Google Pixel 8a review: the $500 AI phone
Google Pixel 8a review: the $500 AI phone
It's $200 cheaper than the Google Pixel 8, and promises the same AI perks and seven years of upgrades
You won’t get more AI in a cheaper phone than this in 2024. The new $499 Pixel 8a is the most affordable way to punch your ticket into Google’s AI club, which is filled with access to its Gemini AI model and dramatic photo-editing features (and whatever else Google announces at today’s Google IO event to rival ChatGPT-4o). This unlocked Pixel phone is now available to pre-order at Best Buy with a tempting $100 gift card.
Review score: 4.5/5
🏆 Editor’s Choice Award
Pros
✅ 👑 The 2024 king of affordable smartphones: $499 straight from Google
✅ 🧠 The cheapest new smartphone you can buy with AI
✅ 🏃♂️ Upgraded 120Hz refresh rate for a more fluid screen experience
✅ 📸 Excellent Pixel camera you know and love + AI photo editing tricks
✅ 🎨 Four colors, including likable bold choices: Aloe green and Bay blue
Cons
❌ ⚡ Slow wired and wireless charging
❌ 📺 Thick black bezel around the screen vs Google Pixel 8
❌ ♊ Some Gemini AI features already on discounted Pixel 7a
❌ 📶 Unlocked Pixel 8a phones don’t come with Verizon’s mmWave 5G
Google Pixel 8a review: what’s new
📈 Price vs inflation. It’s the same price as the Google Pixel 7a I reviewed last year, but it suddenly feels more affordable. Why? Because the Pixel 8 is $200 more than the Pixel 8a, while the gap between 7-series phones was only $100. In a world of rising smartphone prices, the $499 Google Pixel 8a is needed more than ever.
🆕 What’s actually new? The Pixel 8a specs are better than they were on the Pixel 7a a year ago: it has a more fluid 120Hz refresh rate (up to 90Hz) on the same 6.1-inch screen, a higher maximum display brightness, Google’s faster G3 chip, a new 256GB storage option, and the promise of seven years of software upgrades. Other slight changes include a design with rounded corners, a marginally bigger battery, and a slightly better digital camera zoom.
🧠 Pixel AI features. These specs enable AI features like Google’s Circle to Search (as seen in my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review) and Pixel’s photo-editing tricks like Best Take (where you can swap faces among a series of photos) and Magic Editor (Photoshop-like generative AI to recenter subjects and fill in photo gaps). But some of these AI tools, like Circle to Search, are already on the Pixel 7a via an update.
😫 Cloud-based AI tools. I did experience lag in a coffee shop because these cloud-based AI features are not performed on-device. They’ll take time to execute if your connection isn’t strong. The future is on-device AI, but we’re not there yet (as seen in my Rabbit R1 review). Also, I’m not completely sold on Gemini just yet given its past botching basic history lessons.
🆚 Other options. Is the Pixel 8a too much for you? Our Nothing Phone 2a review offers insight into what a $350 Android phone can deliver: a fun, retro design inside and out with more basic functionality (no AI features or camera tricks).
🍎 Its Apple is stale. iPhone SE 3 at $429 is the closest Pixel 8a rival but hasn’t been upgraded since March 2022. It has a smaller 4.7-inch screen, tiny 64GB of storage, one 12MP camera, and lots of bezel. The iPhone 15 starts at $799 and the iPhone 15 Pro Max is likely beyond your budget considering you’re reading my Google Pixel 8a review. That said, for some people, it’s hard to put a price on iMessage, iCloud, FaceTime, Continuity with iPad and Mac, and ease of use if you currently use these features or risk being the Android black sheep of you’re family.
Google Pixel 8a specs
📆 Release date: May 15, 2024
💰 Price: $499
📺 Screen size: 6.1-inch OLED
🖥️ Resolution: 2400 x 1080 (Full HD)
🏃♂️ Refresh rate: 120Hz
💡 Brightness: 2,000 nits peak brightness
📸 Main camera: 64MP
📸 Ultrawide camera: 13MP
🤳 Selfie camera: 13MP
⚙️ Chipset: Google Tensor G3
🐏 RAM: 8GB
🗄️ Storage: 128GB / 256GB (UFS 3.1)
🔈 Speakers: stereo (and no headphone jack)
🔋 Battery: 4,292mAh
🔌 Wired Charging: 18W (adapter not included)
⚡ Wireless Charging: 7.5W
📶 Connectivity: 5G sub6 and mmWave, WiFi 6e
👇 Fingerprint sensor: Yes (under-screen)
📐 Dimensions: 152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9mm
⚖️ Weight: 188g (0.425lbs)
🌈 Colors: Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay, Aloe
🤖 OS: Android 14
🪨 Durability: Ano frame architecture, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, Plastic back
♻️ Recycled parts: aluminum, glass, plastic
💦 Waterproof: IP67
Google Pixel 8a display
⏩ A full 120Hz refresh rate. The Pixel 8a screen refresh rate catches up to its more expensive Pixel counterparts, whereas the 7a was capped at 90Hz (and that was still seen as an upgrade over the 6a’s 60Hz – what a massive upgrade in two years). This means scrolling on Instagram and playing fast-paced games feels more fluid.
