The Pixel 8a is an excellent overall offering from Google in the mid-range sector of the industry. With an all-day battery, a wide range of great performance features and minimal detractors, this phone makes for a very easy recommendation as the best among its competition.

The 8a is designed well, with round corners and a prominent camera housing. The “Aloe” green color looks great and is a fun addition to a smartphone world full of dull colors. While I didn’t find the materials and finish exactly like a flagship phone, it comes close, and the build quality is great for the price point.

As for the part of the phone you’ll be looking at the whole time, the 8a delivers with an impressive OLED display, complete with a high refresh rate (up to 120 hz), vibrant yet balanced colors, and the ability to get bright enough while out in the sun. The screen is on the smaller side in today’s age of giant screens, with thicker bezels that make it easier to notice. However, the 8a screen’s vibrance and fluidity make it as enjoyable a panel as any I’ve gotten to use.

A not-so-hidden secret of the Pixel line is the quality of the cameras, and the 8a is no exception. A combination of a good set of camera sensors and the phone’s Tensor G3 chip allow for some great software tricks and put this phone’s camera setup among the very best in the industry, no matter the price range. This is especially true in the photo department, where Google’s image processing shines brightest, delivering, some of the sharpest, best colored, most accurate shots out there. On the video side of things, the phone is less impressive than with its photos, and it’s camera hardware differences from the “Pro” are more discernible. However, I find it still has the ability to take videos comparable to what you get in more expensive phones. All in all, the 8a’s camera package packs a punch way above its price range.

Part of what makes the cameras performance so well is Google’s use of various software and AI tricks. Color correction, editing and audio features ensure that the Pixel is always delivering the best videos and images possible. These advantages exist outside of the camera system as well, with very smart search functions, and the best live speech recognition and transcription I’ve used on any phone, including during phone calls and voice memos. Google is also shipping the phone with its new Gemini AI, an assistant well on its way to being much more powerful than assistants like Siri, Alexa, etc. The Pixel line just has features other phones don’t have, keeping afloat its standing as having the smartest phones in the industry.

There just might not be a better overall package in the segment. Throw in Google’s 7-years of software updates, plus the frequent discounts, and the Pixel 8a has everything to be the perfect smartphone for the money.

The Pixel 8a is Excellent!

The Pixel 8a is Google’s latest mid-level Pixel model, once again released mid-year.

The Pixel 8a is my third Pixel phone. I have been using Pixel phones since 2019 when I obtained a Pixel 4XL. I subsequently added a Pixel 6.

I have the Pixel 8a variant with 128 GB of storage, in Obsidian (jet black).

All of my experience using Pixel phones has been good overall. My Pixel phones all proved to be good smartphones with excellent cameras. Among my strong motivations for continuing to select Google Pixel phones is the belief that it is advantageous to have phones which run “pure”, unadulterated Android, and which will receive the latest software updates, including full version upgrades much sooner than other phones.

A notable attribute of the Pixel 8a is that it will receive seven (7) years of Android OS updates as well as seven years of feature drop updates and security updates from Google. This is the same as the flagship phone models.

The “a” series Pixel phones represent the “value” or “budget” models of the lineup, and typically have had slightly lesser hardware and slightly lower specifications, and have also included less premium materials. The “stripped-down” models have consistently received good reviews from “professional” reviewers, and most recently the prior, Pixel 7a model received high praise. Many publications tout the Pixel ”a” series phones as being the best of the budget Androids.

Rumors are already circulating about the anticipated next Pixel flagship phone, the Pixel 9, even as this new Pixel 8a is just being released.

The Pixel 8a specifications are excellent, albeit only slightly lower than the Pixel 8 and there being a more substantial difference from the flagship Pixel 8 Pro model.

Although the case of the Pixel 8a is actually 1/10” taller and wider than the Pixel 8 (6”Hx2.9W”x0.4”D), the Google Actua OLED display on the 8a is slightly smaller at 6.1”, rather than 6.2”. Both screens have rounded corners. The bezels are not terribly wide, but neither are they almost invisible. The Pixel 8a shares the same 2400 x 1080p resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, 24-bit color depth, >1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and bright, 1400 nits HDR support (2000 nits peak brightness). The panel is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, rather than the Gorilla Glass Victus of the Pixel 8. The Pixel 8a is the first “a” series model to support a 120 Hz refresh rate. The phone weighs only 187 grams (6.5 oz).

