Google Pixel 8a review: The cheapest Pixel phone gets premium AI features

There’s a good reason Google waits six months before launching the a-series versions of its leading Pixel phones. The Pixel 8a swipes so many of the Pixel 8’s best features that – unless you care deeply about having Google’s best camera and display – you’d struggle to justify buying any other Pixel phone today.

Display

So, besides a host of new AI-enabled tricks, what’s changed since the Pixel 7a? Well, this year’s budget Pixel gets an upgraded screen. The size stays the same at a palm-friendly 6.1in – similar to the Pixel 8 and ideal for smaller hands – but the display can now run at a smoother 120Hz refresh rate. Scrolling feels snappier and the phone generally feels more responsive to your touch.

The Pixel 8a is also brighter than last year’s phone, which is most noticeable when using the phone outdoors on sunny days. Colours don’t appear as washed out when viewed in direct sunlight, and indoors the additional brightness gives the display a little more vibrancy and dynamic range.

Cameras

Google keeps the cost of the Pixel 8a down by sticking with last year’s camera hardware: a 64MP main lens, 13MP ultrawide and 13MP front camera. That setup was a already huge upgrade when it appeared on the Pixel 7a, so it’s no surprise Google has left it untouched in 2024.

Photo quality is still remarkable for a phone at this price point, helped along by Google’s excellent image processing. You miss out on the telephoto zoom of the top-end Pixel 8 Pro, but you do get the Pixel’s brilliant night sight and astrophotography modes.

Design

Things get more interesting when it comes to the newly refreshed design – the Pixel 8a is the prettiest Pixel phone Google has ever made. The new matte back, curved edges and metal frame are available in vibrant shades of green and blue that we can only describe as juicy. The jazzy colouring extends to the metal frame, too, so, it’s party time even when your phone is face up on the desk.

Google offers matching coloured phone cases, which are thoughtfully designed to sit flush around the full-width camera bar, so you don’t have to choose between safety and style.

Software features

The Pixel 8a carries over a bunch of unique software features that aren’t new, but are worth mentioning. ‘Circle to search’ is Google’s latest way of searching the web, letting you trace a circle around anything on screen – a pair of trainers you saw on Instagram, a houseplant you want for the living room – to get shopping and search results for that item.

The recorder app is another unsung hero of the Pixel range, offering full speech-to-text transcriptions of meetings with multiple speakers, which can be archived and searched later. ‘Live translate’ lets two people hold a conversation in different languages, whether in-person or over text messages, translating their responses as they speak.

‘Call assistant’ lets you navigate those annoying “press one for sales” style phone menus using your phone’s keypad, and can even wait on hold for you, sending you an alert when somebody finally picks up. The Google Assistant can screen your calls, too, asking the person on the other end to state the reason for their call. Their response gets transcribed on screen so you can decide if it’s worth answering. In practice, everyone we’ve tried this feature on hangs up rather than speaking to a robot, but hey, it’s a fun way to dodge spam callers.

Pixel phones also come with a built-in VPN, giving you a layer of security and anonymity when using public wifi hotspots.

Battery life

The battery is a smidge larger than last year’s phone, giving the Pixel 8a marginally better battery performance than the Pixel 7a. That means all-day battery life even with intensive use. In our early testing with the device, we’ve only ever had to top up the battery overnight.