💡 Brighter than before. The 2,000 nits of peak brightness and 1,400 nits of HDR brightness are also on par with the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Brightness has become one of the standout features of flagship smartphones in the last year, so the Pixel 8a is definitely punching above its weight.
📺 Same bezel as before. You can’t have it all for $499. The Pixel 8a has a thick black border encroaching on its 6.1-inch Full HD screen, making it the key difference between the cheaper Pixel 8a and the more expensive Pixel 8 and 8 Pro.
Google Pixel 8a cameras
📸 Same cameras, more AI software perks. The camera hardware hasn’t changed between the 8a and 7a: there’s a 64MP main camera, a 13MP ultra-wide camera and a 13MP front selfie camera. The difference is in the post-processing and AI tools.
Best Take is so good it should be in every smartphone.
🤪😃🙄 Best Take is so good it should be in every smartphone. This face-swapping tool lets you snap photos and allow AI to mix and match faces to achieve the best group shot. No more “I look good in Pic #1, and everyone else looks good in Pic #2.”
✂️ Magic Editor is the easiest way to reposition and resize subjects, reframe photos, take out objects, and adjust lighting positioning using the Pixel 8a’s generative AI. It’s like the advanced AI tools now found in Photoshop but can be done in fewer taps.
🔭 8x Super Res Zoom. Last year, I noted that anything beyond 4x zoom fell apart on the Pixel 7a. Well, the 8a cleans things up a bit. It still doesn’t have a proper telephoto lens, but it’s one area where I noticed some year-over-year camera improvements before diving into the AI editing tools.
Google Pixel 7a design
📐 Rounded corners, but little else. The Pixel 8a has rounded corners to its design, ditching the sharper squared-off look of the Pixel 7a. It makes it slightly easier to hold this phone, with a one-hand-friendly 6.1-inch screen, in one hand.
🪨 Still strong. Last year’s Pixel 7a was the strongest A-series phone, according to Google, and the Pixel retains that 8a redesigned mid-frame architecture. The back is still plastic but the front glass (still Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 which is fine but far from today’s best) and the water-resistance rating (still IP67, but not IP68).
🌈 Pixel 8a colors. Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay and Aloe offer something for everyone. They’re on par with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra colors I like by offering two standard and two bold color options. My Pixel 8a review unit is Bay, which is a deeper blue than the Pixel 8 Bay color. Google’s green Aloe color doesn’t seem as off-putting in person as it does in renders. Hopefully, Apple will bring equally fun new shades to its iPhone 16 colors in September. Its iPhone 15 Pro colors missed the mark.
Google Pixel 8a battery & performance
⚙️ Google’s Tensor G3 chip is good, not great. It can’t rival the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones when it comes to pure speed, according to my tests. But the G3 chip can perform AI image processing better than some top Android phones. You’ll find better, lag-free gaming performance from the OnePlus 12 or Samsung Galaxy S24 series. The iPhone 15 Pro series is on a different level.
📶 5G mmWave upcharge. You’ll pay $50 more for the Pixel 8a if you want support for Verizon’s faster mmWave 5G standard. Unlocked and via Google Fi, this phone offers 5G sub-6. I’ll echo what I said last year: “It’s not an ideal situation for peoples’ budgets and for their understanding of overly confusing 5G technology.”
⚡ Wireless charging but slow. I continue to increasingly use wireless charging, as seen in my mophie 3-in-1 travel charger review. But the Pixel 8a charges slowly at 18W (wired) and 7.5W (wireless). Hopefully, faster charging will be added to the Pixel 9a.
🔋 Battery size increases slightly. Even while toiling away with Circling to Search, the 64MP camera, and the advanced AI photo editor, I found myself getting all-day battery life from the Pixel 8a. It seems to have extra juice than last year’s phone, which may be due to the slightly larger battery capacity and more efficient G3 chip.
Should I buy the Google Pixel 8a?
If you still haven’t decided, let us basically tell you if you should get it
Yes, if…
✅ You want Google’s superb cameras for $500 and not a penny more
✅ You’d like to try out Google’s Gemini AI without breaking the bank
✅ You want that 120Hz refresh rate – double what was on the Pixel 6a
✅ You liked the Pixel 8, but thought “If only this were $200 cheaper”
No, if…
❌ You detest thick black bezels eating into your display (get the Pixel 8)
❌ You desire zoomed-in photos via a telephoto camera (get Pixel 8 Pro)
❌ You want fast charging – wired and wireless (just about anything else)
❌ You find a $50 upcharge for Verizon’s mmWave 5G a sneaky tax
❌ Due to my Pixel 8a review, you realize many AI perks came to Pixel 7a