I am enjoying that this screen is bright and clear. The display is smooth without any lags. There is a “Smooth Display” switch in the Settings. When the feature is activated the Pixel 8a will automatically increase the refresh rate from 60 Hz to 120 Hz for some content, at the expense of some additional battery drain. The phone ships set to the default 60 Hz refresh rate. The touchscreen is sensitive and responsive, and of course the sensitivity can be increased with the “Screen Protector Mode”, if needed or desired.

The only anomaly experienced thus far, is that with “Adaptive Brightness” active, the screen brightness level has changed unexpectedly without any external stimulus such as a variation of the ambient light.

The back of the Pixel 8a is plastic, rather than the more “upscale” Gorilla Glass back of the Pixel 8 and other flagship phones. Since I always keep my phones in a protective case, I never see or touch the back of the phone once encased. Nevertheless, the plastic back is actually a nice matte black plastic that very closely resembles the matte black anodized aluminum frame of the Pixel 8a. It does not look or feel cheap at all. The rectangular camera bump-out on the back only protrudes about 1.5 mm (approximately 1/16”).

Google claims the same battery performance for both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, however the 8a has a slightly smaller 4492 mAh battery, as compared to the 4575 mAh battery in the Pixel 8. Wireless charging is supported. No charger is included with any of the Pixel phones (and has not been included since the Pixel 5a model).

In the few days that I have been using my Pixel 8a, I have been very satisfied with the battery performance. Even with the relatively heavy usage that my phone receives, I have been getting more than 24 hours between charges, which is much better than my Pixel 6. It appears that the Pixel 8a has the same 18 watt charging rate as the Pixel 8, and is capable of fast charging and wireless charging. Nevertheless, charging is rather slow.

The Pixel 8a is ingress protection certified to IP67, while the Pixel 8 has better water ingress protection meeting IP68.

The Pixel 8a shares the same Google Tensor G3 CPU, and Titan M2 security coprocessor in common with the 8 and 8 Pro models. The Pixel 8a has 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, just like the Pixel 8. The phone has only felt hot when being used for Google Maps navigation. The phone is not mounted near the windshield or in direct sunlight when driving, therefore it appears that the heat is generated by the phone itself.

The dual rear cameras on the Pixel 8a include a rear “wide” camera which is a 64 MP Quad PD camera with f/1.89 aperture, compared to the 50 MP Octa PD wide camera of the Pixel 8.

The “ultrawide” camera is a 13 MP, f/2.2 sensor with a 120° field of view.

The Pixel 8a rear cameras lack the laser detect autofocus of the Pixel 8 version, but do share the optical and electronic image stabilization feature.

The front “selfie” camera is a 13 MP f/2.2 fixed focus camera without the Dual PD technology of the Pixel 8.

Video capabilities on the Pixel 8a include 4K and 1080p at 30 FPS and 60 FPS, while the Pixel 8 also has 24 FPS in both resolutions.

A notable difference between the Pixel 8a and the Pixel 8 is that the Pixel 8a does not have Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) like the Pixel 8, and is limited to Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). Since Wi-Fi 7 routers and Wi-Fi 7 devices are becoming more commonplace, it seems odd that this is where Google economized.

I have always liked the Face Unlock feature on my Pixel 4, and the optical, under-screen fingerprint sensor on my Pixel 6 has often been the bane of my existence. The Pixel 8a offers both Facial Recognition and Fingerprint Unlock, as well as the conventional authentication methods of Pattern, PIN number or Password.

Prior to installing a tempered glass screen protector both Face Unlock and Fingerprint Unlock worked very reliably on my Pixel 8a. Facial Recognition is almost instantaneous. It works effectively even in subdued light; however, it does not work in extremely dim or dark locations. Evidently, there are no IR emitters, and the Face Unlock functionality relies upon a visible light spectrum sensor. Since installing a screen protector I have found that Fingerprint Unlock does not function with the same high level of reliability, even after activating the “Screen Protector Mode”.

The Pixel 8a shares the lengthy list of outstanding and powerful AI camera features of the Pixel 8, with the exception of Macro Focus.

For the purposes of professional level photography and videography, most people will not rely upon smartphones. They are not substitutes for high quality mirrorless cameras, DSLRs and action cameras. However, like most people, my smartphone is always with me, and resultantly I use my smartphone camera a great deal. The excellent quality of Pixel phone cameras has always been important to me. The Pixel 8a is very well equipped for excellent smartphone photography and videos. In addition to having very good camera specifications, the Pixel 8a is packed with powerful AI camera features. Many of the AI camera features in the Pixel 8a, including new features such as “Best Take”, “Magic Editor”, and the Upgraded version of “Magic Eraser” join some existing and always enjoyed features including “Photo Unblur”, “Super Res Zoom”, and “Night Sight + Astrophotography”. The powerful and innovative AI features are really impressive and can accomplish some interesting on-device photo-editing feats.

