Google Pixel 8a: latest news, rumors, and everything we know so far

The Google Pixel 8a looks set to be the next mid-range Pixel phone, offering an affordable alternative to the Google Pixel 8 and the Google Pixel 8 Pro, and it might be landing fairly soon.

At this point, we’ve heard quite a lot about the Google Pixel 8a, with leaks showing off the possible design, and revealing many of the potential specs. We even have an idea of what it might cost.

You’ll find all of that below, followed by a wish list of what we want from the Google Pixel 8a. We’ll also update this article whenever we hear anything new, so check back soon to stay up to date on Google’s next phone.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next mid-range Pixel phone
• When is it out? Probably May 14
• How much will it cost? Likely around $499 / £449 / AU$749

Google Pixel 8a: predicted release date and price

The Google Pixel 8a will most likely be announced on May 14, as that’s when Google I/O 2024 is taking place, and the Pixel 7a was unveiled at Google I/O last year.

However, while the Pixel 7a also went on sale in May, the Pixel 6a despite being announced in May of its release year didn’t ship until late June, so the actual Pixel 8a release date is less clear, but expect it sometime around the middle of 2024 anyway.

There are also other signs that the Pixel 8a is probably on the way soon, including leaked packaging for the Pixel 8a, and even the mention of the Pixel 8a on an Android bug tracker thread.

Oddly though, prior to all this leaker Yogesh Brar claimed that the Google Pixel 8a probably wouldn’t launch at all.

There was also a claim from an “anonymous but trustworthy source” speaking to Android Authority in December 2022 that Google was developing a Pixel 8a, and it’s apparently codenamed “akita,” but this source added that depending on how the Pixel 7a sold, Google might decide to scrap it, and move to only releasing a new a-series model once every two years. But it now seems almost certain that we’ll see it.

As for what the Pixel 8a might cost, Google upped the price for the Pixel 7a in the US and the UK, and it doesn’t do this every year. So it’s possible the Pixel 8a will have the same price tag as the Pixel 7a, which would mean a starting price of $499 / £449 / AU$749.

That said, one Pixel 8a price leak suggests that it will cost €70 more than its predecessor in Germany, which if applied elsewhere could mean a starting price of around $550 / £500 / AU$850 (when factoring in the higher sales tax rates in European countries).

Google Pixel 8a: rumored design and display

The most significant Pixel 8a leak so far takes the form of leaked photos of the phone, showing very curvy corners and very big bezels, with a design that otherwise looks a lot like the Pixel 8 (or indeed the Pixel 7a).

You can see some of these above, and the phone is shown in blue here.

Since then, leaked photos of a Pixel 8a dummy unit made of metal have shown off a very similar design. This dummy unit apparently has dimensions of 153.44 x 72.74 x 8.94mm, making it slightly longer than the Pixel 7a, which might mean it’s screen is slightly bigger than 6.1 inches.

However, leaked renders shared by SmartPrix and leaker @OnLeaks (one of which you can see below) include dimensions of apparently 152.1 x 72.6 x 8.9mm. For reference, the Pixel 7a is 152.4 x 72.9 x 9.0mm, so that would instead make the Pixel 8a slightly shorter.

These renders otherwise show the same design, including a screen that’s apparently around 6.1 inches (like the Pixel 7a’s) and the color shown here looks similar to the Rose shade of the Pixel 8.

More recently, we’ve seen what appears to be leaked retail packaging for the Pixel 8a, showing an image of the phone from the back. This again matches the design above, and this time is shown in black.

As for its colors, what appear to be leaked renders of the Pixel 7a, show a quartet of shades for the budget phone. They are: Obsidian (black), Porcelain (white), Bay (blue), and Mint (green). These would be the same selection of shades as the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

For the screen, one leak suggests the Pixel 8a will have a 120Hz display (up from 90Hz on the Pixel 7a). It will apparently match the Pixel 7a for size and resolution though, at 6.1 inches and 1080 x 2400.

Google Pixel 8a: rumored cameras and battery

Based on leaked images we’re expecting the Google Pixel 8a to have a dual-lens camera on the back, and a single-lens punch-hole selfie camera on the front.

One camera leak lines up with that and says that the Pixel 8a will have identical cameras to the Pixel 7a, which has a 64MP main camera, a 13MP ultra-wide one, and a 13MP front-facing camera.

We have heard some things about the battery too, with a leaked Pixel 8a box mentioning 27W charging. That’s up from 18W on the Pixel 7a, and would see the 8a match the standard Google Pixel 8 on that front. The box also shows that there’s no charger included, which is as expected.

We’ve also seen evidence that the Google Pixel 8a could get some handy battery health features, such as the charging cycle count and the battery’s date of manufacture.

We don’t know what the actual capacity of the battery will be yet, but the Pixel 7a has a 4,385mAh one, so it’s likely to be at least that big.

Google Pixel 8a: rumored specs and features

Based on past form we can guess that the Pixel 8a will probably have a Tensor G3 chipset like the rest of the Pixel 8 line, and indeed a leaker specifically mentions the Pixel 8a having a Tensor G3, as does another more recent Pixel 8a specs leak.

So it should be more powerful than the Pixel 7a or even the Pixel 7 Pro – which didn’t feel lacking for power in our Google Pixel 7 Pro review. Instead, it could match the Google Pixel 8 for performance.

Having said that, an early benchmark for a phone believed to be the Pixel 8a includes an underclocked version of the G3, which actually performs slightly worse than the G2, so it might not be so powerful after all. This benchmark also mentions 8GB of RAM and Android 14.

Beyond that, we’ve also heard that the Pixel 8a might come in 128GB and 256GB storage variants, where the Pixel 7a only came in a 128GB configuration.

It’s also likely that the Google Pixel 8a will have some AI features, much like the rest of the Pixel 8 series.

Google Pixel 8a: what we want to see

The Pixel 7a is a reasonable phone but not an exceptional one, so there’s lots we want to see improved with the Pixel 8a, including the following things.

1. Better battery life

Our biggest complaint about the Pixel 7a was its battery life, with our review finding that it would struggle to make it through a full day.

That’s really not ideal for a smartphone, so we’d like to see big improvements to battery life with the Google Pixel 8a.

2. Faster charging

Longevity isn’t our only issue with the Pixel 7a’s battery – we were also disappointed by how slowly it charged. It charges at up to 18W, which is exceptionally slow by 2024 standards. Now, the standard Pixel 8 doesn’t charge that much faster, but we also want improvements there.

So for the Pixel 8a, we’d like at least 27W charging (to match the Pixel 8), and ideally far faster speeds than that.

3. Longer-term software updates

Since Google makes Android it should be leading the way with how long its phones get software updates for, but until recently it wasn’t. 

That changed with the Pixel 8 line, which comes with the promise of seven years of software updates, and we really hope that will be matched by the Pixel 8a.

4. A lower price

The Google Pixel 7a costs substantially more than the Pixel 6a (at least in the US and UK), which makes it hard to recommend when the Pixel 7 itself is a bit of a bargain.

So at a minimum we don’t want another price rise for the Pixel 8a, but ideally Google will find a way to reduce the price back down to Pixel 6a levels – in other words charging around $449 / £399 / AU$749 for it.

5. A 120Hz refresh rate

The Pixel 7a has a 90Hz refresh rate, which even for a mid-range phone isn’t special in 2024, so we’d like to see that boosted to 120Hz for the Pixel 8a.

We doubt this will happen though – while the Pixel 8 has a 120Hz refresh rate, we think it’s unlikely the 8a will get the same upgrade.

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