Google - Pixel 8a 5G 128GB (Unlocked) - Obsidian

The Pixel 8a is Excellent! The Pixel 8a is Google’s latest mid-level Pixel model, once again released mid-year. The Pixel 8a is my third Pixel phone. I have been using Pixel phones since 2019 when I obtained a Pixel 4XL. I subsequently added a Pixel 6. I have the Pixel 8a variant with 128 GB of storage, in Obsidian (jet black). All of my experience using Pixel phones has been good overall. My Pixel phones all proved to be good smartphones with excellent cameras. Among my strong motivations for continuing to select Google Pixel phones is the belief that it is advantageous to have phones which run “pure”, unadulterated Android, and which will receive the latest software updates, including full version upgrades much sooner than other phones. A notable attribute of the Pixel 8a is that it will receive seven (7) years of Android OS updates as well as seven years of feature drop updates and security updates from Google. This is the same as the flagship phone models. The “a” series Pixel phones represent the “value” or “budget” models of the lineup, and typically have had slightly lesser hardware and slightly lower specifications, and have also included less premium materials. The “stripped-down” models have consistently received good reviews from “professional” reviewers, and most recently the prior, Pixel 7a model received high praise. Many publications tout the Pixel ”a” series phones as being the best of the budget Androids. Rumors are already circulating about the anticipated next Pixel flagship phone, the Pixel 9, even as this new Pixel 8a is just being released. The Pixel 8a specifications are excellent, albeit only slightly lower than the Pixel 8 and there being a more substantial difference from the flagship Pixel 8 Pro model. Although the case of the Pixel 8a is actually 1/10” taller and wider than the Pixel 8 (6”Hx2.9W”x0.4”D), the Google Actua OLED display on the 8a is slightly smaller at 6.1”, rather than 6.2”. Both screens have rounded corners. The bezels are not terribly wide, but neither are they almost invisible. The Pixel 8a shares the same 2400 x 1080p resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, 24-bit color depth, >1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and bright, 1400 nits HDR support (2000 nits peak brightness). The panel is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, rather than the Gorilla Glass Victus of the Pixel 8. The Pixel 8a is the first “a” series model to support a 120 Hz refresh rate. The phone weighs only 187 grams (6.5 oz). I am enjoying that this screen is bright and clear. The display is smooth without any lags. There is a “Smooth Display” switch in the Settings. When the feature is activated the Pixel 8a will automatically increase the refresh rate from 60 Hz to 120 Hz for some content, at the expense of some additional battery drain. The phone ships set to the default 60 Hz refresh rate. The touchscreen is sensitive and responsive, and of course the sensitivity can be increased with the “Screen Protector Mode”, if needed or desired. The only anomaly experienced thus far, is that with “Adaptive Brightness” active, the screen brightness level has changed unexpectedly without any external stimulus such as a variation of the ambient light. The back of the Pixel 8a is plastic, rather than the more “upscale” Gorilla Glass back of the Pixel 8 and other flagship phones. Since I always keep my phones in a protective case, I never see or touch the back of the phone once encased. Nevertheless, the plastic back is actually a nice matte black plastic that very closely resembles the matte black anodized aluminum frame of the Pixel 8a. It does not look or feel cheap at all. The rectangular camera bump-out on the back only protrudes about 1.5 mm (approximately 1/16”). Google claims the same battery performance for both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, however the 8a has a slightly smaller 4492 mAh battery, as compared to the 4575 mAh battery in the Pixel 8. Wireless charging is supported. No charger is included with any of the Pixel phones (and has not been included since the Pixel 5a model). In the few days that I have been using my Pixel 8a, I have been very satisfied with the battery performance. Even with the relatively heavy usage that my phone receives, I have been getting more than 24 hours between charges, which is much better than my Pixel 6. It appears that the Pixel 8a has the same 18 watt charging rate as the Pixel 8, and is capable of fast charging and wireless charging. Nevertheless, charging is rather slow. The Pixel 8a is ingress protection certified to IP67, while the Pixel 8 has better water ingress protection meeting IP68. The Pixel 8a shares the same Google Tensor G3 CPU, and Titan M2 security coprocessor in common with the 8 and 8 Pro models. The Pixel 8a has 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, just like the Pixel 8. The phone has only felt hot when being used for Google Maps navigation. The