Having options isn’t always bad and for those who want a clean Android experience, the Pixel 8A is one good option for them without spending as much as the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro. Not that the non-Pro and Pro are bad, but they may not be everyone’s budget.
Pixel 8A, at Rs 52,000, could be a viable choice for many users who want simplicity and functionality, without that added cost.
Pixel 8A tries to sit in the sweet spot with the same chipset — Tensor G3 — as the Pixel 8, 8 Pro, a similar set of software features, including Google mobile friendly — Gemini Nano– AI LLM and a power camera setup along with additional bells and whistles.
Well, the question is whether or not Pixel 8a is worth the money? Let’s find out in our detailed review
Design and display
Apple does not fall far from the tree. The Pixel 8A has a similar story, especially when it comes to design. Considering it’s the affordable version of the Pixel 8 series, the design is borrowed from its elder siblings and it’s a good thing. The phone retains the dual rear camera and horizontal visor, but it is almost flushed into the phone’s body which makes it sit flat on the table or any other surface, unlike its elder siblings.
Available in Obsidian and Porcelain colour options, the phone looks fantastic in both. However, we think the Porcelain colour — the one we have here — more sophisticated.
It’s a rather compact phone with a footprint of 152.1 mm (height) x 72.7 mm (width) x 8.9 mm (depth). It has rounded corners and 189g of weight, it feels comfortable to hold and one-hand usage is not a problem.
Google Pixel 8a has an aluminium glass sandwich design that adds to the premium quotient of the phone and helps the phone justify the hefty price tag, at least to an extent. Coming to the back panel, the matte-finish treatment makes the phone feel smooth and it also helps keep fingerprints at bay, making the phone less cumbersome to clean.
While everything looks premium here, one thing kept us on our toes. And, that’s the placement of ports and buttons. We don’t know why Google decided to place the ports and buttons towards the bottom side of the rim. Although, not a dealbreaker, the case applies to all the ports and buttons, so at least there’s some consistency here.
Moving to the front of the phone, there’s a 6.1-inch OLED display with 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate support with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on the top. The display also has 1400 nits of peak brightness, supports HDR and has 16 million colours.
While the display specifications appear impressive on paper, the bezels all around the display are pretty thick and it does kill the premium feel that we expect from a phone of this size.
But, a coin has two sides and the other side of the display is impressive and nothing less. The OLED panel used here is vivid, bright and has good punchy colours too. The viewing angles are flawless as well. What we liked the most is that the colours, brightness, contrast and sharpness are balanced properly and offer a great viewing experience.
Combined with the 1400 nits brightness and the responsive automatic brightness control, the phone never felt too bright to too dull.
Overall, the design of the Pixel 8a is functional and the display, though not flawless, does not leave us wanting for more.
Performance
Google’s Tensor chip, despite all the controversies, has managed to sustain the market and the needs of users offering a balance of performance and efficiency. And, the third-generation — Tensor G3 — is what powers the Pixel 8a. It is the same chipset that powers the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a.
Despite not matching the rival chipsets like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in terms of performance like some of its competitors in the same price bracket, the chip makes more sense in the affordable premium segment and that’s exactly where PIxel 8a stands.
Sure, the chipset does not rock the charts in terms of benchmarks, but what it offers is top-notch AI performance, general performance and efficiency and it makes the Pixel 8a a good alternative to other offerings in this space.
Daily driver test
Pixel 8a is a solid smartphone when it comes to day-to-day usage. The performance is consistent. Apps loaded without delays and even games ran without any noticeable lag or stutter. We used the phone for almost everything from accessing social media platforms, taking calls, music, movies and even texting, a lot of it.
Not once did the phone feel like it’s running out of breath. And, it shouldn’t considering Tensor G3 is more powerful than previous generations and on par with most premium range chipsets if not better in terms day-to-day usage.
Gaming test
Gaming performance is another important aspect of a phone. While the Pixel 8a does speak highly about its gaming capabilities, it is capable of handling almost all the titles that the Android ecosystem has to offer. That said, we tried all sorts of games like CoD Mobile, Warzone Mobile, BGMI and Genshin Impact. All, except, Genshin Impact, ran at respectable frame rates at high graphic settings. However, Genshin Impact did manage to bring the Tensor G3 on its toes on maximum graphics settings. Having said that, the game did just fine on mid-graphics settings.
It looks like Google has also sorted out the Tensor’s thermal issues with the G3. The chip did get hot initially but settled quickly without reaching the point where it felt uncomfortable or started throttling.
The stress test
Gaming on a phone is good enough stress for a smartphone, but kind of pushes it a little harder to see the level at which the phone breaks. Surprisingly, it managed to sustain even one of the highest possible stress levels that we can think of.
Wondering what that test is? Well, we started by downloading a couple of apps –Photoshop and Kine Master. We started editing photos captured using the phone’s camera and editing 4K videos recorded again using the phone itself with multiple layers of audio effects, add-on visuals, transitions, etc.
