Pixel 8a leak details Google's mid-range smartphone

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By Rael Hornby
published

Pixel perfection, or a swing and A-series miss?

Google Pixel 8a renders
(Image credit: SmartPrix / OnLeaks)

The Google Pixel 8a is one of our most hotly anticipated releases this year, especially given how well-received the Pixel 7a has been. Google's price-friendly mid-ranger is traditionally one that blends style, performance, and excellent software features with a stock Android experience — and of course a reasonable price tag.

Thanks to one tech tipster, we've also got a fresh look at the device's potential specifications that we can add to our growing list of leaked information, including potential details on the device's screen, camera array, and battery capacity. It also suggests that the Pixel 8a will launch next month, as we predicted, at the recently announced Google I/O event scheduled for May 14, 2024.

We've been tracking a number of Google Pixel 8a rumors already, and much of the information from today's leak appears to line up from what we've already heard. While that is by no means confirmation of these details, it does add to the overall credibility of these claimed specifications when multiple reputable sources appear to be corroborating one another. So let's go over what we've learnt from today's leak.

Google Pixel 8a: What have we learned?

Today's leak, coming from reliable tipster Yogesh Brar on X/Twitter, gives us a decent rundown of the device's supposed specs, some of which have already been claimed by others or predicted by ourselves.

That includes the device launching with Android 14 (though fully prepared to make the update to Android 15 later this year), that it will be available in 128GB and 256GB models (giving this A-series entrant a storage boost over last year's single configuration), and that the Pixel 8a will include the latest Tensor G3 chipset.

Newer information contained within the leak includes a 120Hz refresh rate for the Pixel 8a's 6.1-inch OLED display (previously reported to match the Pixel 7a at 90Hz), the same camera array as the previous model (64MP OIS main, 13MP ultrawide, and 13MP selfie front lenses), and a supposed battery capacity of 4,500mAh (up from the Pixel 7a's 4,300mAh).

While there's nothing too groundbreaking to be found in Brar's claims, as previously mentioned, it does line up well with the overall image that's forming of Google's upcoming device.

There's a clear "if it's not broke, don't fix it" vibe coming from this year's model, improving only on the areas that some had issues with on the Pixel 7a — namely, battery life and storage, all without pushing the price of Google's mid-range smartphone up by too much, with the claim that this device is likely to cost between $500 and $550.

However, the improved refresh rate for the Pixel 8a's OLED display is more than welcome, allowing for the possibility of impressively smooth results often reserved for much more expensive models.

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Rael Hornby
Rael Hornby
Content Editor

Rael Hornby, potentially influenced by far too many LucasArts titles at an early age, once thought he’d grow up to be a mighty pirate. However, after several interventions with close friends and family members, you’re now much more likely to see his name attached to the bylines of tech articles. While not maintaining a double life as an aspiring writer by day and indie game dev by night, you’ll find him sat in a corner somewhere muttering to himself about microtransactions or hunting down promising indie games on Twitter.