Google Pixel 8a Review

Google’s Pixel A collection smartphones have all the time been the go-to mid-range units for dependable smartphone pictures and never a lot about efficiency. They’ve additionally been the go-to units for individuals who have needed a vanilla Android software program expertise, as they’ve all the time provided the cleanest and most up to date Android software program expertise (together with dependable replace timelines) in comparison with all different manufacturers at this worth level. Briefly, Google’s Pixel A collection was a pretty selection for the common client, despite the fact that these weren’t the most effective units for gaming or battery life. Nonetheless, Google needed to improve it with the occasions; it needed to cram in additional options to compete with different manufacturers, and so we had a really attention-grabbing and feature-packed Pixel 7a, which was launched at Rs. 43,999 (identical to the Pixel 6a).

Occasions are altering, and Google has raised the worth of this sensible little smartphone as soon as once more to a beginning worth of Rs. 52,999. Its premium price ticket will see this principally reasonably priced providing from Google competing with some actually attention-grabbing smartphones from Chinese language manufacturers and Samsung. Whereas Google has upgraded its A-series’ AI smarts by going with the Tensor G3 this 12 months (nearly bringing it on par with its Pixel 8). It is attention-grabbing to see how these options add up towards a sea of units that supply higher uncooked efficiency at this worth level. I have been utilizing the Pixel 8a for just a few weeks, and this is why I imagine there is a small likelihood it could possibly be your subsequent premium smartphone.

Google Pixel 8a Overview: Worth in India

The Google Pixel 8a is the primary A-series smartphone in India to be provided in multiple storage variant. The bottom 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs. 52,999, whereas the brand new 256GB storage variant is priced at Rs 59,999. Whereas it looks like a no brainer to spend a bit extra and get the 256GB storage variant (it is all the time higher to have extra storage), you’ll change your thoughts upon getting a have a look at what the competitors presents at this very worth level in our verdict.

Within the field, Google, as standard, presents a Kind-C to Kind-C USB cable for charging and knowledge transfers, a USB Kind-A adapter for knowledge transfers and a SIM ejector device.

Google Pixel 8a Overview: Design

The Google Pixel 8a certainly has a really enticing design, particularly within the new Aloe and Bay finishes, that are unique to this mannequin. The telephone has graduated from the principally squared design with corners to a extra rounded look that has a really comfy handfeel. Given its compact total dimensions, additionally it is fairly manageable with one hand.

The Google Pixel 8a’s rear panels are nonetheless comprised of polycarbonate however have a premium frosted end

We acquired the Bay end for evaluate. It has a frosted matte polycarbonate rear panel break up by the enduring visor-like digicam stripe. The flat digicam module and barely rounded sides of the telephone’s body are colour-matched and make for a really fashionable and vibrant design that appears focused in direction of the youth. The rear panel, regardless of being product of polycarbonate, doesn’t entice mud or fingerprints and feels very premium.

The standard points I observed in my review of the Pixel 7a have additionally been taken care of. Other than its IP67 certification (it may be immersed in 1 metre of water), the match and end of this telephone are glorious, which is becoming given its new premium price ticket.

The one element I completely didn’t dig concerning the Pixel 8a’s design is its show. It has noticeably thick bezels, which are sometimes seen on entry-level smartphones, and jogged my memory of the iPhone XR from 2018. The thick black bezel (thickest on the backside) additionally eats into the show space, which is essential on such a compact smartphone. Samsung’s Galaxy S24, which was launched final 12 months and retails at the same worth, has a razor-thin bezel in comparison with the Pixel 8a.

The Google Pixel 8a’s show presents good daylight legibility however has a very thick bezel

Google Pixel 8a Overview: Specs and Software program

{Hardware} specs or bragging rights aren’t precisely the Pixel 8a’s highlights, however there’s some attention-grabbing stuff baked into it, conserving its worth in thoughts. For starters, there’s the Tensor G3 SoC, which permits a ton of AI options (some onboard, others not) which might not be potential with the Tensor G2 at the moment contained in the Pixel 7a. The processor can also be accompanied by Google’s Titan M2 coprocessor for higher safety. The Tensor G3 additionally permits the brand new and safe Face Unlock characteristic, which debuted with the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Professional. In the course of the evaluate interval, it labored flawlessly, supplied there was sufficient gentle for my face to be clearly seen to the selfie digicam. If not, I had to make use of the fingerprint reader which additionally labored flawlessly.

The Tensor G3 additionally brings the standard Pixel 8a on par with its extra premium Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional on the subject of communication requirements. There’s Wi-Fi 6 for stable knowledge connectivity at dwelling or workplace and Bluetooth 5.3, which ought to be greater than sufficient for connecting to each Pixel equipment and third-party equipment as properly. Additionally included is NFC and Google Forged functionality, together with help for the same old world positioning programs. You continue to get a bodily SIM slot plus an eSIM with twin standby and help for a number of 5G bands.