The Pixel 8a is also capable of using Google’s latest, experimental AI Assistant, named, “Gemini”. It appears that Gemini promises to be a great productivity enhancement tool.

The relatively new “Circle to Search” functionality, which only recently also landed on my Pixel 6 is also present. This feature really improves searches, making them easier and more convenient than ever before.

Setting up the Pixel 8a was a relatively easy and straightforward process. I normally set up new phones manually including installing all of the apps, adding all of my accounts, configuring the many features and customizable settings and transferring photos and files from my old phone. On this occasion, I decided to use Android’s wireless transfer process. Some customization did not transfer as it should have, and there was a problem with the transfer of the SIM data (the issue was almost certainly with the cellular carrier), nevertheless, overall I probably saved about two hours of hands-on work setting up the phone.

The Pixel 8a is very easy to like. It is a great smartphone, and a reliable, user-friendly cellular device with excellent call quality including audio quality. It appears to have excellent RF sensitivity. The Pixel 8a is packed with great, powerful features and functionality inclusive of a robust collection of AI features.

I believe that the Pixel 8a is very likely the best smartphone in its price range. Its specifications are excellent, and it shares many specifications with its older sibling the Pixel 8. Where there are differences in specifications, they are genuinely insignificant differences in my estimation. The hardware is very nice, including a great display, and the software package is extremely impressive.

The Pixel 8a is really excellent! I am really enjoying it, and I am pleased that I selected it as my new smartphone!

The Pixel line has been my go to ever since they switched from the Nexus. Stock Android with the quickest updates is one of the most important qualities that keeps me in the family. Every phone in my household has been a Pixel, and it was time to upgrade again. Battery life and overall sluggishness on the 4 year old phone being carried around had finally gotten unbearable. Enter the Pixel 8A.

Coming from a 4A, the initial setup process couldn't have been easier. Right away, I get asked if this is going to be for a child, because there are new family monitoring and permission options available. Since my daughter isn't quite old enough for a phone of her own yet but is really close to getting annoying enough about it to warrant one, I found that the protection options looked reasonable enough to feel safe if and when I decided to give in to the incessant whining. Chose to copy over the settings and apps from the old phone instead of setting up like new. From there, it was just select or deselect the apps from the old phone to transfer over. There were a lot of outdated or no longer necessary apps in the list that were forgotten about. After about an hour's worth of downloads and finagling, the phone was ready to go. I loved that I didn't have to reset any of the alarms or UI settings (I just can't with the gesture UI, I need the menu buttons).

The phone itself feels pretty good. Not too thin, and has a good bit of weight to it that keeps it from feeling flimsy or cheap. It's not so big that I can't reach the left side of the screen with my right thumb when carrying one-handed, which is great for when I have to hit the back button (see above comment about gesture UI). The back stripe where the camera juts out does make me worry a little about placing it on its back, but the cases I see available (haven't picked one out just yet) seem to account for it. The IP67 rating on it means I don't have to be so worried about water and dust. And this phone supports wireless Qi charging, which is slower than plugging in, but is just cool to have another option, especially now that tables and lamps and things are getting Qi charging built in, plus it keeps the need to have cords and chargers all over the place.

One of the biggest reasons for getting the 8A is the camera, and it did not disappoint. Pictures are crisp and clear, and pulling up the camera with the power button double click is speedy and lag free. This is one of the biggest and most important features for me, because there are so many moments that I wouldn't have been able to capture without being able to quickly whip out the phone and snap a quick pic immediately, instead of navigating lists of apps or even bothering with the screen lock. Google's advanced picture editing, that is heavily touted as being powered with AI, is really impressive. Being able to easily and seamlessly erase people and objects from the background without having to use a massive photo editing suite on my PC saves a lot of hassle, and I suck at photoshop. The feature that lets you select the best face during a group photo can save a pic from being ruined if someone was caught blinking and you didn't notice it until afterwards. What's more is the AI editing extends to videos, so you can remove background noises. This is way harder to do manually and takes a lot more software to do on PC, and Google is just doing it with their trained robotic monkeys (or whatever the heck AI really is). The 8A doesn't get all of the features that the 8 Pro gets, but a lot of that is down to the hardware that the phone is packing and, since I mostly just take pictures of my lunch or funny things at the store to send to my wife while I'm shopping, those features hardly get used by me anyway.

