Consistently Google has produced some of my favourite phones. The company’s Pixel 6a was what originally got me to switch from my iPhone, and back-to-back, the Pixel 7 Pro and 8 Pro were some of my favourite handsets the year that they released. But I feel as if the Pixel 8a, the company’s new entry-level device, is shedding what I love about it most.
Make no mistake – the Google Pixel 8a is a brilliant phone. It’s the best entry-level option from any major smartphone maker at the moment; it runs laps around the iPhone SE (although, to be fair, most phones would now that it’s gone so long since a refresh), and it’s much more competitive than Samsung’s much later-released ‘FE’ model (that phone often releases so late that it’s difficult to compare to other cheaper handsets).
Last year we struggled to call the Pixel 7a a budget option. This year, though it still fuccs, we certainly can’t call it a budget phone anymore.
In line with its siblings, the Pixel 8a received a $100 price jump this year. The standard Pixel 8 rose by $200, and the Pixel 8 Pro by $400. Last year, we lamented on the fact that, although they are still great phones, those price increases don’t go unnoticed, and we were critical of the value provided with all that extra cash needed.
To be completely fair to our readers, in a cost-of-living crisis no less, we need to cut the fat on this entry-level model. This is hardly a budget phone now. If it received another price rise, It would only be $50 cheaper than the base Pixel 7 was in 2022.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good, premium handset – and if you want an entry-level device with performance like the high-end models, this is an incredibly attractive option.
Oh, how I love the Pixel A series
We don’t have to be all dread and despair with the Google Pixel 8a – it’s more expensive this year, sure, but it’s the best the phone has ever been.
The Google Pixel 8a comes with a 6.1-inch OLED screen capable of a 60-120hz dynamic refresh rate. It’s not too bright, but within most environments, I’ve found the screen to be sufficiently visible.
The small size still highlights one of the greatest aspects of the A series device. Though it’s easy to see as a disadvantage, the Pixel 8a is a more than capable device without the size of its big brother. Both phones are powered by the Tensor G3 chip, though the Pro has 12GB RAM against the 8a’s 8GB. The base model comes with 128GB storage, but a 256GB model starts at $949.
In our battery test, where we play Avengers Endgame on the device and check in over three hours (max brightness and volume, streaming on Disney+ from a Wi-Fi connection), the device performed quite well. In the first hour, it went down to 97 per cent, then 89 per cent in hour two, and then 81 per cent in hour three. It outperformed both the standard Pixel 8 and 8 Pro in this test, along with the Pixel 7a. After a day of casual use, starting at 100 per cent at 7am and then checking at 6pm when I got home, the phone still had 68 per cent battery life.
The most highlightable thing about the Pixel 8a is its design. The Pixel 8a has more rounded edges and a more coarse feeling to it, along with a more pronounced lip at the bottom of the screen. The camera bar is much, much smaller than in the other Pixel 8 models, and it’s still the best-looking camera array, in my opinion – just lower to the phone. It’s available in Obsidian (black), Bay (blue), and Porcelain (white).
And in daily use, as I expected, the Pixel 8a doesn’t skip a beat. It easily switches from app to app, game to game, and doom-scrolling social media platform to messaging app without any noticeable lag. The screen looks great and Google’s operating system remains one of the easiest to pick up Android variants. It’s just so simple and pretty.
Only when I had the Pixel 8a running a bunch of background apps did I notice any sluggishness, but this is extremely easy to resolve by just closing them.
As for the AI features, my favourite new feature is here, though I’m not sure how much of it is actually AI – Circle to Search. It’s immensely useful and it’s the best new thing Android has gotten in years. Other returning features include Best Take, Audio Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and Magic Eraser, and these all work as well as they did on the 8 Pro (Best Take is still creepy as heck).
Google’s also committed to seven years of software, security, and feature updates for the device, which is obviously a nice extra for people who don’t want to keep upgrading, just because they’re not getting updates anymore.
The bottom line I’m getting to with all of this is this feels like a base device now, whereas previous A series models felt premium, but had more noticeable separation from the main two devices. The place of the standard Pixel device, not the Pro or A series, always goes up in the air when the A series comes around, but the features stripped between the base model and A series really just don’t justify the $350 price difference.
What about snaps?
Let’s take some snaps
We’ll be releasing a direct comparison article between the Google Pixel 8a and the Pixel 8 Pro soon, but to forward-sizzle, here are some camera comparisons we’ve made. The Pixel 8a’s cameras include a 64MP wide camera, a 13MP ultrawide camera, and a 13MP selfie camera. It doesn’t have the Super Macro feature that the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro have, and you’ll see some evidence of that in the below snaps.
You’ll also notice some slightly richer detail with the Pixel 8 Pro, but overall, the Pixel 8a is an immensely capable phone – we just wanted to underscore just how good of a camera this is, to be compared to something twice the price.
Let’s put them side-by-side, starting with a wide shot.
Now a closer shot with some great colour. You’ll see some slightly better colouring from the Pixel 8 Pro below.
Now a wider shot with more colour depth. The Pixel 8 Pro really shines here – not that the Pixel 8a is bad at all.
And now a macro shot. You’ll start to see some differences with these photos, particularly with image quality (particularly blur), lighting, and the richness of colours.
Another macro, for good measure. This shot really underscores the extra work that the Pixel 8 Pro’s Macro Focus feature does here (it’s also on the base Pixel 8).
Here’s another colour-rich closeup, but not as close.
Let’s go ultrawide. Both cameras are pulled back at maximum – to 0.5x.
And now max zoom. You can really see the effect of the Pixel 8 Pro’s telephoto lens here – zoom levels are 8x and 30x (maximum on both).
Now a selfie, in a light-filled room.
And now a low-light selfie.
Oh yeah – the cameras and image processing in the Google Pixel 8a are brilliant, there’s no other way to say it. The richness achieved might not be on par with the Pixel 8 Pro, but at half the price, you’re getting your money’s worth with the Pixel 8a.
The verdict: should you buy the Google Pixel 8a?
To make sense of the Google Pixel 8a, we need to see it no longer as Google’s affordable option, but Google’s entry-level option. This reframes the entire customer base and competitor set; while previous Pixel A series devices could be in competition with Samsung’s higher-end A-series devices (Samsung’s affordable product range), the new Google Pixel 8a is more closely in competition with base all-rounders at the $1,000 price point, such as the ASUS Zenfone 10 and the Motorola Thinkphone.
This leaves me in two minds. If you want the best money-to-performance option, you’ll likely want to pick up a Samsung Galaxy A55, which is competitively priced at $699. If you want the best premium-range device at the cheaper end, then it’s hard to look past the Google Pixel 8a.
The Google Pixel 8a is a tremendous phone, but it doesn’t represent the affordable all-rounder that the ‘a’ suffix once did.
The Google Pixel 8a is available now for $850 from the Google Store, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Officeworks.
Image: Zachariah Kelly/Gizmodo Australia