phone is not mounted near the windshield or in direct sunlight when driving, therefore it appears that the heat is generated by the phone itself. The dual rear cameras on the Pixel 8a include a rear “wide” camera which is a 64 MP Quad PD camera with f/1.89 aperture, compared to the 50 MP Octa PD wide camera of the Pixel 8. The “ultrawide” camera is a 13 MP, f/2.2 sensor with a 120° field of view. The Pixel 8a rear cameras lack the laser detect autofocus of the Pixel 8 version, but do share the optical and electronic image stabilization feature. The front “selfie” camera is a 13 MP f/2.2 fixed focus camera without the Dual PD technology of the Pixel 8. Video capabilities on the Pixel 8a include 4K and 1080p at 30 FPS and 60 FPS, while the Pixel 8 also has 24 FPS in both resolutions. A notable difference between the Pixel 8a and the Pixel 8 is that the Pixel 8a does not have Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) like the Pixel 8, and is limited to Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). Since Wi-Fi 7 routers and Wi-Fi 7 devices are becoming more commonplace, it seems odd that this is where Google economized. I have always liked the Face Unlock feature on my Pixel 4, and the optical, under-screen fingerprint sensor on my Pixel 6 has often been the bane of my existence. The Pixel 8a offers both Facial Recognition and Fingerprint Unlock, as well as the conventional authentication methods of Pattern, PIN number or Password. Prior to installing a tempered glass screen protector both Face Unlock and Fingerprint Unlock worked very reliably on my Pixel 8a. Facial Recognition is almost instantaneous. It works effectively even in subdued light; however, it does not work in extremely dim or dark locations. Evidently, there are no IR emitters, and the Face Unlock functionality relies upon a visible light spectrum sensor. Since installing a screen protector I have found that Fingerprint Unlock does not function with the same high level of reliability, even after activating the “Screen Protector Mode”. The Pixel 8a shares the lengthy list of outstanding and powerful AI camera features of the Pixel 8, with the exception of Macro Focus. For the purposes of professional level photography and videography, most people will not rely upon smartphones. They are not substitutes for high quality mirrorless cameras, DSLRs and action cameras. However, like most people, my smartphone is always with me, and resultantly I use my smartphone camera a great deal. The excellent quality of Pixel phone cameras has always been important to me. The Pixel 8a is very well equipped for excellent smartphone photography and videos. In addition to having very good camera specifications, the Pixel 8a is packed with powerful AI camera features. Many of the AI camera features in the Pixel 8a, including new features such as “Best Take”, “Magic Editor”, and the Upgraded version of “Magic Eraser” join some existing and always enjoyed features including “Photo Unblur”, “Super Res Zoom”, and “Night Sight + Astrophotography”. The powerful and innovative AI features are really impressive and can accomplish some interesting on-device photo-editing feats. The Pixel 8a is also capable of using Google’s latest, experimental AI Assistant, named, “Gemini”. It appears that Gemini promises to be a great productivity enhancement tool. The relatively new “Circle to Search” functionality, which only recently also landed on my Pixel 6 is also present. This feature really improves searches, making them easier and more convenient than ever before. Setting up the Pixel 8a was a relatively easy and straightforward process. I normally set up new phones manually including installing all of the apps, adding all of my accounts, configuring the many features and customizable settings and transferring photos and files from my old phone. On this occasion, I decided to use Android’s wireless transfer process. Some customization did not transfer as it should have, and there was a problem with the transfer of the SIM data (the issue was almost certainly with the cellular carrier), nevertheless, overall I probably saved about two hours of hands-on work setting up the phone. The Pixel 8a is very easy to like. It is a great smartphone, and a reliable, user-friendly cellular device with excellent call quality including audio quality. It appears to have excellent RF sensitivity. The Pixel 8a is packed with great, powerful features and functionality inclusive of a robust collection of AI features. I believe that the Pixel 8a is very likely the best smartphone in its price range. Its specifications are excellent, and it shares many specifications with its older sibling the Pixel 8. Where there are differences in specifications, they are genuinely insignificant differences in my estimation. The hardware is very nice, including a great display, and the software package is extremely impressive. The Pixel 8a is really excellent! I am really enjoying it, and I am pleased that I selected it as my new smartphone!

