**Google Pixel 8A Review: A Flagship Camera at a Fraction of the Cost**

The Google Pixel 8A is a highly anticipated mid-range smartphone that promises to deliver flagship camera capabilities at a significantly lower price point than its counterpart, the Pixel 8. With its smaller cameras and slightly narrower field of view on its ultrawide camera, the Pixel 8A may not match the Pixel 8's camera performance in every aspect, but it still delivers impressive results in many scenarios.

**Camera Comparison**

When it comes to camera performance, the Pixel 8A is a close second to the Pixel 8. The primary sensor on both devices is capable of producing excellent images with good detail and color reproduction. However, the Pixel 8's slightly larger sensor size gives it an edge when it comes to handling zoom. In shots of the boat in the harbor, the Pixel 8 handles Zoom much better than the Pixel 8A, thanks to its larger sensor size. Additionally, the default selfie camera zoom on the Pixel 8 is wider than on the Pixel 8A, which may be a plus if you want to fit friends into your shot but could throw off the angle for a tighter selfie.

**Video Capabilities**

4K video at 30 frames per second is available on both cameras, with similar stabilization performance. While the Pixel 8's stabilization is just a hair better, it's not enough to make a significant difference in most scenarios. However, macrovision is missing from the Pixel 8A, which is a notable omission considering all other camera features are identical.

**Design and Display**

While both devices share many similarities in terms of design and display, there are some subtle differences worth noting. The Pixel 8 handles zoom better than the Pixel 8A, thanks to its larger sensor size. However, this difference is not enough to justify the $200 price gap between the two devices.

**Pricing**

The Pixel 8A starts at $499 for the base model with 128 GB of storage, while the Pixel 8 starts at $699 for the same amount of storage. The only way to get more storage on the Pixel 8 is by paying an additional $60. In contrast, the Pixel 8A offers a significant price advantage over the Pixel 8, making it a much more affordable option.

**Conclusion**

If you're in the market for a flagship camera experience at a lower price point, the Google Pixel 8A is definitely worth considering. While it may not match the Pixel 8's performance in every aspect, its smaller cameras and slightly narrower field of view are more than made up for by its significantly lower price tag. Additionally, if you can find a discount on the Pixel 8, the device offers even more value for its price. Ultimately, the choice between the two devices will depend on your individual needs and budget.

**Camera Samples**

When it comes to comparing camera performance in practice, the Pixel 8A delivers impressive results. In our comparison shots, both devices produce identical images with good detail and color reproduction. However, if you look closely at certain details, such as the colors of the Statue of Liberty and Boy, the Pixel 8A is a hair better. In portrait mode, the Pixel 8A handles shadows much better than the Pixel 8, thanks to its slightly larger sensor size.

**Camera Features**

Both devices offer many of the same camera features, including Night Sight, Cinematic Pan, and several others. However, the Pixel 8A is missing one feature: macrovision. This omission may be a deal-breaker for some users, while others may not notice the difference.

**Additional Notes**

In terms of hardware differences, both devices share many similarities. The Pixel 8 uses Google's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, while the Pixel 8A uses the same chipset but with slightly different performance. Additionally, the Pixel 8 has a more premium design and feel, thanks to its use of Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both sides of the screen.