The only drawback coming from the 4A is the switch from dedicated fingerprint reader on the back to one under the screen. I know that this has been a thing for a while now, but it just doesn't feel like it registers as well, taking several attempts and then going into PIN mode. I'm not sure if it's different hardware from the Pixel 8 Pro, but that seems to work better for me. I'd even prefer a power button fingerprint scanner. Of course, that's all up to personal preference, and maybe the AI will learn the finger better with time.

After reading articles about Google's I/O this year, it seems they are all in on this AI stuff. They have absolutely packed this phone full of features that are powered by the AI focused Tensor G3 chip, the same one as in the 8 Pro. Outside of a handful of features and spec bumps (screen size, storage space, RAM, and telephoto lens mostly), the 8A is just as capable as the more expensive models and comes in at a much more reasonable price tag. The clean UI that you get with stock Android means upgrading from the 4A was practically transparent until you notice the longer battery life and general increase in responsiveness. Despite being the entry level version of this generation of Pixel phones, it does not feel like a budget phone, just the smallest version of the Pixel 8 line. You get the best of Android, all the AI goodness baked in, and at a price where I feel like it wouldn't be so crazy getting one for my daughter when she turns 10.

The Pixel 8a is the second Pixel I’ve owned ( the other being a Pixel 4xl) and I’ve had yet another pleasant experience from a Google phone. Inside the box came the phone, a USB C to USB C cable and adapter, and the usual paperwork. Right out of the box it was easy to setup, whether you wanted to transfer from an IPhone or another Android device.

When it comes to design, the Pixel 8a takes a minimalist approach, with a sleek build that feels more than just comfortable in hand, it feels great. It has a smooth finish and feels slick in the hand. The corners are rounded and this gives it somewhat a modern design and look. The Pixel 8a also feels light in the hand while also feeling robust, according to Google it is made from recycled glass, aluminum, and plastics. Another point i’d like to make is that it can be easily operated with just one hand, which is always appreciated in a world where the Pros, and Ultras have taken over.

One of the standout features of the Pixel 8a is its camera. The Pixel 8a ships with a dual camera system on the rear that consists of a 64MP main camera paired with a 13MP ultrawide lens. On the front there is a 13MP selfie camera. When it comes to taking photos the images are crisp and clear no matter the situation, whether in high or low light conditions. I’m sure this a result of the good combination between the hardware and Google’s image-processing software. At this price point, you can’t go wrong with this phone as it takes great photos and videos.

Performance-wise, the Pixel 8a doesn't leave you lacking. It’s quite snappy when moving around, navigating through menus, and switching through multiple apps. This comes as no surprise given that the 8a is powered by the same Tensor G3 processor that powers the Pixel 8/ 8 Pro. When gaming (I usually play Cod Mobile) the 8a delivered smooth performance without any lag. It was also great when streaming HD videos from YouTube or any of the popular streaming services. When it comes to battery life, this was another area the 8a performed well. From the few days I’ve had the 8a I was able to get a full day’s worth of heavy use without needing to charge until the end of the day. And when it was time to charge up, I was able to get the 8a fully recharged from 15% in under an hour and a half.

Software is where Google and the Pixel 8a truly shine. Running on pure Android with Google's intuitive UI enhancements, and AI features pushes the 8a as a phone with great user experience. These AI features also allow you to be more efficient as they save you a lot of time. Some of them are, Circle to Search which allows you to instantly search Google by circling something on your screen, Magic Editor, which allows you to quickly edit your photos in various ways to get the best image possible and finally my favorite Pixel Call Assist. Pixel Call Assist really stands out for me as it offers a slew of features surrounding phone calls. It automatically prevents many spam calls, has call screening that allows you to quickly find out who is calling, and suggests context-appropriate responses to send if you aren't able to take the call in that very moment. Other notable mentions are Gemini,( think Google Assistant on steroids) and Live Translate which translates your spoken word to another language of your choosing in real time.

Overall, the Google Pixel 8a is a great mid-range smartphone that excels in many areas. It has good cameras and image processing, a great AI-powered software experience, an ok battery, and the promise of 7 years of security, OS, and feature updates. If you're in the market for a dependable feature-packed smartphone that will last for quite a while, the Pixel 8a is the phone for you.