Google's lower-priced Pixel A series has brought high-end phone features to cheaper handsets for years, which is likely to continue in 2024. If the company keeps the same strategy as last year and the years before, we might see the Pixel 8A debut at Google I/O 2024 on May 14.
Given the Pixel A series typically inherits features from the latest flagship Pixel phone. That means some of AI tools from last year's Pixel 8 series, like Best Take and Magic Editor, may arrive on the upcoming Pixel 8A. If that ends up being the case, it would be another effort by Google to bring new AI features to its cheaper phones, following its decision to expand Circle to Search to the Pixel 7A and Pixel 6 series.
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Google's phones typically focus more on advancing software than hardware, and the company has a habit of bringing newer features to older devices through software updates, as evidenced by Circle to Search's expansion. With that in mind, there's a good chance the Pixel 8A will continue to get new features trickling down from Pixel phones to come.
Bundle this with a potentially extended shelf life should the Pixel 8A inherit the Pixel 8's seven years of Android and security updates, and Google's next affordable handset could bring a lot to the cheap phone market.
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Here's all the leaks and rumors we've heard about the Pixel 8A so far.
Pixel 8A colors, design and camera
Last year's Pixel 7A felt like a bargain. It inherited many features from the Pixel 7 for $100 less. The upcoming Pixel 8A seems like it will follow in those footsteps if rumors and leaks turn out to be true.
The Pixel 8A could inherit the Pixel 8's Tensor G3 processor, the latest Google-designed chip that powers the phone's AI capabilities, according to aMarch leakfrom Android Authorityciting internal Google sources. The new phone may also get its premium sibling's 120Hz refresh rate display, an upgrade from the Pixel 7A's 90Hz screen, along with a brighter 1,400-nit display.
The same leak suggests the Pixel 8A will have the same camera array as the Pixel 7A: a 64-megapixel main camera, 13-megapixel ultrawide camera and 13-megapixel selfie camera. On paper, those sound better than the premium Pixel 8's 50-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10.5-megapixel selfie camera. When CNET Senior Editor Lisa Eadicicco pitted the Pixel 7 (which has similar cameras as the Pixel 8) against its cheaper Pixel 7A counterpart in a camera test, she couldn't find much difference in camera capability.
Moving on to colors, a recentApril rumorfrom leaker TechDroider showed purported images of the Pixel 8A with a matte finish on the back in three hues: blue, porcelain (beige) and obsidian (black). By comparison, the Pixel 8 comes in obsidian, mint (green), hazel (a greenish gray, as my colleague Ian Sherr describes it) and rose (a peachy pink).
Another set of images posted by leaker Evan Blass on social media site X purportedly shows several differently colored cases wrapped around Pixel 8A phones in the same hue. The five-color collection does show a similar array of blue, beige and black as well as the mint color from the Pixel 8, plus a final orange-ish coral -- one hearkening back to similar hues in the Pixel 4 lineup.
Pixel 8A price
The Pixel A phones have increased in price over the years, and the Pixel 8A may follow in that direction. The original Pixel 3A launched in 2019 for $400, while the Pixel 4a followed a year later with a price cut to $350. The Pixel 5A and 6A jumped to $450, and the Pixel 7A costs $500.
A rumor by German site WinFuture cited by 9to5Google suggests that the Pixel 8A could raise the price further to $550. Given the Pixel 8 costs $700, the Pixel 8A would still be a bargain in comparison (depending on which features it inherited). Another rumor by PassionateGeekz cited by GSM Arena found listings by a Canadian retailer with the Pixel 8A's price starting at 709 CAD (which today converts to around $518).
Another leak from online personality OnLeaks published on Smartprix suggests the Pixel 8A will start at $500 for a 128GB storage model and $560 for a 256GB storage configuration. If any are true, it would still be a gradual increase in price compared to older A-series Pixel phones.
All told, the Pixel 8A seems like it will be a slightly watered-down version of the Pixel 8. That could be a good thing for Android fans looking for an affordable Pixel phone. We'll likely know more once Google I/O takes place next month.
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