Hear me out: Of Google's entire Pixel line, the budget A-series phone makes the most sense.
Sure, the Pixel 8A misses out on fancier things, like a telephoto lens or the higher water resistance rating. It doesn't fold in half. But you have two things in your favor: time and money.
The Pixel 8A arrives six months after the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, which benefits it. That's enough time to let some of the early bugs disappear in the new operating system and the dust settle on questions like “Which of these phones have on-device ai and which don't?” Google finally came up with the right answer a few months ago, which is all of them, including the Pixel 8A.
Money-wise, the Pixel 8A starts at just $499 compared to $1,000 flagship phones. When you consider that it has almost all of the top features of the $799 Pixel 8, it starts to look even more of a bargain. And with the promised seven years of software updates? It's hard to beat that kind of return on investment.
The Pixel 8A comes with a sturdy aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass 3 on the front panel, like the 7A. The plastic back panel has a frosted matte finish and I have good news about the new aloe color option: manda. The 8A is IP67 rated, meaning it is completely dustproof and resistant to brief immersion in shallow water. That's not very common in this class and is well above the mere splash resistance of the OnePlus 12R.
I spent a few busy travel days using the Pixel 8A and never had to think about the battery. Even with a lot more social media browsing than usual, plus surfing and Uber rides, the battery still had plenty of juice at the end of the day. Like its predecessor, the 8A comes with Qi wireless charging. I love leaving my phone on a charging stand at the end of the day and most budget phones don't let you do that.
This year's display has been upgraded to a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, matching the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. On-screen movements such as scrolling and animations look much smoother than on a standard 60Hz display. Hz or even 90Hz on the 7A, so it feels like an upgrade with real impact. It's a 6.1-inch 1080p OLED and it's not the best display in its class, which belongs to the OnePlus 12R. But the 8A's screen feels at least good enough in the era of high refresh rate displays.
The Pixel 8A uses Google's Tensor G3 chipset, as seen in the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, along with 8GB of RAM, the same as the Pixel 8. That's apparently enough to run Gemini Nano, the intelligence model. Google mobile-optimized artificial, on-device. , although you will have to activate it as a developer preview option. Google limited this capability to the Pixel 8 Pro at first, but later corrected course.
Right now, the Gemini Nano allows a couple of ai features to be implemented on the device, meaning you don't need an internet connection and your data remains private. Right now, it's limited to recording summaries and Magic Compose in Messages to change the tone of your writing.
It's not very impressive at the moment, but Google claims it will do it. Expand device capabilities with Gemini Nano later this year, including a feature that alerts you when a caller might be trying to scam you. It's better to have it than not, and the Pixel 8A will be one of the least expensive phones with on-device ai capabilities when that option becomes available. Meanwhile, the Pixel 8A handled all my daily tasks without any issues.
I'm glad to see that the Pixel 8A comes with one of the best quality of life upgrades from the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro: the ability to use face unlock for mobile payments and password managers. On previous Pixel phones, you could unlock your phone with your face, but if you wanted to pay for a latte, you had to verify it again with your fingerprint.
It seems like I'm doing a lot with one little thing, and maybe I am, but it makes using the phone feel so much more seamless. I don't have to readjust my grip or put down whatever I'm holding in my other hand to check my password manager; It just happens and I appreciate it.
For everyday use, I think it would be difficult to tell the Pixel 8A apart from the 8 or 8 Pro, but the differences are easier to spot when you switch to the camera app. There are two rear cameras, both carried over from the Pixel 7A, and for a budget phone, they're pretty good.
The 64-megapixel main camera offers optical image stabilization to help prevent blur in low-light shots, and there's a capable 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera. You don't get a video portrait mode or a macro mode, and you definitely don't get a dedicated telephoto camera; Those are rare on budget phones anyway.
But what you do get is really good for a budget phone. The Pixel 8 Pro produced cleaner photos in night mode when the northern lights made a rare appearance in Seattle, but overall the 8A offers very good night and portrait modes. Plus, you get all the useful photo processing tricks that Pixel phones have been doing for years (face blur is a godsend for toddler photos).
There's also the new stuff, like Magic Editor and Best Take, if you want In fact You want to alter the time/space continuum and use generative ai to mix and match expressions in your photos or replace the sky. I thought I'd use Best Take more often than I actually do; I considered changing my son's facial expression with one from another photo, but I felt too weird about the results. They just weren't quite right and I would have to live knowing that it was a photo of a moment that technically never happened. Anyway, it's there and you can use it if you feel less queasy about that kind of thing.
It seems like faint praise to call the Pixel 8A “good enough,” but when you compare a budget phone to its much more expensive peers, “good enough” is actually pretty good. The camera keeps pace quite well even in some very complicated scenarios. The screen is smooth enough in a world of high refresh rate displays. You can certainly buy a $500 phone with a better screen or spend a little more and get some worthwhile upgrades, especially in terms of camera hardware.
But the Pixel 8A really stands out for its combination of features, price, and seven years of promised OS updates. Nothing essential is missing, and what it lacks in flashy features it makes up for in pure return on investment. And for someone who wants to get the most out of a budget phone, it makes a lot of sense.
Photography by Allison Johnson/The Verge
