If you’ve been eyeing the new Google Pixel 8a, you’re probably wondering why shell out a little extra money for a phone that looks so similar to last year’s Pixel 7a. After all, both of these are considered to be perhaps the best cameraphones in their respective price ranges. And we pretty much agree.
Just checking the spec sheet makes it clear that the upgrades this year are pretty minor. But, as is almost always the case, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Stay tuned to see if the €100 price difference is justified for the new model.
Table of Contents:
- design
- Display
- battery life
- Charge
- Speaker Test
- Display
- Camera
- Decision
For starters, you can compare the complete specification sheets or proceed straight away with our editor’s evaluation in the following text.
Size Comparison
Google
Pixel 8a
152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9 mm
(5.99 x 2.86 x 0.35 inches)
Google
Pixel 7a
152.0 x 72.9 x 9.0 mm
(5.98 x 2.87 x 0.35 inches)
The new Pixel 8a is similar to the Pixel 7a in terms of size. And that’s no surprise – both handsets share the same screen diagonal and most of the same hardware and design language.
However, the Pixel 8a’s chassis is now more rounded. The Pixel 7a’s sharp corners are no longer there. We believe it is more comfortable to hold because of the former design. The rounded corners provide a more secure and comfortable grip.
Performance Comparison
Google
Pixel 8a
OLED
120Hz
1080×2400
Pixels
430
PPIs
Google
Pixel 7a
OLED
90Hz
1080×2400
Pixels
429
PPIs
Although the specification sheet suggests minimal changes to the display, the new 8a has a much better OLED panel.
Two of the most notable improvements are the 120Hz refresh rate (up from 90Hz) and brightness. The 8a can be boosted to a 120Hz refresh rate. 1,500 nitswhich is a flagship-worthy score, while the 7a is around the same 1,000 nits,
Clearly, the Pixel 8a has the better panel — it’s faster and brighter at the same time, no doubt about that.
battery life
Since we reviewed the Pixel 7a before implementing our new battery life testing routine, we’ll have to rely on our legacy battery tests for this side-by-side comparison.
The data shows that there is a slight increase in battery life across all scenarios on the new model. Call time, web browsing, and video playback scores are slightly longer on the Pixel 8a. However, the overall difference is quite small.
Charging Speed
Google
Pixel 8a
4492 mAh
15 min
18%
30 minute
33%
full
129mins
Google
Pixel 7a
4385 mAh
15 min
20%
30 minute
36%
full
117 minutes
Surprisingly, the Pixel 7a charges slightly faster than its successor. The difference is mostly negligible as the 7a is ahead of the 8a by a few percentage points at the 15 and 30 minute marks and charges up to 100% 12 minutes faster.
Both handsets have 18W PD charging via wire and 7.5W charging via wireless as standard. The new Pixel 8a’s charging time is probably faster due to its slightly larger battery. Either way, we wouldn’t recommend making a decision based on charging speed, because for all intents and purposes, both devices are equally slow.
Speaker Testing
Given the similar loudness scores, one can assume that the Pixel 8a and 7a have the same speakers. We can’t say for sure, but the 8a definitely adopts a different sound tuning and better sound tuning. At least that’s the case on subjective evaluation.
The Pixel 8a has more pronounced bass and mids, making the sound richer overall, while the 7a has more highs. Either way, the 8a sounds better.
Display
As expected, the new Pixel 8a is the more powerful handset of the two. It uses the Google Tensor G3 SoC based on a 4nm manufacturing process, while the Pixel 7a relies on last year’s top-tier Google hardware – the Tensor G2 on a 5nm node.
Google
Pixel 8a
Google Tensor G3
4 nm
128GB 8GB RAM
Google
Pixel 7a
Google Tensor G2
4nm
128GB 8GB RAM
The base storage variant hasn’t changed from last year – 8GB/128GB, but the new 8a also adds another much-needed 8GB/256GB option.
Benchmark Performance
Google
Pixel 8a
antutu 10
1,193,520
Geekbench 6
4,384
3D Mark
8,478
Google
Pixel 7a
antutu 10
959,080
Geekbench 6
3,631
3D Mark
6,646
As expected, the Pixel 8a is more powerful than the Pixel 7a thanks to its Tensor G3 chipset. In the CPU-heavy Geekbench 6 benchmark, the G3 outperforms the G2 by about 20%, while in the AnTuTu 10 combined test scenario, the G3 outperforms the G2 by about 25%. There is a similar performance gap in the GPU-intensive 3DMark Wild Life – 27% in favour of the G3.
Camera Comparison
The Pixel 8a borrows the 7a’s camera hardware, so in this comparison, we didn’t expect major differences. Both devices have identical cameras – a 64 MP main shooter (f/1.9, 26mm) paired with a 13 MP ultrawide unit (f/2.2, 120˚).
The 13 MP selfie camera (f/2.2, 20mm) is also the same.
image quality
As predicted, there is practically no difference in the camera performance of the Pixel 8a and 7a during the day. Both devices offer similar photo quality with their two cameras and 2x zoom mode. We have a hard time finding any meaningful differences.
Pixel 8a: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
Pixel 7a: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
However, in low light conditions, we noticed a difference in the ultrawide samples. The Pixel 7a delivers photos that are less noisy, cleaner, sharper, and have slightly more contrast.
The same applies to 2x zoom crops, where the Pixel 7a has the upper hand. The 7a’s 2x zoom photos are more detailed and slightly sharper too. Photos taken in the default 1x photo mode are mostly similar.
Pixel 8a: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
Pixel 7a: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
video quality
There isn’t much difference in video recording capabilities either. The main and ultrawide cameras on both devices record almost identical 4K videos, but we noticed a slightly warmer colour temperature and better shadow development on the 8a. However, this last point could be due to the difference in recording times.
Pixel 8a: 0.6x • 1x
Pixel 7a: 0.6x • 1x
Decision
With just a €100 difference in price, it’s probably safe to say the Pixel 8a is worth the extra money. The display upgrade is bigger than before and the phone also has better-sounding speakers. The chipset is faster and slightly more efficient when it comes to battery life. And you get Google’s promise of 7 years of OS updates, compared to 2 years for the 7a.
On the other hand, the older Pixel also offers similar battery life, charging, and camera experience. So if you value any of these the most, you can save some money and buy the cheaper Pixel 7a.
- better performance.
- Battery life will be slightly longer.
- Improved ergonomics.
- 5 additional years of OS updates.
- Better speaker.
- More powerful chipset.
Buy the Google Pixel 8a at these prices:
| 128GB 8GB RAM | €452.84 |
£449.00 |
| 256GB 8GB RAM | € 565.00 |
£509.00 |
| Show all prices | ||
- Low Price.
- Same camera experience and charging.
Buy the Google Pixel 7a at these prices:
| 128GB 8GB RAM | €277.98 |
€311.15 |
| Show all prices | ||