The Pixel 8a is powered by Google’s Pixel UI, which relies on Android 14. Like with its Pixel 8 and eight Professional units, Google additionally offers 7 years of OS, safety, and Characteristic Drop updates, which is one thing few smartphone manufacturers can match as much as, each at and above this worth level. Whereas it stays to be seen if the brand new Tensor G3 processor can correctly energy Google’s future Android experiences, such commitments do communicate volumes a couple of model on the subject of software program help (no, I didn’t state after-sales help).

The Android software program expertise of the Google Pixel 8a is top-notch and is jam-packed with AI-enabled options

As for the Pixel UI, it is similar to what we have now seen on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional units launched late final 12 months. There have been just a few additions since then. I completely love the enjoyable widgets (which completely match the system theme and accents) like the brand new Particular person contact widget with a photograph within the background together with name and message buttons up entrance.

Additionally new is the Snapshot widget, which turns your house display screen right into a board for snapping and pinning pictures. It has its personal digicam button for immediately snapping and pinning a picture to the house display screen, and it additionally works as a reminder each time you unlock the machine.

Then there’s the plethora of AI-enabled options from the premium Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional, like Audio Eraser (which might erase undesirable sounds in any given video), Magic Editor (which might take away, transfer topics, and enhance pictures), and Finest Take (which helps you to select one other facial features), which make it right here. All of them work impressively and have reached the purpose the place they are not gimmicks however stable characteristic add-ons, supplied you want them.

Google Pixel 8a Overview: Efficiency

The Tensor G3 processor, whereas designed with Google’s synthetic intelligence and machine studying necessities in thoughts, isn’t any slouch on the subject of operating day-to-day apps and informal video games. So, most informal customers who use their telephones for social media apps and calls every day will not actually discover any issues associated to the identical. Nonetheless, fireplace up a sport or the digicam and it turns into fairly apparent that this telephone wasn’t designed to tug off both.

Charging the Google Pixel 8a takes 2 hours, which is sort of sluggish in comparison with the competitors

Beginning off with artificial benchmarks, the telephone managed decrease than standard scores, delivering 8,69,163 factors in AnTuTu whereas managing a extra tolerable 1,580 and three,558 factors in Geekbench’s single and multi-core assessments. Going by these scores, it performs on par with the mid-range Poco F6 (priced at Rs. 30,999) however is not at all similar to units just like the iQoo 12, which is provided with the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, is priced equally and managed an AnTuTu rating of 1,98,3471 (in our impartial testing), which is greater than double of the Pixel 8a.

Hearth up a sport, and that is when one begins to expertise the constraints of the Tensor G3. Name of Obligation: Cellular was playable at Extremely graphics and even at Very Excessive graphics however was not as responsive as most smartphones obtainable at and under this worth level, with a number of skipped frames whereas gaming. The telephone additionally warms up fairly a bit whereas enjoying 3D video games. Video games apart, I skilled some extra real-world issues when utilizing the telephone’s cameras. Hearth up the digicam app and the telephone barely takes 5 minutes to warmth up after which continues heating up when you begin taking pictures video (4K and even 1080p). In about 10 minutes within the afternoon solar, the telephone turned too sizzling to carry, however then I observed different underlying points.

Other than the show robotically dimming to the purpose that it is barely seen to chop down on heating (it will get exhausting to inform what’s within the viewfinder), the telephone’s handbook controls additionally disappear. Along with the same old White Stability, Shadow, and Brightness controls, the Shadow management disappears after which reappears as soon as the telephone has cooled down.

As soon as good and toasty (takes about 10 minutes of blended digicam utilization), the telephone will warn you that it’s “too sizzling”, that “recording could finish abruptly”, and that “video high quality can be diminished” to compensate for the overheating. Clearly, that is right down to the dearth of a cooling system, which Google has all the time refused to incorporate in any of its telephones, choosing “software program optimisations” as an alternative, which, as you may clearly inform from the above messages, do not work.

A screenshot displaying the heating points when utilizing the digicam app on a sunny day

These points destroy the digicam expertise. However it’s kind of unusual that such heating points weren’t a giant deal on the Pixel 8 Professional. My greatest guess is that it is right down to the Pixel 8a’s compact measurement. Identical to the Pixel 8 Professional, the Pixel 8a additionally has the same issue in Portrait mode, the place the telephone greys out the shutter button after clicking a number of Portrait pictures in succession (due to a full buffer), which might result in a number of missed moments. Certainly, the Pixel 8a is best suited to work in colder climates for optimum efficiency and so shouldn’t be the telephone to hold in your subsequent summer season trip.