**Availability**

Both devices are widely available in the US, either unlocked or through carrier deals. If you're looking for a deal on the Pixel 8A, it's worth checking out online retailers and carriers to see if they have any discounts or promotions available.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enGoogle is back to stepping on its own toes and by that I mean it just launched the third member of its pixel 8 series The mid-range pixel 8A which sits surprisingly close to its smaller Flagship the pixel 8 we have both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a in hand and we're going to compare them top to bottom to see which one might be right for you up first the designs and I don't blame you if you feel like you're seeing double at this point because Google's pixel design is pretty much nailed down but it's almost identical across the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a to an extent that we haven't quite seen before these two phones are almost the exact same height the same width and the same thickness which means it gets down to the finer points when you have to tell them apart one way you can do that however is the fact that the pixel 8 offers just a little bit more screen real estate it comes in with a 6.2in display to the pixel 8 A's 6.1 in option meaning that you're getting a little bit more screen and a little bit less bezel despite the almost identical footprints on top of that one of the bigger ways to tell the two phones apart is the fact that the pixel 8 a has much rounder Corners than the pixel 8 does it's kind of an interesting feeling though because even though they're almost the same size the softer Corners actually make the more affordable phone feel a bit smaller and a bit more comfortable in the hand further the difference in finishes between the two phones kind of gives you a little bit more of a way to differentiate them the pixel 8 has glossy Gorilla Glass victus on the back while the more affordable pixel 8A has a composite back which is essentially just a dressed up word for plastic it doesn't feel cheap or plasticky in the hand though and the matte finish to it actually feels pretty close to what you'd get on the pixel 8 Pro both phones also have indisplay fingerprint readers which are about the same as far as placement and accuracy and have certainly come a long way since the days of the pixel 6 series they also share identical button layouts with a SIM tray on the left side your power and volume buttons on the right and almost identical speakers on the bottom Edge also despite its slightly smaller display the pixel 8A actually has many of the same specs as the more premium pixel 8's display both are 60 to 120 HZ refresh rates the pixel 8 a actually has the same exact resolution which means paired with the smaller display it's slightly more pixel dense than the more expensive counterpart but you can also compare the durability with the pixel 8A sporting Gorilla Glass 3 for the display and the plastic back that we already mentioned while the pixel 8 has Gorilla Glass victus on both sides and has slightly better ip68 rating to the pixel 8 A's IP67 Mark as if the design weren't similar enough both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a are almost identical performers too both phones have Google's third generation tensor G3 chipset under the hood as well as 8 gigs of RAM out the box 128 GB of Base storage and the option to double that storage for an added cost of course there is no expandable storage on either one so you'll have to kind of decide ahead of time whether you think you'll need the extra storage or not both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a put up almost exactly the same numbers through our benchmarking scores from top to bottom now benchmarking isn't going to translate exactly to real life but it's a pretty good indicator that the pixel 8A should be able to keep up through your daily life one area where there is a little bit of daylight between the pixel 8 and the more affordable pixel 8 a however is its charging setup the more premium pixel 8 Sports up to 27 W wire charging with up to 18 W wireless charging on Google's specific pixel stand if you don't have the pixel stand it still supports 12w wireless charging through any other Chi enabled charger over on the pixel 8 a you're looking at a maximum of 18 watt wired charging which takes a little bit longer and if you're feeling like you want to try the wireless charging the results are even worse at just 7.5 Watts jumping back to Shared territory both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a launched with Android 14 right out of the box both will also benefit from Google's really impressive seven years of updates now that includes Android versions feature drops and security coverage making it some of the longest support in the industry we have seen other flagships pick up similar long term commitments such as the iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy s24 series but bringing seven years of updates to the mid-range category puts the pixel 8A ahead of several of its similarly priced competitors too on top of the impressive update support Google's pixel UI experience is just about identical across both devices that means you're getting the same set of AI powered features including leaning heavily on the Gemini assistant which Google launched right after the pixel 8 series that means both devices can also tap into Circle to search live translate and several other features including Google's full Suite of calling features like call screen hold for me and smart responses although the camera bars on both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a may look almost identical there are some key differences between the two dual camera setups the pixel 8 a actually offers more megapixels to play with pairing a 64 megap primary camera with a 13 megapix Ultra wide camera unfortunately the ultra wide camera does miss out on macro Vision which is unfortunate since it's a software-based feature so there's not really a good reason that Google could have skipped it granted the pixels on both of the pixel 8 A's cameras are a little bit smaller which means they might not stand up quite as well in low light but it's still going to be a very close experience to the pixel 8's Flagship camera options the pixel 8A also has a very slightly narrower 120° field of view on its ultrawide camera which Compares pretty close to the pixel 8's 125° switching to that premium Pixel It carries the same 50 megap primary camera that you'd find on the pixel 8 Pro it's also paired with a 12 megap Ultra wide camera and the 125° field of view we just mentioned the primary sensor is a slightly more capable option capable of a 2X in sensor crop which gives you a little bit more optical zoom quality before it switches to a hybrid or a digital option despite their Hardware differences as you can see in our camera samples the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a