Google’s New $500 Pixel 8A Smartphone Will Get 7 Years of Software Updates

Google’s Pixel A-series Android smartphones have long proven that there's no need to spend anywhere close to $1,000 for a great, feature-packed smartphone. While the price of these handsets has slightly increased since the first Pixel 3A in 2019, the new Google Pixel 8A seems to have everything you'd want in a smartphone at a palatable price of $499.

The company announced its latest Pixel phone virtually—one week before its Google I/O developer conference, where expectations are high for the latest Android and artificial intelligence improvements, and potential updates on the mixed-reality headset it's developing in partnership with Qualcomm and Samsung. Google says it's giving its new handset “time to shine” ahead of the event. The Pixel 8A is available for preorder today and goes on sale May 14.

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The Pixel 8A retains the 6.1-inch screen size of its predecessor, but the OLED panel is now fitted with what Google calls its “Actua" display. That's marketing mumbo jumbo just like Apple's Retina display, but this new OLED purportedly offers a 40 percent higher peak brightness than the Pixel 7A—up to 2,000 nits (1,400 nits with HDR). It also supports a 120-Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling.

One area where Google cut corners is the cover glass, which is Corning's dated Gorilla Glass 3 from 2013. (You'll probably want to apply a screen protector to be safe.) The back is a matte plastic composite, with a matte aluminum frame. Google says the housing and camera bar are made from 100 percent recycled aluminum, and the rear plastic is 76 percent recycled plastic. It's still IP67 dust- and water-resistant, so it can survive a dip in the pool or a walk in the rain.

The Pixel 8A keeps the same 6.1-inch OLED screen size as the Pixel 7A, but this “Actua” display now has a peak brightness of 2,000 nits.

The Pixel 8A is powered by Google's Tensor G3 chipset with 8 GB of RAM, just like the Pixel 8 series. That means it'll be capable of much of the same software wizardry Google showed off last year with the debut of its flagship, including Audio Magic Eraser, which lets you erase unwanted sounds in video clips (like sirens); Magic Editor, where you can move subjects around and have the software generate a background to fill in the space; and Best Take, which can replace a person's face in a photo by clipping it from a similar photo, which is useful in case someone blinked and ruined an otherwise perfect shot.

This phone will also be able to tap into Google's Gemini Nano large language model. To enable Gemini Nano, you'll have to go into the Pixel's developer settings and check a box that says you agree to run experimental features that may or may not work perfectly yet. When enabled, Gemini Nano lets you access specific on-device AI features, like summarize in Google's Recorder app and Smart Reply in Gboard. Gemini Nano will be available in a future software update, but Google confirmed that while the default assistant in this handset remains Google Assistant, you can replace it with its Gemini assistant easily out of the box, just like you can on most other Android phones today.

Speaking of, just like the Pixel 8 series, Google is promising seven years of software updates on this phone. That makes the Pixel 8A one of the only sub-$500 devices to get such a long software support window. Google's also offering the same built-in VPN function too. The device comes with 128 GB of storage, and there's now a 256-GB option, though that's restricted to the Obsidian color. The Pixel 8A's other colors include Bay, Porcelain, and a lovely new Aloe.

The battery capacity has slightly increased to 4,492 mAh, which Google claims will offer a 15 percent improvement in battery life over the 7A. You'll be able to wirelessly recharge it via the Qi standard (no Qi2 support here), or use the included USB-C cable at up to 18 watts.

The cameras are practically the same as the Pixel 7A series, with a 64-megapixel sensor leading the charge and a 13-megapixel ultrawide accompanying it. On the front is a 13-megapixel sensor. These cameras are not going to be as nice as the Pixel 8 cameras, but if the past is anything to go by, the differences might not be too noticeable. The only noteworthy change is that Real Tone, the image processing algorithm that more accurately depicts different skin tones, now works in videos.

If you're eyeing the Pixel 8A for a kid, there's some good news. For the first time, you'll be able to set the phone up out of the box for a child without having to log in to your own Google account first—and you can do this while retaining complete access to the parental controls.

Google says it will continue selling the Pixel 7A, though it did not indicate whether there'd be a price drop. (Last year, it cut the price of the Pixel 6A following the debut of the 7A.) There is some other news in the Pixel family though: You can now buy the $499 Pixel Tablet as a stand-alone slate without the speaker dock at a lower $399 price. If you don't care for keeping this Android tablet docked and charging—doubling as a smart display—then you can save $100.

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