Google Pixel 8 Could Still Be a Better Deal Than the 8a
Google’s budget Pixel A-series smartphones are almost always a safe bet, offering minimal hardware cuts while still retaining the Pixel line’s signature software benefits, all at a pretty significant discount. The Pixel 8a is the first A-series phone to launch since the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro put a focus on artificial intelligence . He has something to live up to. But while its feature set performs about as well as any phone in the series before it, the 8a falls slightly short of the A-series’ most important feature: cost.
Pixel 8a is almost identical to Pixel 8.
The Pixel A series always feels like magic. At first glance, it looks like a regular Pixel 8 . It has the same Tensor G3 processor, the same AI features, the same Titan M2 security chip, a very similar 120Hz Actua display and, for the first time, even the ability to be upgraded to 256GB of internal memory.
However, Google had to make some compromises to bring the Pixel 8’s regular price of $699 down to $499. The biggest hit will potentially be to the cameras, which are unchanged from the Pixel 7a but also have reduced durability, a smaller screen with thicker bezels, a slightly smaller battery, and significantly slower charging.
None of this is a deal breaker for the average user. Camera problems are subjective (more on that later). The IP67 rating (as opposed to IP68) simply means you can’t drop it in the same depth of water as the Pixel 8 for as long, but both should be equally able to withstand a downpour. Screen real estate is just 0.1 inches smaller (from 6.2 inches), meaning all types of content will still be displayed without making you squint. The battery is actually an improvement over the Pixel 7a, putting its 4,492mAh within the range of the base Pixel 8’s 4,575mAh. And while the 18W charging speed is much slower than the base Pixel 8’s 27W, it’s still on par with charging speed of the iPhone 15, which matches its competitors.
Overall, these issues can add up, but they represent the most minor changes Google could make, and the 8a definitely doesn’t feel cheap in the hand.
AI on Pixel 8a
Google can make its budget phones so similar to the base models because, unlike the iPhone, the vast majority of the Pixel line’s benefits are software-based. When Apple introduced the iPhone 15 , it delivered a major improvement to the camera, a thin and light titanium frame (on some models), a move to USB-C, and a new shortcut button. When Google introduced the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro , its focus was on artificial intelligence.
The situation has not changed with Pixel 8a. Since it has the same chip as the Pixel 8 and even the Pixel 8 Pro, it has access to most of the same features as its older siblings.
It features longtime Pixel features like the Magic Editor and Live Transcribe, as well as new features including Best Take, Magic Editor, and Audio Magic Eraser . Even Gemini is here, allowing you to replace Google Assistant with LLM-powered AI . And it all works just as well as it does on any other Pixel 8 phone, meaning its usefulness is mixed.
Live transcription is probably my favorite Pixel feature, although since my job requires a lot of interviews, I may be a little biased. It’s hidden under Settings > Accessibility > Live Transcription and can record a conversation as it happens. The accuracy is not perfect and does not allow you to distinguish between speakers, but it is quite sufficient for reference. This also means significant savings, since similar services charge a subscription fee or impose severe limits on the amount of transcription. If you frequently translate speech to text, it might be worth buying a Pixel phone just for Live Transcribe.
If not, there’s also Live Caption, which applies the same technology to videos, games, calls, and other media. Live Translate adds a layer of Google Translate and is almost ready to answer my basic questions from English to Spanish. As a bonus, Live Translate also works with text messages.
Another useful feature is Audio Magic Eraser, which can almost completely eliminate background noise from your videos. Just click “Audio” while editing a video and you’ll be impressed with the results. In the test video it was pointed directly at the desk fan and I couldn’t hear it at all (not so in the unedited video, of course).
There’s also a Circle to Search feature , which isn’t unique to the Pixel but makes it easier to search Google using an image. It’s more of a magic trick than anything else, as it essentially functions as a shortcut to Google’s already existing tap search feature. However, in the image below, he correctly identified the Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker.