Conserving in thoughts its larger battery, the Pixel 8a’s battery life sadly didn’t final any longer than what we managed with the Pixel 7a. The telephone barely lasted 12 hours and quarter-hour in our video loop battery take a look at which isn’t nice by any customary, and this might primarily be right down to using a 120Hz show versus the 90Hz show on the Pixel 7a. With informal use (sans digicam or gaming), it’s potential to make the telephone final greater than a day, however you’ll have to plug it in by the tip of the day with simply round 20 p.c left within the tank. With heavy utilization (loads of calls), this telephone will not final a whole day, and chances are you’ll must carry out a top-up cost earlier than you allow your workplace on the way in which dwelling.

The Google Pixel 8a makes use of the identical cameras as final 12 months’s Pixel 7a

Google Pixel 8a Overview: Cameras

The Google Pixel 8a additionally inherits the newer digicam interface which has been rolled out to different latest Pixel fashions (sans Professional Controls) as properly. There’s nothing totally different out right here, and one will get entry to the essential White Stability, Shadows and Brightness sliders after tapping on the settings icon close to the highest left nook. What has not modified are the cameras. Google has retained the rear and entrance cameras from the Pixel 7a, and which means that we may even see some minor enhancements primarily due to the brand new processor.

Google Pixel 8a daylight digicam samples. High to backside: Ultrawide, major and 2X digital zoom crop (faucet photographs to develop)

Pictures captured from the first digicam showcase pure colors with good dynamic vary, nonetheless, it was simple to identify some blown highlights in some pictures, particularly these with contrasted lighting. The pictures, in contrast to the Pixel 8 Professional, showcase the usually cooler color tones that Pixel cameras have had for some time. Fortunately, there’s a white steadiness slider which is able to allow you to appropriate this whereas taking pictures. The noise is properly managed open air and when taking pictures indoors or in low or dim settings as properly. Outcomes from the digital 2X zoom focal size are good in daylight however showcase noticeably much less element in low gentle, so it is best averted in dim lighting.

Portraits captured utilizing the rear digicam present good element and edge detection however present a number of noise, particularly when taking pictures topics beneath synthetic lighting or low gentle. Certainly, the 2X zoom is greatest averted in Portrait mode, and most customers will discover the 1.7X default in Portrait mode sufficient to do away with any undesirable distortion. Selfies pack loads of element however have barely aggressive edge detection, which can’t detect edges evenly, resulting in noticeable borders across the topic. Pores and skin tones seem fairly pure, however I observed that the selfie digicam can’t deal with shiny background lighting, leading to blown-out backgrounds.

Google Pixel 8a’s daylight selfies wouldn’t have correct edge detection and likewise showcases blown out backgrounds (faucet picture to develop)

Google Pixel 8a’s major digicam presents spectacular low-light efficiency (faucet picture to develop)

The ultrawide digicam captures spectacular pictures with glorious element and good dynamic vary and manages to usher in much more into the body in comparison with the first digicam. It is also good to see how Google has completely matched the color tones of each rear cameras, which remains to be a rarity at this worth level.

Video high quality is a little bit of successful or a miss relying on how a lot the telephone heats up because it robotically scales down the standard. Nonetheless, I managed to get loads of samples, and the 4K 30fps video appears to hit the candy spot for this telephone, managing good high quality and distinction. However the digicam, for some motive, doesn’t keep focus whereas panning, making issues seem a bit comfortable when doing so. Low gentle video recordings aren’t all that nice for a smartphone at this worth level, with footage showcasing some noise and textures showing a bit comfortable total.

Google Pixel 8a Overview: Verdict

Google’s Pixel 8a positive seems to be a stable contender on the backside finish of the premium section. However the telephone additionally has fairly just a few issues going towards it. The Tensor G3 processor handles day by day duties simply wonderful however will get a bit too sizzling when pressured. Battery life is not the most effective in school, whereas wired charging is extraordinarily sluggish in comparison with competing units at this worth level. There’s additionally the apparent indisputable fact that it has a smaller show in comparison with most smartphones at this worth level. And this makes it very exhausting to advocate except a compact type issue, together with well timed updates are all you need out of your subsequent premium smartphone.

The Pixel 8a’s beginning worth of Rs. 52,999 (8GB + 128GB) is making issues worse. Quite a few units from competing manufacturers can be found in India at cheaper price factors.

If a compact type issue is what you search, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 (Review whereas a 12 months outdated, is a much better choice and even presents Qualcomm silicon (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC), which has gone lacking from this 12 months’s fashions. AI options from the newest S24 collection have additionally made it to the S23, so you’ll not be lacking out on a lot by way of options both. The S23 additionally presents a extra versatile digicam setup with a correct 3X telephoto digicam. It additionally has a vapour chamber cooling system to handle warmth and will not decelerate or get sizzling when pressured.

The iQoo 12 (Review), which retails at the very same worth, presents a much bigger show, far superior efficiency, good cameras, and quick wired charging. And in case you are prepared to spend a bit extra, the OnePlus 12 (Review) shouldn’t be too far-off at Rs. 64,999 (12GB + 256GB) and is an all-rounder of kinds on this worth vary.