“Not at this price” seems to be the main takeaway from last week’s poll about the Google Pixel 8a. $500/€550/₹53,000 is too high and people would rather get the regular Pixel 8, which can often be found for a similar price (though not for long, stock seems to be running low).
We saw a lot of comments about the bezels – indeed, the Pixel 8 is a bit smaller (2mm shorter and 2mm narrower) despite having a slightly larger screen (very slightly). Everything else is equal or in favor of the regular 8, so why buy the 8a?
Of course, the launch price won’t hold for long – it didn’t for the 7a. And once the discounts are in place, the Pixel 8a is actually a solid mid-ranger. Even at a lower price, it won’t be smooth sailing as it faces stiff competition in the face of the Galaxy A55, a variety of Redmis and Pocos, the Nothing Phone (2a) and others.
For the first time on a Pixel a phone, you have the option of more storage – 256GB, instead of the base 128GB capacity. And that was a smart move by Google as the 256GB option is preferred 3:2 over the base option. Of course, the topic of microSD came up, but that’s not something that any Pixel phone has ever had and this one doesn’t either.
Google is promising 7 years of support for the Pixel 8a and it’s definitely a good thing, even for a mid-ranger. Some people in the comments mentioned that they are using a Pixel 6a or even a 4a and that they are still fine phones. Some years from now, people would probably be saying the same about the 8a.
PS. we have a Pixel 8a in for review, so stay tuned for a closer look.