Call Assistant is also handy, acting as a sort of virtual secretary. There are a ton of features here, from clearing the audio on calls to calling screening that can even ask you simple questions. An on-call assistant can also wait for you on hold using toll-free numbers. This is one of the features that Google updates every few months – it’s a fan favorite, and the Pixel 8a gets full access to it.
Unfortunately, that’s about all the good things I can say about Pixel AI. Other 8a headliner features include generative text and images and are actually more like toys than anything else.
This is most common in Magic Eraser and Magic Editor, two features that Google likes to highlight but have yet to implement. They work by intelligently cutting objects out of the frame or even moving them. The selection is nice and precise – during editing it was easy to choose just my cat or my car. But the results, like previous Pixel phones, are prone to blurring and smearing.
Best Take offers slightly better rates, but its use cases are very situational. Essentially, Best Take allows groups of people to quickly take multiple photos of themselves, then mix and match them to create a “better” version of the group photo. Sometimes the cut and paste method works. Sometimes heads are the wrong size or beards appear in the mouth. Either way, good luck getting a group of people around your Pixel and troubleshooting selfies in a matter of minutes.
Video Boost and Night Sight Video are really useful, but are so restrictive that they’re worth mentioning. Both of these features are exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro and use cloud processing to enhance detail and lighting in videos. Because of this cloud processing, Google has no technical basis for making these features exclusive to its most expensive phone – they really should be on the 8 and 8a.
Finally, there is Gemini, which is like installing a virus on your phone. While Gemini Nano is promised to arrive in a future update, 8a currently runs Gemini over the cloud – a much worse offering. Do this at your own risk, as enabling Gemini replaces Google Assistant, which is much more convenient in many ways.
If this feature is enabled, holding down the power button or saying “Hey Google” will open a question window for Google Gemini, but there’s not much point in using this shortcut in the Gemini web app. You’ll need internet access for Gemini anyway, and the shortcut doesn’t provide additional tools that aren’t already in the web app.
In the meantime, you’ll lose access to Google Assistant, which can do useful things like enable Translator mode (the easiest way to launch Live Translate) or launch smart home routines. Yes, turning on Google’s new AI actually makes your phone less useful.
If you’re stuck with Gemini, go to Settings > Digital Assistants by Google and select Google Assistant to turn it off.
It’s clear that Google still has some work to do when implementing generative AI on its phones, but that could change after Google I/O on May 14th .
Pixel 8a is a great performer
Even though the Pixel’s marketing relies so heavily on “feature reduction,” its Tensor G3 chip means the 8a is also great at more traditional tasks.
In the Geekbench 6 synthetic test, which simulates common tasks like photo editing, file compression, or spreadsheet work, the Pixel 8a scored a respectable 1,652 points in single-core tasks and 4,233 points in multi-core tasks. By comparison, the Pixel 8 Pro scored 1,766/4,537 (likely due to the extra four GB of RAM) and the iPhone 15 Pro scored 2,938/7,250. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a base iPhone 15 to compare it to, although public scores put it at around 2557/6381 .
This may sound bad, but the iPhone 15 costs $300 more than the Pixel 8a, and synthetic estimates never tell the full story.
In a more practical gaming test, the Pixel 8a was able to run Genshin Impact on maximum settings at around 45–50 frames per second (fps), depending on how much action was happening on screen. The caveat was that this triggered the game’s “overclocking” setting, which warns of excessive heat and battery drain. And indeed, about half an hour into the session, the phone became too warm to handle comfortably.
The best performance I was able to get without overclocking was on medium settings with a 30fps cap. Here the game ran at a smooth 30, which is quite functional.
Unfortunately for Google, the Pixel 8 Pro also had the same limitations. If you’re looking for the best gaming phone , you’re probably better off choosing a different brand.
Pixel 8a screen is smooth
What’s strange is that not a single Pixel 8 model gives you the ability to play Genshin Impact above 60fps, despite all of them being able to achieve a 120Hz refresh rate.