Google Pixel 8a Cell Phone Review! Upfront observations before testing the product: 1. Memory is above average for a midlevel phone at 8GB 2. Battery 4,492 mAh is average for a midline phone 3. WIFI version 6E is outstanding for a newly released phone. 4. Bluetooth 5.3 is outstanding 5. No micro-sd slot is below average 6. 7 years of OS and security updates is outstanding. 7. Checked with my newly acquired 5G service company and I can just insert my other phones sim into the new phone. Both unlocked! 8. OLED/120htz is outstanding 9. Gorilla 3 glass is above average for midlevel phone 10. Wireless charging is above average 11. Screen brightness is outstanding at max of 2000 nits 12. Security features including dealing with spam calls is outstanding Actual setup and testing the product: Information pack sent with phone was outstanding. Never have I received a product with this quality and quantity of information. Full contact information if you need help! First, I read the instructions that were included, charged the phone, inserted the SIM card before turning the phone on. In addition, I installed a protective case and screen cover for accidental drops and bumps. My new phone service even emailed me that I was using the sim in another phone. Setup Find Device! Don’t skip this step ever! The Google account help and Pixel Phone help will guide you online if you want to preview them before turning on the phone. Otherwise, the phone will walk you through everything. I was able to transfer all data from my other Android phone wirelessly without any issues! Very nice! I setup the phone to use all data transfer and updates over WIFI. Google guide books are available on your phone with lessons on how to use your phone. You will be sent an email with the link when the phone is first registered. First time that has ever happened with any phone! Service after sale is outstanding. First system update needs to be done. It takes around 35 minutes. Feel and weight of phone is perfect. Boots faster than other phones that I have and accesses menus/apps quickly. I was able to move icons around with ease and place them where I wanted in the quick access screen. On a local road trip today, I was able to fully access 5G connections, log into numerous local WIFIs, navigate on maps, text/talk clearly, use a BT5.3 ear piece, checked for spam calls, and check battery usage. Battey usage was must more efficient than I expected in that after 3 days it was still over 70% of light to medium usage. I set the battery usage to save mode but not the extreme mode and kept all apps closed I was not using. QI was tested and was fully functional. Auto screen works fine in all sub menus. Be advised the main menu is always in vertical mode. Took videos and pictures and all were excellent! Set face recognition, finger print, PIN, and password recognition. All worked perfect! Summary: This is a much better phone than I was expecting, and the other manufacturers need to take note. The features and quality are more in line with a phone between mid and high-level price range. Many cell phone service providers are offering additional discounts for trade ins and other deals. This could make this a better bargain if your service provider has any incentives. Specifications: Display 6.1-inch Actua display1 20:9 aspect ratio 1080x2400 OLED at 430 PPI Smooth Display2(up to 120Hz) Corning® Gorilla® Glass™ 3 cover glass Always-on display with At a Glance and Now Playing Up to 1400 nits (HDR) and up to 2000 nits (peak brightness) >1,000,000:1 contrast ratio HDR support Full 24-bit depth for 16 million colors Dimensions and Weight 6 in (height) x 2.9 in (width) x 0.4 in (depth) 6.6 oz Battery and Charging 24+ hour battery life5 Up to 72-hour battery life with Extreme Battery Saver Typical 4492 mAh6 (Minimum 4404 mAh) Fast charging Wireless charging (Qi-certified) Memory and Storage 8 GB LPDDR5x RAM 128 GB / 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage Processors Google Tensor G3 Titan M2 security coprocessor Security VPN by Google One at no extra