Design and Display
Compared to its predecessor, the Pixel 8a has more rounded corners. Google has gone for Gorilla Glass 3 for the cover glass on the front, metal frames on the sides, and plastic back with the matte finish.
One of the biggest changes in the Google Pixel 8a is the new 120Hz refresh rate. It is Google’s first A series phone to refresh at 120 times per second. It is an adaptive refresh rate, meaning the display will switch depending on the app.
That said, it is no LTPO panel and only toggles between two possible values: 60Hz and 120Hz.
Moving on, the Pixel 8a boasts a peak brightness of 2000 nits. It is a regional value supported by just 5% of the pixel. The screen can hit 1400 nits of brightness with 100% on-pixel ratio while playing HDR content.
The screen measures 6.1-inch in diagonal length and boasts 1080 x 2400 pixels, amounting to 430 PPI pixel density. It uses 8 bits for each primary color, supporting over 16 million colors.
Google Tensor G3
Under the hood, Google Pixel 8a is powered by the Google Tensor G3. Like the previous iterations of the Tensor chip, the G3 is designed by Google but manufactured using Samsung’s process nodes.
The Tensor G3 comes with 9 cores, which is more than the industry standard of 8. Add to this, the modest clock frequency of the Cortex-X1 Prime core, and it is clear Google has prioritized multi-core performance over single-core performance.
The lower boost frequency also increases the chip’s power efficiency, which has always been a priority for Google.
The main highlight of the Tensor G3 is the built-in Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), a custom IC designed to run on-device AI models.
Tensor G3 runs the same text-to-speech models as Google’s data centers. It also has dedicated machine learning algorithms to enhance the Live-HDR. There is the Best Take feature that takes multiple shots, combines them, and provides the best output.
Tensor also powers Pixel 8a’s Magic Eraser and Audio Magic Eraser functionalities.
Camera
The camera has remained pretty much unchanged from the Pixel 8a. It has a 64MP Quad PD primary camera with a 0.8 μm pixel size. It is paired with an f/1.89 aperture lens with 80° field of view.
This is paired with a 13MP ultrawide camera with a wider 120° field of view and f/2.2 aperture.
On the front, there is a 13MP selfie camera with fixed focus.
Battery
Pixel 8a draws power from a 4492mAh battery that Google says can last over a day’s use. With Extreme Battery Saver enabled, the battery life can be extended up to 72 hours. It supports 18W PD fast charging and Qi wireless charging. There is no reverse wireless charging, though.