Google Pixel 8a One Month Later: End of the Line?

It's time to talk about the Pixel 8a, because this is probably Google's weirdest phone of 2024. It lives at the affordable end of the Pixel line-up, being kind of a Pixel 8 with some cut corners. So a few weeks after its arrival, here's my rundown of what I love and hate about this phone -- and whether, despite this being a pretty good phone overall, it might actually mark the end of the line for affordable Pixels that started way back in 2019...

0:00 Intro
0:25 Hardware & Build
2:09 Pixel Experience: Better than ever?
3:38 Cameras
5:26 What I didn't like
7:24 Will there be a Pixel 9a?

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[rayquazahjier]

7:02 Gorilla Glass 3 is actually A GOOD THING

Back then the glass focussed on scratched and not drops, current glass tech does the other wya around and that is why Victus scratches quicker than a cutting board.

And while "more sturdy" than GG3, glass is glass and glass can and WILL break.

So GG3 is actually solid.

[sd]

I'm in a completely different use case for this phone. After using a Pixel 6 Pro for the last 5 years, I shattered the screen a few days ago on the concrete. Shame too because I was holding out for the P10 Pro. I still plan to upgrade to the Pixel 10 Pro, however in the interem it was such a chore choosing the right Pixel phone for the me in this interm period! Much harder than I had anticipated, but after using a budget OnePlus phone for about a week now I'm dying and ready to have ANY Pixel back. I'll miss my telephoto camera.

Side note - your shots look like Buenos Aries. Wonderful city.

[Dwayne]

Traded my Pixel 5 for this. It's so smooth. Immediately put Android 15 beta on it.

[jknk]

"1 month later".... Used it for like 3 hours, these people is so attached to their iphone that they can lie freely

[FFVison]

I have a Pixel 6 and a few weeks ago, I found that it was running a bit hot and noticed the screen lock and volume buttons on the case I had didn't seem to perfectly line up with the buttons on the phone. I took the phone out of its case to discover that the screen was bulging out of the body of the phone any time it runs hot. I am pretty sure this is likely a swollen battery. Needless to say, while I was going to wait for the 9, I bit the bullet and compared the 8 models and found that spec wise, the 8a seemed to match up to the 8 for almost half the price. I ended up getting it and got a reminder of how much of a pain in the butt it is to transfer apps from one phone to the next while preserving the app settings not to mention setting up any secondary user accounts on the phone to match the ones I had on my Pixel 6.
Pricingwise the best time to get a replacement phone would be after the 9s come out and the prices drop on the 8s, but safetywise, I gotta stop using the 6 with it's bulging battery

[pedrofigueiredo]

I love the A line! I really hope Google don’t quit doing it!

[crazyfun]

People keep saying the 8 is a better deal but i say it isn't for $200 more which is has been ever since the 8a was released. Also, i much prefer the matte plastic back and more flat camera bar over the regular 8. I highly doubt Google will get rid of the A series because some people can't afford the more expensive models. I would also say to those who say the 8a doesn't make sense that for 7 years of support for $500 is exactly where it does make sense. Because it will get almost everything the newer Pixel phones will.

[Peterstarzynskitech]

Whats crazy is that the 8a uses the same chip as the 8.

[MitchellHayden]

Just one question. When you say the Pixel 8a is like a Pixel 8 with cut corners and show it next to another Pixel, it looks like that is a Pixel 7 and not a Pixel 8. Doesn't all the Pixel 8 series have the same corners?

[ytown]

Wait for it to go on sale for $399 or get the 8 for$550.

[krazytravtrav]

The only pixel phone I have ever used was the pixel 3a XL now I use the Samsung a55

[franklingoodwin]

The Pixel 8a is great in isolation. But then you remember that Google released it so long after the Google 8 that the Google 8 is now the same price or cheaper almost everywhere (that isn't the Google Store). So it begs the question - why does it exist at that price? Samsung have the same issue with the Samsung Galaxy FE series but you'll find heavy discounts on those phones only a month after it's release on Samsung's website, to the point that after trade in of any phone you're paying peanuts for the new phone. Google need to copy this model.

[jjcoolaus]

The pixel 8A and OnePlus 12R cost $950 in Australia (256GB)

[pastasauce]

What ever hardware video decoder they use sucks. It can't handle h.264, 5 and AVI at 4k on local playback. Their over reliance on vp9 is killing the G chip. Maybe that's why HDMI over usb was not included on the pixels.