cost End-to-end security designed by Google Multi-layer hardware security: Tensor security core, Titan M2™ security chip, and Trusty (Trusted Execution Environment) 7 years of OS, security, and Feature Drop updates Anti-malware and anti-phishing protection, including support for passkeys Automatic security checks and privacy controls with Security and Privacy hub Camera and mic toggles Private Compute Core Android System Intelligence Android Messages end-to-end encryption and Android backup encryption Learn more at g.co/pixel/security and g.co/pixel/certifications Rear Camera 64 MP Quad PD wide camera 0.8 μm pixel width ƒ/1.89 aperture 80° field of view 1/1.73" image sensor size Super Res Zoom up to 8x12 13 MP ultrawide camera 1.12 μm pixel width ƒ/2.2 aperture 120° field of view Lens correction Optical + electronic image stabilization on wide Front Camera 13 MP 1.12 μm pixel width ƒ/2.2 aperture Fixed focus 96.5° ultrawide field of view Camera Features Magic Editor Best Take Magic Eraser Photo Unblur Real Tone Face Unblur Panorama Manual white balancing Locked Folder Night Sight Top Shot Portrait Mode Portrait Light Motion Auto Focus Frequent Faces Dual exposure controls Live HDR+ Ultra HDR Long Exposure Astrophotography Super Res Zoom Video and Audio Rear Camera 4K video recording at 30 FPS, 60 FPS 1080p video recording at 30 FPS, 60 FPS Front Camera 4K video recording at 30 FPS 1080p video recording at 30 FPS Cinematic Pan Slo-mo video support up to 240 FPS 4K timelapse with stabilization Astrophotography timelapse Optical image stabilization Fused video stabilization 4K Cinematic Pan video stabilization 4K locked video stabilization 1080p active video stabilization Digital zoom up to 5x12 Video formats: HEVC (H.265) and AVC (H.264) Audio Stereo recording Speech enhancement Wind noise reduction Audio Magic Eraser Authentication Fingerprint Unlock with under-display fingerprint sensor Face Unlock Pattern, PIN, password Sensors Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyrometer Magnetometer Barometer Buttons and Ports USB Type-C® 3.2 Power button Volume controls SIMs Dual SIM (Single Nano SIM and eSIM16) Media and Audio Stereo speakers 2 microphones Noise suppression Connectivity and Location Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 2.4GHz+5GHz+6GHz, HE80, MIMO Bluetooth® v5.3, Bluetooth Diversity NFC Google Cast GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS Network [5G Sub 6GHz]18 Model GKV4X GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1,2,4,5,6,8,19 LTE: Bands B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/20/25/26/28/29/30/38/41/48/66/71 5G Sub-618: Bands n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/20/25/26/28/29/30/38/41/48/66/70/71/77/78 eSIM [5G mmWave + Sub 6GHz]18 Model G8HHN GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1,2,4,5,6,8,19 LTE: Bands B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/20/25/26/28/29/30/38/41/48/66/71 5G Sub-618: Bands n1/2/3/5/7/8/20/28/48/66/71/77/78 5G mmWave18: Bands n260/n261 eSIM Hearing Aid Compatibility Hearing aid-compatible. See g.co/pixel/hac. Security and OS Updates 7 years of OS, security, and Feature Drop updates Materials Scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 cover glass IP67 dust and water resistance Fingerprint-resistant coating Matte composite back with matte aluminum frame Made with at least 24% recycled materials based on product weight 100% recycled aluminum in housing and camera bar 76% recycled plastic in back cover 100% plastic-free packaging Warranty 1 year Operating System Launched with Android 14 What's in the box Pixel 8a 1 m USB-C® to USB-C cable (USB 2.0) Quick Switch Adapter

