Google Pixel 8a: A downsized version of a flagship
The Pixel 8a phone is here, and it promises to be the best phone in the A-series yet. It will come in the popular Obsidian and Porcelain colors, plus the neutral Bay (blue) and the limited edition Aloe (green) hues. It will use most of the features already existing on the main Pixel 8 phone.
The device has an OLED display using the Actua display technology that’s 40% brighter than the Pixel 7a, coupled with a 120Hz refresh rate. Brightness peaks at 1400 nits, and it’s 0.1 inches smaller than the original Pixel 8 phone. There are other differences, of course, like the Gorilla Glass 3 cover glass Google has used in place of the stronger Gorilla Glass Victus on the Pixel 8.
There’s a wide-angle 13MP front camera in a punch-hole cutout. On the rear side, there’s a dual camera system consisting of a high-resolution 64MP main lens and a 13MP ultrawide lens which allows for fitting more people in a shot.
Both front and rear cameras can shoot videos in up to 4K resolution at 30 FPS, although the rear camera reaches 60 FPS. The phone will use the Google Tensor G3 and Titan M2 security chips, and have a 4,492mAh battery. It supports fast wired and wireless charging, as well as face unlock with an under-display fingerprint sensor.
AI to the rescue
The launch of the Pixel 8 series, and Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series, brought the most intelligent use of mobile AI. Google has been generous to bring down the features of the Pixel 7 series. The Pixel 8a phone is also not exempted. It’ll feature Best Take, Audio Magic Editor, and Magic Editor, among many others on the Google Pixel 8 series.
These features help you tweak people’s facial expressions, reposition and resize subjects, as well as remove disturbing sounds in your video within seconds. Super Res Zoom will allow you to close in on objects digitally up to eight times without quality loss. Gemini will also be present, along with the infamous Circle to Search.
A mid-range phone like no other
You may consider buying your child a phone or just want to keep them out of yours. The Pixel 8a supports parental controls powered by Family Link, and you can set it up along with the phone out of the box. The IP67 water resistance rating means your phone can stay up to one meter in water, and keep out dust.
The Pixel 8a phone with 128GB storage costs $499 or $559 for the 256GB version. Both phones will feature 8GB RAM, receive up to seven years of updates, and are only available for pre-order at the moment.
