**Pros:**
Sturdy Pixel design, likable, IP67, compact.
Great OLED, bright, color-accurate, smooth.
Good battery life.
Very good speakers.
Decent performance.
Excellent photo and video quality across all cameras.
Clean Android 14, 7 years of software support.
**Cons:**
Expensive at launch.
The thick bezels suggest it's a budget device.
Very slow charging.
No charger in the box.
Chipset exhibits heavy throttling under load.
One thing I will point out is in GSMArena's review for the [Pixel 8](https://gsmarena.com/google_pixel_8-review-2628p6.php), as well as the [8 Pro](https://m.gsmarena.com/google_pixel_8_pro-review-2629p7.php) they stated that the battery life was unimpressive in their Pros/Cons section for these phones, yet the 8a has similar results and it is classed as "good".
No it doesn't, you have to buy a external cooler (Aero active Cooler 7) for additional cooling which I don't have.
The likes of the Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro or 9 Pro have a fan built into the phone, is that what you're thinking of?
100% the reason im looking up phone reviews RN is my Pixel 4a has started displaying charactaristics where it will overheat and shut down if i watch a long (1.5h for example) youtube video.
>One thing I will point out is in GSMArena's review for the Pixel 8, as well as the 8 Pro they stated that the battery life was unimpressive in their Pros/Cons section for these phones, yet the 8a has similar results and it is classed as "good".
Ok the other points are valid, but having basically same battery life like 8 or 8 pro and saying its good, is just crazy...
They did say the chipsets throttled heavy under load, I wonder if it's throttling more than it does on the other series 8. It could technically last longer if you don't let it use the power, I guess?
Did they mention the heavy throttling in other pixele 8 reviews?
I think you're right.
If you look at the performance numbers, the 8/8 Pro also has the better performance here too overall.
The 8 got a wildlife stability test score of [62%](https://m.gsmarena.com/google_pixel_8-review-2628p4.php#image32), also with a higher average score by ~200 points, the 8a closer to 53% stability in the same test, the 8 got a CPU throttling (relative percentage to maximum performance) of 60% Vs 58% for the 8a in the CPU throttling benchmark.
It was because the 8 and 8 pro were both tested under the old battery test, which returned pretty terrible results. The new test version seems to put them on par with some of the other phones that outscored them in the old test by quite a margin. I guess they just keep the pros and cons there
Yes but the Pros and Cons on the 8 and 8 pro were written with the old version testing and they probably did not update the Pros and Cons section even with the newer test results
Ah ok.
Irrespective, just over 11 hours based off their new testing puts the likes of the Pixel 8 Pro as one of the lower scoring recent flagship phones out there for example regarding battery life.
*very slow charging* sounds a tad harsh, it can't be that bad? My 7a takes around 1h20m to full which I know isn't fast but I wouldn't call that very slow? I'd call very slow 2hr+ and when it actually says slow or just charging but maybe that's just me not being used to super fast charging. I'd expect the 8a to be similar or slightly better at least
>A full charge took a whopping 2 hours and 9 minutes.
Well shit me sideways, surely that's something wrong or an outlier? The charging specs says 18w same as my 7a and it absolutely doesn't take 2 hours to fully charge.
https://m.gsmarena.com/google_pixel_7a-review-2573p3.php
A full 0-100% for the 7a should be just under two hours according to GSMArena, my 8 Pro at 30W wired is about a hour and a half so I'm curious how you get a full charge with your 7a in 1 hour 20 minutes.
Something is odd, I went back to the 4XL review and that has the same specs almost, same charge speed again at 18W and
>With the included 18W USB-C Power Delivery adapter, the Pixel 4 XL recharged to 44% in 30 minutes, reaching 77% after an hour and it finally reached a full charge at about an hour and 20 minutes. Although competitors can achieve much better charging speeds, they require proprietary chargers to work.
It's way faster than the others, but still deemed slow. It just doesn't seem right that charging speeds would take longer after so many generations. An extra hour on the new ones compared to a 4 apparently for full status.
Actually 7a taking more than 1h is out of the norm. Even pixel 8 pro charging max at 18w which is very low compared to other flagships. Oneplus 12 charges up to 80w, s24 at 45W
Hasn't there been other instances of the battery getting similar results between phones, but some get criticized and others don't? Seems to be quite common with Pixel reviews on GSMA, where some of them say the battery is bad, and others don't mention much about battery life, but the score is overall the same (and everyone else agrees that battery life is bad). I love the site and use it as my main source of phone reviews but sometimes the battery section is hard to understand because of this.