Of course, this feature is hidden – go to Settings > Display > Smooth Display to turn it on (the phone will remind you that this will affect battery life). But even when it was enabled, performance was so slow that the game didn’t recognize it, which wasn’t an issue on my iPhone 15 Pro.
It’s a shame because otherwise the screen holds up well. The 8a uses Google’s Actua technology, which essentially means high peak brightness OLED. It’s not as bright as the Super Actua display on the 8 Pro, but its 2,000 nits peak brightness is on par with the iPhone 15 (though the 8a does offer 200 nits less peak brightness for HDR content).
Most of the time I was comfortable using the phone at less than 60% brightness outdoors and below 50% brightness indoors. This is a boon for battery life.
Pixel 8a battery life
Speaking of battery life, the Pixel 8a lasts a long time in both everyday use and intensive tasks like gaming. During occasional Internet use, taking photos, and messaging friends, I rarely saw this figure drop below 70%. For more serious tasks, I came away stunned by what it was capable of. Leaving the phone (mostly) idle in Genshin Impact at the recommended Medium/30fps settings gave me seven and a half hours of gameplay before it finally died. Although I wasn’t constantly in control of my character, I was in an area that was constantly glowing with a variety of different particle effects.
Battery life has increased to a whopping 17 hours and 24 minutes when streaming 24 hours of Fortnite gameplay video at 480p.
Both tests were run at 50% brightness with adaptive brightness turned off, and neither test showed any abnormalities during periodic checks.
As with the Pixel 8, Google promises “up to 72 hours of battery life with Extreme Battery Saver,” but even with moderate regular use, you’ll likely only need to charge the 8a overnight, so you may want to leave the pocket charger at home. .
Pixel 8a camera testing
The Pixel 8a’s camera is a strange beast in that it’s not definitively worse or better than the regular Pixel 8 camera.
That’s because it uses the same sensors as the Pixel 7a, which are actually better than the Pixel 8 on paper.
The Pixel 8a boasts a 64MP wide-angle camera and a 13MP ultra-wide camera on the back, as well as a 13MP selfie camera on the front, while the regular Pixel 8 has a 50/12MP rear camera and a front-facing camera. 10.5 MP.
However, the standard Pixel 8 has larger pixels, a wider aperture, and better light sensitivity, which can result in deeper colors. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the standard Pixel 8 on hand for this review, although our sister site PCMag called the Pixel 8’s cameras “amazing” and called the 7a’s camera only “above average.”
Given my limited experience shooting with the Pixel 8a at night, during the day, near and far, I would reflect this opinion. These are good cameras, but they are definitely not a camera phone.
Videos can be shot at a maximum of 4K/60fps, which is more than fast enough for the average person, and even includes a “Speech Enhancement” feature that works like a live Audio Magic Eraser. The catch is that Speech Enhancement only works with 30fps video. But since Audio Magic Eraser works with any videos you shoot, it’s not a big loss.
Is the Pixel 8a worth buying?
In many ways, the Pixel 8a is essentially identical to the Pixel 8. And here comes the biggest problem.
There’s no doubt about it: at retail price, the Pixel 8a is the best value you can get for an Android phone right now, and probably the best choice for most people. But at $500, it’s close enough to the price of the regular Pixel 8 to be a bit of a clunky middle child.
This is because the Pixel 8 has been on sale a lot lately. In December , the Pixel 8 with 256GB storage cost $531 at Best Buy . In March, the price dropped to $499 through Best Buy, Amazon and Google, and even to $469 at Woot .
If you’re buying at the standard starting price of $699, the Pixel 8 probably isn’t worth it anymore, but deals like this are likely to become more common as we get older. And while the differences between the Pixel 8 and 8a are subtle, overall it offers a better experience that’s worth spending $30 to $50 more for.
If you want the best mid-range Android phone right now? The Google Pixel 8a is a great choice, especially if you get a package deal . But what if you can wait a little? Keep an eye out for its older, sleeker brother.