Pro supports 27W fast charging tech. Now that a better display, better chipset, and a bigger battery are done, let’s move on to the AI support that the phone will enrich you with.
The AI Support
Google has already started teasing the Google Pixel 8a as a phone with an ‘AI-mazing’ Pixel camera. Pixel phones have always been on top of AI and camera features. As AI gets better and widely available, smartphone makers have started using it across various features. Pixel 8a will have an AI-powered camera app with capabilities such as Magic Editor, Audio Magic Eraser, Night Sight, and Best Take. These are just a few of the features that previous Pixel phones have already showcased.
Pixel 8a will also have other AI features including the Samsung-styled Circle to Search, email summaries, enhanced call screening, and Call Assist. Google is also building its AI portfolio with Gemini (a generative AI akin to OpenAI’s ChatGPT) which we could see in Pixel 8a as well.
Tensor G3 onboard Pixel 8a has a neural engine called Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) capable of running the majority of machine learning models on-device meaning there’s no need for data routing through servers. It makes processing faster and makes your data secure compared to traditional processing methods.
The Ultimate Software Support
Ultimately, it all boils down to the software as in the case of many other smartphones. Google Pixel 8a, just like its siblings, is expected to get Android 14 OS out-of-the-box. For anyone who knows what OSes on Pixel look like, these are near-stock versions offering the best blend of agility, performance, and lightweightedness.
Pixel 8a is covered with 7 years of security updates and major Android upgrades. Truth be told, you might not keep your phone for more than 2 or 3 years given how fast mobile technologies are changing nowadays. Having 7 years of OS support is incredibly impressive since you will be assured that even if you trickle down Pixel 8a as a secondary device a few years down the line, it will still have the latest security and OS patches onboard.
Samsung followed the wagon with the Galaxy S24 lineup which means Google is doing a great job in keeping their phones updated. It gives the competitors an edge having to rethink and reinvent the OS wheel for their phones.
Google Pixel 8a Specifications (Expected)
As aforementioned, Google Pixel 8a specs includes the next-gen Tensor G3 SoC, the same that you saw with Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Of course, Google may likely underclock it (the current is clocked at 2.91GHz max) but that’s what we will be getting. There’s also up to 8GB LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 3.1 storage and up to 256GB in the mix.
Moving on, there’s a 6.1” OLED HDR display and we are expecting it to be curved in nature with a 120Hz high refresh rate compared to the predecessors. The rear optic setup is dual cameras housing a 64MP Sony IMX787 and 50MP Sony IMX712 ultra-wide angle. Finally, there’s a 13MP Sony IMX712 sensor at the front for all your video calls and selfies out there.
We have a 4,500mAh battery under the hood as discussed earlier possibly paired with an 18W or 27W charging tech at max. There’s also a 7.5W wireless charging tech should you need it. The favorable aspect of Pixel 8a will be its frill-free Android 14 operating system with an impressive 7 years of software support that we already discussed earlier.
Other specs include AOD, GPS, NFC, Type-C 3.2 USB, under-display optical fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers, dual SIMs (Nano and eSIM), and IP67 dust and water resistance to name a few.
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