TLDR -Excellent Value -Great Build Quality -7 Years of Updates -Google Camera excellence Storage 128GB claimed, initial setup showed 118GB available, then after OS and app updates I was showing 108GB available, so 20GB of system (13GB) and app (7GB) usage. I’m glad the industry finally is doing 128GB base storage over 64GB but, if you can spare the extra $ I’d recommend the 256GB variant. It is however only available in the Obsidian color. Screen Scrolling is super smooth and the colors look great. Having the “Actua” designation ramps up the brightness when there is a lot of light and it doesn’t alter the on screen colors. Out of the box 60hz is turned on (“Smooth Display” Off). This is not an LTPO display so your options are either locked 60hz or 120hz refresh rate. Personally I only find 120hz works on a handful of apps and content outside of gaming. Besides using my phone for communicating whether text or call based, I read. I’ve never been one to notice a huge difference between the two, so for battery saving, especially since this is not dynamic, I will leave it on 60hz. I have found myself turning up the screen brightness while indoors as the Adaptive seems to be a little too aggressive for my tastes. In a well lit or high ambient lighting room it is above the half-way point (65ish%) and I find I’m pushing it towards 75%-80%. Camera Google Camera…enough said! Throw in the capabilities of the Tensor G3 and new AI features, cannot go wrong with choosing the Pixel 8a. I’m still playing around with all the AI stuff in the camera settings. This is all extra things to do, as the stock photos are great as is. Battery This is a hard category to report on as it all comes down to how you use your phone, how much spent on WiFi, how strong cellular signal is, etc. The phone is still learning my habits, but you should easily get 5 hours screen on time and get through an 8 hour work day with plenty of power to spare on the ride home. I wish charging speeds were faster as 18w and 7.5w wireless are pretty anemic by comparison to other phones in the industry. You are looking at just under 2 hour charge times wired and for wireless best to just do it overnight. Build In hand it feels very nice. The plastic back is definitely noticeable and all Pixel phones have always had the hollow tap on the back whether plastic or glass construction. The aluminum rails feel like a standard premium device should and overall it looks quite good. The matte finish is really nice and the Obsidian color is not a fingerprint magnet. Weight is fairly balanced even with the camera bar being aluminum now. One hand use definitely isn’t a problem with a small to average size hand. Value WOW!! Unless you can find a stupid good deal on the 8 or 8 Pro, the 8a is definitely a value device without the drawbacks typically found. Sure there are cheaper phones from other brands, but the corners cut to get it there are typically drastic and very noticeable. The only sort of cost savings that jumps out has to do with the Screen bezels and even then, its not horrible. It’s only more noticeable when side by side another device. Oddly enough, when I unboxed it reminded me of the Pixel 5 and the iPhone 6/7/8/SE design. It has a sleek and minimal design, curves are not aggressive and/or boxy. I don’t count that comparison as a bad thing as both of those designs are tried and true. And I think that’s the formula Google went with for the Pixel 8a. Looking at the Pixel A series as a whole, the 8a is the most accomplished and I feel jumps from the mid-range category to the budget flagship category and really fits in as the cheaper option only in cost in the 8 series lineup. To-date this makes the seventh Pixel phone in my household: 1, 3a, 5, 6a, 7, 8Pro. Ninth if we include the OG Nexus 5 and it's not so OG 5x follow-up; of which the 8 Pro (wifey’s) is the only one I have not used as my daily driver. Pictured are the 5, 8a, 7, 8Pro for size comparison. I can easily recommend the 8a if you're looking for a great phone at a great price and with the 7 years of security, OS, and Feature Drop updates you cannot go wrong. The lasting value will be excellent! This 8a will be replacing the Pixel 5 that sadly reached end-of-life Oct 2023; it still operates well and is on the latest Android 14, but the sun has set on that one and time to move on. The 8a is a great option for the upgrade by comparison and thankfully will live a long and healthy life!