hand in almost identical results in several scenarios it's hard to pick out the differences between the two in in both portrait and Ultra wide shots with the $500 pixel delivering almost the same details and colors as its $700 counterpart despite the slightly different fields of view sure if you look closely the pixel 8 is a hair Boulder in the colors of the Statue of the boy and girl but if you were to view the images separately you'd probably say they both came from Flagship devices there are however a few situations where the hardware differences are a bit more noticeable for example the pixel 8 handle Zoom much better than the pixel 8 despite both topping out at 8X Zoom the shots of the boat in the harbor show much better detail and color Recreation thanks to the pixel 8's larger sensor size even as you punch all the way in another difference between the two is the default selfie camera zoom although both devices default a 1x Zoom when you flip the camera around the pixel 8 a version of 1x is much much wider than the pixel 8s I mean it's good news if you want to fit friends into your shot but it might throw you off if you were expecting a nice tight angle for your selfie also 4K video at 30 frames per second is pretty similar across both cameras to I'd probably say the pixel 8 stabilization is just a hair better but it's not a very big difference for a $200 price Gap as far as camera features go macrovision is the only one missing from the pixel 8A everything else is exactly the same unfortunately that means neither device supports Google's new Pro controls but both are still capable of tapping into night sight cinematic pan and several others that you've come to expect if you're getting close to making your decision between Google's pixel 8 and pixel 8 a you're probably wondering what you can expect to pay for both devices both are pretty widely available in the US whether you're looking to buy unlocked or hunt down a deal through your carrier if you're looking towards the pixel 8 a it kicks off at $4.99 with 128 GB of storage which is exactly the same launch price as the previous pixel 7A it's also available in four colors Bay aloe obsidian and Porcelain with the first two being blue and green and the last two being black and white also should you decide that you want to go for the 256 GB of storage model your option is only the obsidian colorway and it's going to set you back 559 if you're leaning towards the pixel 8 it kicks off at $6.99 which is an increase from the previous generation it launched in three colors Hazel Rose and obsidian but Google has since added a fourth mint option which is a little bit of a softer green than the aloe on the pixel 8A you can once again upgrade and double your storage for a $60 fee bringing the phone to a price of $759 if you can't find it on a discount however you usually can unlike most of our comparisons where we usually tell you that it's going to vary from person to person it feels like there's a little bit more of a clear winner in this case and that winner is the pixel 8 these two phones share so much in common from their chipsets their camera features and 90% of their shared designs that Google is leaning maybe a bit too heavily on the difference in price to sway you one way or another as long as you can find a discount on the pixel 8 you're getting so much more value for not that much more money things like cheaper materials and slower Wireless charging speeds don't really make up the full price difference when you're already getting so many of the same features either way if you're ready to pick up the Google pixel 8 or the Google pixel 8A you can do so down belowGoogle is back to stepping on its own toes and by that I mean it just launched the third member of its pixel 8 series The mid-range pixel 8A which sits surprisingly close to its smaller Flagship the pixel 8 we have both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a in hand and we're going to compare them top to bottom to see which one might be right for you up first the designs and I don't blame you if you feel like you're seeing double at this point because Google's pixel design is pretty much nailed down but it's almost identical across the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a to an extent that we haven't quite seen before these two phones are almost the exact same height the same width and the same thickness which means it gets down to the finer points when you have to tell them apart one way you can do that however is the fact that the pixel 8 offers just a little bit more screen real estate it comes in with a 6.2in display to the pixel 8 A's 6.1 in option meaning that you're getting a little bit more screen and a little bit less bezel despite the almost identical footprints on top of that one of the bigger ways to tell the two phones apart is the fact that the pixel 8 a has much rounder Corners than the pixel 8 does it's kind of an interesting feeling though because even though they're almost the same size the softer Corners actually make the more affordable phone feel a bit smaller and a bit more comfortable in the hand further the difference in finishes between the two phones kind of gives you a little bit more of a way to differentiate them the pixel 8 has glossy Gorilla Glass victus on the back while the more affordable pixel 8A has a composite back which is essentially just a dressed up word for plastic it doesn't feel cheap or plasticky in the hand though and the matte finish to it actually feels pretty close to what you'd get on the pixel 8 Pro both phones also have indisplay fingerprint readers which are about the same as far as placement and accuracy and have certainly come a long way since the days of the pixel 6 series they also share identical button layouts with a SIM tray on the left side your power and volume buttons on the right and almost identical speakers on the bottom Edge also despite its slightly smaller display the pixel 8A actually has many of the same specs as the more premium pixel 8's display both are 60 to 120 HZ refresh rates the pixel 8 a actually has the same exact resolution which means paired with the smaller display it's slightly more pixel dense than the more expensive counterpart but you can also compare the durability with the pixel 8A sporting Gorilla Glass 3 for the display and the plastic back that we already mentioned while the pixel 8 has Gorilla Glass victus on both sides and has slightly better ip68 rating to the pixel 8 A's IP67 Mark as if the design weren't similar enough both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a are almost identical performers too both phones have Google's third generation tensor G3 chipset under the hood as well as 8 gigs of RAM out the box 128 GB of Base storage and the option to double that storage for an added cost of course there is no expandable storage on either one so you'll have to kind of decide ahead of time whether you think you'll need the extra storage or not