Google Pixel 8a Smartphone Review

Google Pixel 8a Smartphone Review – Google phones always bring something new to the table, and the company released the Google Pixel 8a as a new Pixel phone. However, there are lots of things that go wrong with this phone, which we covered in the following review. There’s no denying that over the past few years, Google has introduced its a-series phone as a mini version of its flagship phone. But, over the years, there’s been a drastic decline in the core features.

For instance, the phone offers standard charging support, an average display, and the list can go on and on. Still, there are lots of interesting things about the new Pixel 8a phone, whether you look at the software performance or Android update. On the same note, the phone still provides decent photo quality, while the 8k video recording might be lacking to a certain extent. However, don’t judge the phone from the first impression. Let’s dive into the following Pixel 8a review.

Google Pixel 8a Smartphone Review

Highlights

1. The Google Pixel 8a consists of a 6.1-inch OLED panel with a standard 120Hz refresh rate and 2000 nits.
2. Regarding software layout, you will obtain Android 14 without any bloatware apps or software.
3. As for the hardware configuration, the phone will powered by the Google Tensor G3 chipset.
4. A decent 64MP dual camera will appear on the back panel, while a 13MP selfie lens at the front.
5. Under the hood, the device will bring a 4492 mAh battery accompanied by a wired charging support.

Design and Display

The previous Pixel 7a phone had a box-shaped design, while the new Google Pixel 8a had curved corners and a slightly thick side panel compared to the predecessor. Unlike other brands, Google introduces different paint jobs so that users can choose the perfect color variety with ease. The company is currently offering this phone Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay, and Aloe. All of them appear with stunning built quality and IP rating protection.

Google often tries to make their A-series phones compact as compared to their flagship options. With the Google Pixel 8a, you will receive a 6.1-inch OLED display with QHD resolution support. But the thick bezels covering the screen do look slightly outdated. They might not look that bad. But, the same price phones are offering curved LTPO OLED displays with stunning colors. Anyway, it’s good to see that the company offering an in-display fingerprint scanner.

Anyway, the overall viewing experience won’t be disappointing, as the phone equips 2000 nits bright display with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR control support. All of those factors combined can bring a crisp content consumption. Besides, the higher brightness nits ensure that the users can see screen content outdoors without any worries. Not to forget, the display has a corning gorilla glass 3 coating with complimentary Alway-on features.

Memory and Internal

The Google Pixel 8a hardware department is something that you can rely on, as you are getting the Google Tensor G3 chipset. This Nona-core processor can easily outperform most of the flagship performance, while the phone reaches up to 1×3.0 GHz cloaking speed. But, the performance benchmarks of this phone are relativity low.

Yet, the CPU throttling won’t cause any issues since the hardware receives a decent cooling system. As for the software interface, the device will obtain the Android 14 customization and special attributes, including circle-to-search features. Alongside this, the device will get up to seven years of Android updates, so that you don’t miss out on the new privileges in the upcoming years.

Google Pixel 8a isn’t a gaming-centric phone, and slight lags are noticeable when you are playing top games. You can choose this phone with 128GB to 256GB UFS 3.1 space accompanied by 8GB RAM. These are standard configurations, but they will work if you don’t store that many apps and media.

Camera

The Google Pixel 8a shares a 64MP primary with a 13MP ultra wide-angle camera and a 13MP selfie camera on the front. Though, it might look like a pretty standard configuration from the outside. Yet, the Google camera software and native camera app push the camera quality limits to a whole new level. Typically, the colors aren’t that accurate if you are clicking lowlight photos and there’s a lot of noise and grains.

However, the image quality is exceptionally improved if you are using HDR, nightlight, and other modes. For instance, portrait images can capture accurate details and blur the background areas properly. Besides, the camera uses well-refined AI to differentiate between an object and a person or animal. Not to forget, the primary camera offers optical image stabilization, which helps in stable photography. The vibrant colors look pretty natural.

As far as video recording is concerned, the primary camera can record up to 4k videos up to 60fps, which brings crisp colors and accurate depth to the photos. Yet, the ultrawide angle videos do feel slightly sluggish, but the overall selfie-camera video recording results are presentable. In terms of video quality, Google does improve as compared to last year’s variant.

Battery and Others

The Google Pixel 8a houses a Li-Po 4492 mAh battery under the hood. Generally, the A-lineup phone comes with a compact build, which eventually makes the company reduce the battery size. However, you can efficiently squish out up to four hours of screen time when the phone is fueled up to 90%. 

Yet, you might need to purchase the charging block additionally, while the phone also offers 7.5W wireless charging. The battery configuration might be one thing, but the device doesn’t even render the latest Bluetooth sensor. But, you can expect NFC and 5G connectivity support. It combined with a decent stereo speaker at the bottom. Lastly, the Google Pixel 8a will cost around $499 (Rs 41,690 in India) approx for the starting variant.

Google Pixel 8a Pros and Cons

Google Pixel 8a Specifications Detail

Down below you can see the full specifications of the Google Pixel 8a smartphone.

Conclusion

The Google Pixel 8a might not look like a regular affordable smartphone when the smartphone makers have significantly dropped the other Pixel 8-series phones. Still, the Pixel 8a offers a compact body, incredible camera capabilities, and decent display configuration. All of those factors do work in the favor of this phone. But at the same time, we won’t overlook the shortcomings such as slow charging, heavy performance throttling, and thick bezels.

You can choose a phone like Samsung Galaxy S24 instead if you are looking for a complete package of dynamic display, higher brightness, and performance-driven hardware. The Samsung Galaxy S24 comes with a higher price tag than the Pixel 8a. But it’s a good option if you are looking for a versatile and customization software experience at a high price. On the other hand, we will still recommend the Google Pixel 8a for the stock interface appearance. All you need to do is wait till the price drops. However, if you are looking for a phone, consider going through your requirements to choose the best options according to your budget.