While these photo and video editing were getting rendered and exported in the background, it was getting kind of boring, so we decided to fire up CoD Mobile to have some fun while that happened.
And that’s something that pretty much pushed the phone towards its limits. The phone got warm, a little more than we expected and the game also dropped frames a couple of times. But, that’s it.
And, we are not complaining about putting this much load and taking a toll on performance to an extent. The good part is that the phone once again got the hang of the thermals. So, one extra point to Google for sorting out the rough edges of the Tensor chip.
Software and AI features
Google’s mobile-friendly LLM — Gemini Nano — comes onboard with the Tensor G3 chip and its improved AI performance ensures the phone handles most AI tasks with ease. Before that, the software experience on the phone is the same as flagship Pixel phones. The phone offers clean, clutter-free, smooth, bloat-free, Google-fied Android experience with the touch of AI features like Circle to search, AI photo editing, live translation and more. All this paired with 7 long years of software updates adds to the longevity of the phone and it almost outshines all the other phones in this price range.
Talking about features, there are a host of AI features onboard, including the ones that recently arrived on the Pixel 8 series. We did enjoy the AI-generated wallpapers and Circle to search is a lifesaver on multiple occasions. The Google Photos AI features are something that makes it more interesting and easier for users.
Camera
The slow changing rate for camera setup works in favour of Google. The company’s tried and tested 64MP dual camera setup on Pixel 8a comes straight out of Pixel 7a and a couple of other previous-generation Pixel phones. It’s a well-known setup and also one of the best in the game.
The 64MP main sensor pixel bins the photos to 16MP and there’s another — the 13MP ultrawide sensor that now has 120-degree of FOV. There’s a third sensor at the front — a 13MP — sensor with 96.5 FOV which is a slight improvement from the previous generation.
So, what we expect from these cameras is to deliver the shots that it used to and the best part is that it does. The daylight shots are detailed, impressive dynamic range, saturation and accuracy. Colours are close to natural and it is one of the best in business.
Moreover, the shutter lag is close to zero and the camera app fires up as soon as you hit that Camera icon. Apart from that, the layout of the camera is simple and easy to use. Although it lacks the bells and whistles that other brands’ camera apps offer, it is more than enough for what most people will need.
The Pixel 8a camera performs well at standard 1x and 2x zoom levels, producing sharp images with accurate colours. However, its digital zoom capabilities at 4x and 8x fall short as it loses a significant amount of details and this is where the lack of a telephoto lens becomes more evident.
On the other hand, the 13MP ultrawide camera on the Pixel 8a is impressive at 0.5x zoom. And, it delivers detailed, distortion-free images.
The punch-hole selfie camera is another strong point, delivering photos with good colours and details without the need for pixel binning. There are no overbearing beauty filters, offering a more natural output. However, the selfie portrait options are less practical, with the 1.7x and 2x zoom settings looking almost identical.
Pixel 8a’s video recording capabilities are robust, and support 4K and 1080p at 60fps from both rear cameras and up to 30fps from the selfie camera. A notable upgrade is the addition of the Audio Magic Eraser, which enhances the audio quality in videos. Additionally, video stabilisation has improved, resulting in smoother footage with less jitters while walking.
Also, the portrait photos are again the best in its class. The edge detention is accurate, does not leave rough edges and delivers pleasing results.
But, the phone has other surprising elements too — the AI-powered camera and editing features. Things like Best Take and Audio Magic Eraser are two features we’ve come to adore and they work — well, most of the time. The Audio Magic Eraser makes it easier to get rid of random elements in videos and this is something that comes in very handy. Also, the phone comes with Magic Editor which extends the features of the Magic Eraser with the power of AI. This allows users to resize, change places and also tweak an image as per their requirements.
Moreover, these images also get the ‘AI modified’ tag to keep things ethically correct and also let others know that the image has been modified using AI.
Battery life
Google Pixel 8a comes with 4,492 mAh, slightly bigger than Pixel 7a. It supports 18W charging and 7.5W wireless charging. Not something that we expect from a phone that costs Rs 50,000.
The phone does manage to last a day and a little more if you use the phone in our daily driver test setup. Heavy usage may result in single-day battery life which is still good enough for most people.
The 18W wired charger feels Tortoise in 2024. It charges the phone in around 1 hour 30 minutes. Which is something we would have loved to see change with the Pixel 8a.
Verdict
Rs 52,999 is a lot of money and you can get some really impressive phones out there from multiple brands. Some of them feel like flagships. But, Pixel 8a is something in a different league. It offers the best software updates, impressive performance and functional AI features. The phone’s display, despite the bezels, is impressive in terms of quality and the camera — it’s still one of the best in its segment. Sure it lacks some additional feel good features, but they aren’t a deal breaker.
So, if you are looking for a mid-range phone that delivers on all fronts, a clean and simple user experience, then Pixel 8a deserves your money.
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