OPINION : I have been using Google ’s newfangled Pixel 8a smartphone for the past few days and one matter has become immediately exculpated – this is just about all the speech sound that anyone call for .
With the preceding couple of releases , Google has been on a great trial with itsmid - rangedevices , systematically improve year - on - yr by taking the best parts of its flagship serial and making them more approachable . This has hit a culmination with the Pixel 8a .
Google ’s £ 499/$499 mid - kitchen range option for 2024 is the most complete A - series phone yet , and in multiple ways it ’s a better selection than the pricierPixel 8 . Considering just how easy to urge the Pixel 8a is , I am not certain whether Google will be able to make the coming Pixel 9 notably better to justify the likely price difference between the two phones .
The Google Pixel 8a shines so bright because rather than concentrate on a single feature film ( a trap many mid - range phones fall into ) , it tick off multiple boxes without leaving much out . Welcome feature like a goodIP67rating and Qi wireless charging are both here , as is a 120Hz OLED and the sameTensor G3chip found in the $ 999/£999 Pixel 8 Pro .
Now , the Tensor G3 is a crisp that is n’t going to incommode the verybest phonesfor virtuous execution benchmarks and it miss the efficiency of the latest silicon from Apple and Qualcomm , yet inside a machine below £ 500/$500 it really gets the Book of Job done .
It also brings many of the splendid AI features from the pricier Pixel speech sound , including support for Gemini Nano down the line via a software update and the barage of GenAI photo editing skill . As it uses the same chip , there ’s every chance the Pixel 8a will pick up the same AI feature that come in to thePixel 8 Proin the future tense .
Arguably the biggest grounds to plump for the Pixel 8a is the software promise . Google has sound out that it will support the phone for seven year with Feature Drops , security update and full - on Android update all included .
This is rare for £ 1000/$1000 + phones , but it ’s almost unheard of for gimcrack devices where two years of Android update is often seen as better than fair . Investing £ 500/$500 on a phone and knowing it ’ll take in fresh features for all those eld makes that initial outlay easier to accept .
A better Pixel 8 in many ways
When Google first announced the Pixel 8a , a lot of newspaper headline exact mass should just buy the Pixel 8 instead . In some ways , the claim is correct – the Pixel 8 does have a more able tv camera and a slightly better show , but in actual use I much prefer the Pixel 8a . It ’s a little small-scale , with a much more well-fixed rounded body and it also has the far overnice matte support of the Pixel 8 Pro .
It seems a give that Google will carry over some of these Pixel 8a design change to the inevitable Pixel 9 , but I ca n’t see that equipment push the bar far enough to make any price difference deserving it . The Pixel 8a mark off so many boxes for the cost that it already experience like the Pixel 9 .
WhileGoogle I / Ois set to be the domicile of multiple Modern AI features , and passing water surroundingthe Pixel 9 Pro are alreadycirculating , I finger there ’s very little reason to go for anything but the Pixel 8a if you ’re not concerned in the flagship £ 1000/$1000 experience .
