- Seven years of software support
- Improved battery life
- Nicer design
- Weird price
- No camera hardware upgrades
Over the last few years, we’ve seen two clear constants with Google's A-series Pixels.
- They're among the best phones you can buy in their price bracket
- By the time you can buy the new A-series Pixel, last year's "standard" Pixel has already been discounted to a similar price point
These continue to be true with the Pixel 8a. It's a great phone, but when I started writing this review, the Pixel 8 was cheaper. JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, and Officeworks were all selling the Pixel 8 for $799, which is $50 cheaper than the Pixel 8a's asking price. These deals disappeared when the Pixel 8a was announced, but it's inevitable they'll come around again. Mobileciti hasn't got as deep discounts, but it's selling the Pixel 8 for $878 - barely $20 more than the Pixel 8a.
While there's lots to love about the Pixel 8a, there's no reason to buy it when the Pixel 8 has been regularly sold for less and is a clear step up in every way. We saw a similar situation play out with the Pixel 7a and Pixel 6a, and can't help but ask what Google is thinking.
Sure, Google might be selling the Pixel 8 at full price on its own website, but that doesn't matter when there's been a clear discount pattern since it was launched in October last year. Hell, a Telstra Pixel 8 Pro plan is just $4 per month more expensive than a Pixel 8a plan right now.
If you're thinking about buying the Pixel 8a, check the Pixel 8 price first. If the Pixel 8 is cheaper, buy that instead. If not - and you don't feel like waiting for another sale - keep reading.
Lucky seven
The Pixel 8a received a few key changes this year, bringing it closer in line with its flagship brethren. The most important is an extended software life. Just as with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, Google is promising the Pixel 8a will get seven years of operating system upgrades, security updates, and feature drops.
That's the best support life any phone manufacturer offers right now, and it's fantastic to see it extended to a mid-tier phone. Samsung typically promises four years of operating system upgrades and five years of security for mid-tier devices and up. iPhones have historically received at least five major operating system upgrades.
Even if you don't plan to keep your Pixel 8a for seven years, it makes selling it on or handing it down a more viable option. Considering many mid-tier phones tend to only get two or three years of support, seven is outstanding and I hope more manufacturers adopt this practice.
Otherwise, there's nothing too surprising about the Pixel 8a. The processor has been upgraded to Google's Tensor G3 - the same chip in the Pixel 8 Pro. That's a real boon for a mid-tier phone, and offers performance that outclasses what you'd typically pay for in this price bracket.
The Pixel 8a design is also a little bit nicer. The back is now matte, rather than glossy, which feels much nicer in the hand. The display is still quite heavy on bezel, but now runs at a faster 120Hz refresh rate, up from 90Hz in last year's model. The refresh rate isn't dynamic like what we've seen on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, however. It's constantly fixed at 120Hz, and isn't able to slow down when the phone isn't being used.
While this can impact battery life, the Pixel 8a performs a lot better than its predecessors in that regard. A-series Pixels have had historically short battery life in the past few iterations, but the Pixel 8a finally improves on that. You can expect up to five hours of screen time per charge, which is enough for a full day of moderate usage with a buffer.
Teaching an old camera new tricks
Disappointingly, Google hasn't made any improvements to the Pixel 8a camera when compared to last year. The hardware on each individual lens is identical to what you'd find in the Pixel 7a.
Sure, the Pixel 8a camera is still best in class, but there's still room for improvement. Shooting moving subjects can result in blurry images in all but ideal lighting situations. I wound up with blurry photos of presenters speaking in a reasonably lit room, and results get less consistent the darker your environment. Snapping a sharp photo of my dog on an evening walk was a Sisyphean task.
You can still get great photos in most circumstances, but the gap between what the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a can do is wider than between the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7a last year. Given the Pixel 8a is more expensive this year, that's a bummer.
Pixel 8a camera samples
Check out these camera samples taken on the Pixel 8a. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.
The Pixel 8a does however get most of the AI camera features you'll find in the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. These include Best Take and Magic Editor, which were the two big introductions last year.
If you take several photos featuring multiple people in them, Best Take combines them into a single shot to ensure everyone is looking their best. Once you've picked your favourite base image, you can then swap out individual faces for those found in other photos. It works well enough, and could be a great value add if you take a lot of family photos.
Magic Editor is effectively Baby's First Photoshop, and lets you reposition, resize, or even remove elements in your photos. While there's promise there, the results are pretty inconsistent. AI can't convincingly fill where an object used to be, for example, with results spanning from blotchy to flat-out wrong.
Google Pixel 8a - Final Thoughts
The Pixel 8a is in a league of its own when it comes to mid-tier phones, even if it is more expensive this year. You're still getting camera quality and performance that punches above the price tag, and this is bolstered by an improved battery life and an extensive support promise. Seven years of software support is a compelling pitch.
But we have to come back to the issue of comparative cost. When the Pixel 8 has gone on sale so many times, it fundamentally devalues the Pixel 8a before it even hits shelves. There's no point in having a mid-tier phone if your flagships are marked down to the same price.
Google could exert tighter pricing control to get itself out of this situation, but that's the worst possible solution. Instead, I’d argue that A-series Pixels need to launch at a cheaper price point. Several retailers were offering $200 vouchers as a pre-order bonus. Why not just make it a $649 (or even better, $599) phone instead?
Alternatively, Google could flip the script and use the A-series to introduce new chipsets first. Put a Tensor G4 in the Pixel 8a before using it in the Pixel 9 for example. Maybe this wouldn't make too much of a difference in terms of day-to-day performance, but getting the new chipset and related features first would make the A-series a little more exciting.
None of this changes the here and now, leaving the Pixel 8a in an unfortunate position in Google's phone portfolio. Again, if you're thinking about the Pixel 8a and the Pixel 8 is at a similar price, buy the Pixel 8 instead. But considering how regularly we've seen the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro discounted, at least it shouldn't take too long before you can snag the Pixel 8a for a better price.
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