both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a put up almost exactly the same numbers through our benchmarking scores from top to bottom now benchmarking isn't going to translate exactly to real life but it's a pretty good indicator that the pixel 8A should be able to keep up through your daily life one area where there is a little bit of daylight between the pixel 8 and the more affordable pixel 8 a however is its charging setup the more premium pixel 8 Sports up to 27 W wire charging with up to 18 W wireless charging on Google's specific pixel stand if you don't have the pixel stand it still supports 12w wireless charging through any other Chi enabled charger over on the pixel 8 a you're looking at a maximum of 18 watt wired charging which takes a little bit longer and if you're feeling like you want to try the wireless charging the results are even worse at just 7.5 Watts jumping back to Shared territory both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a launched with Android 14 right out of the box both will also benefit from Google's really impressive seven years of updates now that includes Android versions feature drops and security coverage making it some of the longest support in the industry we have seen other flagships pick up similar long term commitments such as the iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy s24 series but bringing seven years of updates to the mid-range category puts the pixel 8A ahead of several of its similarly priced competitors too on top of the impressive update support Google's pixel UI experience is just about identical across both devices that means you're getting the same set of AI powered features including leaning heavily on the Gemini assistant which Google launched right after the pixel 8 series that means both devices can also tap into Circle to search live translate and several other features including Google's full Suite of calling features like call screen hold for me and smart responses although the camera bars on both the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a may look almost identical there are some key differences between the two dual camera setups the pixel 8 a actually offers more megapixels to play with pairing a 64 megap primary camera with a 13 megapix Ultra wide camera unfortunately the ultra wide camera does miss out on macro Vision which is unfortunate since it's a software-based feature so there's not really a good reason that Google could have skipped it granted the pixels on both of the pixel 8 A's cameras are a little bit smaller which means they might not stand up quite as well in low light but it's still going to be a very close experience to the pixel 8's Flagship camera options the pixel 8A also has a very slightly narrower 120° field of view on its ultrawide camera which Compares pretty close to the pixel 8's 125° switching to that premium Pixel It carries the same 50 megap primary camera that you'd find on the pixel 8 Pro it's also paired with a 12 megap Ultra wide camera and the 125° field of view we just mentioned the primary sensor is a slightly more capable option capable of a 2X in sensor crop which gives you a little bit more optical zoom quality before it switches to a hybrid or a digital option despite their Hardware differences as you can see in our camera samples the pixel 8 and the pixel 8 a hand in almost identical results in several scenarios it's hard to pick out the differences between the two in in both portrait and Ultra wide shots with the $500 pixel delivering almost the same details and colors as its $700 counterpart despite the slightly different fields of view sure if you look closely the pixel 8 is a hair Boulder in the colors of the Statue of the boy and girl but if you were to view the images separately you'd probably say they both came from Flagship devices there are however a few situations where the hardware differences are a bit more noticeable for example the pixel 8 handle Zoom much better than the pixel 8 despite both topping out at 8X Zoom the shots of the boat in the harbor show much better detail and color Recreation thanks to the pixel 8's larger sensor size even as you punch all the way in another difference between the two is the default selfie camera zoom although both devices default a 1x Zoom when you flip the camera around the pixel 8 a version of 1x is much much wider than the pixel 8s I mean it's good news if you want to fit friends into your shot but it might throw you off if you were expecting a nice tight angle for your selfie also 4K video at 30 frames per second is pretty similar across both cameras to I'd probably say the pixel 8 stabilization is just a hair better but it's not a very big difference for a $200 price Gap as far as camera features go macrovision is the only one missing from the pixel 8A everything else is exactly the same unfortunately that means neither device supports Google's new Pro controls but both are still capable of tapping into night sight cinematic pan and several others that you've come to expect if you're getting close to making your decision between Google's pixel 8 and pixel 8 a you're probably wondering what you can expect to pay for both devices both are pretty widely available in the US whether you're looking to buy unlocked or hunt down a deal through your carrier if you're looking towards the pixel 8 a it kicks off at $4.99 with 128 GB of storage which is exactly the same launch price as the previous pixel 7A it's also available in four colors Bay aloe obsidian and Porcelain with the first two being blue and green and the last two being black and white also should you decide that you want to go for the 256 GB of storage model your option is only the obsidian colorway and it's going to set you back 559 if you're leaning towards the pixel 8 it kicks off at $6.99 which is an increase from the previous generation it launched in three colors Hazel Rose and obsidian but Google has since added a fourth mint option which is a little bit of a softer green than the aloe on the pixel 8A you can once again upgrade and double your storage for a $60 fee bringing the phone to a price of $759 if you can't find it on a discount however you usually can unlike most of our comparisons where we usually tell you that it's going to vary from person to person it feels like there's a little bit more of a clear winner in this case and that winner is the pixel 8 these two phones share so much in common from their chipsets their camera features and 90% of their shared designs that Google is leaning maybe a bit too heavily on the difference in price to sway you one way or another as long as you can find a discount on the pixel 8 you're getting so much more value for not that much more money things like cheaper materials and slower Wireless charging speeds don't really make up the full price difference when you're already getting so many of the same features either way if you're ready to pick up the Google pixel 8 or the Google pixel 8A you can do so down below\n"