Google Pixel 8a — top specs, features, India price, everything else to know

In a bit of a surprise announcement, Google launched the Pixel 8a smartphone last night. We knew that it was coming but everyone had expected it to arrive at next week’s Google I/O 2024 developer conference. The “soft launch” happened only a few hours after Apple’s high-profile Let Loose iPad event where Cupertino launched a new iPad Pro, iPad Air, and a bunch of other iPad accessories. As the whole world was going gaga about the pricey new iPads, Google silently dropped its “most affordable” Pixel.

Interestingly, the Pixel 8a is making its India debut at the same time as markets like the US. Google in fact started taking pre-orders from last night—May 7, 9:30 PM—itself while general availability is pegged for May 14, on the first day of Google I/O. As expected, buyers in India will get it from Flipkart which has been Google’s distribution partner for a while now.

The Pixel 8a doesn’t stray very far from the script that the line-up has memorised by heart by now. It’s the same story, the same song, all over again. The plot is same. It’s essentially a watered-down Pixel 8 but only in specs because price-wise, it’s getting eerily close which once again raises the question— wouldn’t you be better off buying the Pixel 8 instead? Well we will talk about that when we have the phone in our hand, which is hopefully soon, but for now, let’s just give you a lowdown of what’s new (and what’s not).

1. Design: It’s easy to tell this is a Pixel-8 series phone by looking at it. With its petite camera visor and rounded corners, it has “8” written all over it. But because it’s still technically a budget Pixel, it has some cutbacks like for instance the back is made of plastic though, if it is anything like the Pixel 7a, I have an inkling that it would be solid. Plus, plastic gives you all sorts of wiggle room to experiment with colours and so, the Pixel 8a gets a bunch of new ones— Porcelain, Obsidian, Bay, and Aloe. All of them are coming to India, which doesn’t happen very often. The outer frame is made of metal. Overall, the finish is matte. The phone is IP67 rated.
2. Display: The Pixel 8a has a 6.1-inch OLED display which can refresh at up to 120 times per second (this was 90Hz in the Pixel 7a). It borrows the “actua” technology from the Pixel 8 and so, the panel can top 2,000 nits (1,400 nits in HDR). It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The biometric authentication is in-screen.
3. Processor: The Pixel 8a has the same Google Tensor G3 chip found inside the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Google doesn’t talk much about cooling so it would be interesting to see how it handles daily stuff especially since these Google chips (that are actually based on Samsung Exynos for now) have a reputation for running hot.
4. Software: The Pixel 8a runs Android 14 and is eligible for seven years of software updates— major OS, security, feature drops, what have you.
5. Camera: The Pixel 8a’s camera setup is a do-over from the Pixel 7a’s which is to say you still get a dual camera setup on the rear with a 64-megapixel primary and 13-megapixel ultra-wide. The front camera, too, remains the same which is 13-megapixel.
6. AI: Google says the Pixel 8a will support Gemini Nano which is a version of Gemini that can work on-device. It will be available with a feature drop coming soon. The Pixel 8a is equipped with “many of the same AI features” as the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro including camera quirks like magic editor, best take and audio magic eraser.
7. Memory: The Pixel 8a has 8GB of LPDDR5x RAM by default. It will come with 128GB or 256GB of UFS3.1 storage.
8. Battery: Running the show is a 4,492mAh battery with support for 18W wired and Qi wireless charging available.
9. Connectivity: The Pixel 8a supports Wi-Fi 6, 5G, along with Bluetooth 5.3 and NFC. It has a USB Type-C port that is compliant to the 3.2 standard. You get stereo speakers but no headphone jack.
10. Google Pixel 8a India prices: The Google Pixel 8a is priced at Rs 52,999 for a version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The top-end 8GB/256GB Google Pixel 8a will set you back by Rs 59,999.

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