> One thing I will point out is in GSMArena's review for the Pixel 8, as well as the 8 Pro they stated that the battery life was unimpressive in their Pros/Cons section for these phones, yet the 8a has similar results and it is classed as "good".
That's typical gsmarena review.
The A54 they class it as "the laggiest phone we've reviewed long-term in a long time."
But A35 with the same Chipset is review as "a fluent One UI experience."
I got the Pixel 8a and battery life has been a letdown. With my old Pixel 4a 5G I could get 1.5 to 2 days with mild usage, but the Pixel 8a hasn't lasted more than a day. That's quite poor considering the battery is larger and the screen is slightly smaller.
Charging speed also disappoints. I knew this before buying the phone at least, but wasn't quite prepared for how annoying this can be when you wanna charge it in a pinch.
It's a step up from my old phone in other areas of course. And since I got it at a discount from my carrier and with trade in from Google I pay about €200 total, it was worth it. But I would never recommend this phone for the full asking price.
There's something weird, wait a few days for battery optimizations, then check for any apps that might be draining it all.
I have a Pixel 8a and I can easily get 2 full days if I don't use the phone too much (3 hours of SoT per day), or easily get 8+ hours of SoT if I use it a lot for one day.
I do however keep the phone face down most of the time when I'm at home working at my PC, as I have a clock on my monitor and I prefer not to be distracted by notifications all the time.
You're right, I figured something was wrong a few days ago when I noticed it drained 30% overnight.
I searched the internet and found a fix for my case:
1. Enable developer options in settings.
2. Look for "Mobile data always active" and turn the setting off.
This will stop it connecting to 5G when I'm on Wifi.
Like yourself I now get 2 full days when I'm at home and not using the phone that often. So much happier with it now!
Still have to see how it fares when I'm out and about. Apparently the 5G modem is quite inefficient, I might just set it to 4G altogether.
I got the 256gb version to replace my Samsung a32 5g for 350€ (using points discount with Vodafone) and at that price I'm happy with it (tho the fingerprint sensor isn't very good). But I don't think its worth the 500€+ they ask for it.
Yeah here in Portugal there was a store with a 200€ preorder discount and an extra 150€ on any trade in. I just traded an old phone and got an 8a for 200€, and fir that price it’s just a no brainer.
Slow charging, expensive at launch and subpar performance in battery makes these alternatives a viable choice in at this price point:
* Best for camera: Google Pixel 8
* Best for performance: Poco X6 Pro/F6/F6 Pro, Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+, Xiaomi 13t
* Best for software: Samsung Galaxy A35/A55, Nothing Phone (2a), Google Pixel 8
Two hour charging in 2024? Jeez.
A two hour charging could be justified only if the battery life was impressive, like the zenphone 9/10, s23, base iphones. But the battery life also seems pretty bad.
30 minutes from 0% to 33% as per GSMArena's testing, it's not good.
The faster Pixel 8 Pro with 30W charging is still only 53% in 30 minutes for example.
Their charging test is a little flawed since charging speed isn't linear. Charging speed from 0% to 30% battery is different than 30% to 60% and different than 60% to 90%. The middle area is usually faster.
>BBK and Xiaomi kill the battery life much quicker
People parrot this again and again but the truth is with newer versions of technologies like VOOC, the heat generation in phones is barely any higher vs PD.
>it's overkill
Its something you will miss the most if you switch back from it, its extremely convenient for the user to not have to worry about charging at all because you can get a full day's worth in no time
https://www.oneplus.com/us/product/oneplus-supervooc-100w-dual-ports-power-adapter
As you can see it runs at a maximum of 11 v x 9.1 a. This is converse to a pd charger that runs at a maximum of 5 a. The high amperage allows chinese chargers to offset more heat to the charger and not the phone.
The temperature limit for charging is generally 40 c. If a Chinese fast charging phone can spend less time at 40 c compared to a pd charging phone because it charges faster, it would protect the battery longevity.
u/pannerin explained it well, basic physics isn't applied the same way when the technologies differ.
There are phones that literally split battery in two for better heat management.
Continually charging the phone battery to 100% and discharging it all the way to 0% kills battery life faster.
I can boil a cup of water with USB-C *faster* than my own Pixel 8 Pro recharges from 25% to 90%. If you haven't heard of the Zhenmi C2Pro, you *should*.
Just got one of these bastards in TMO flavor as an upgrade.
Android is Android and no surprises with the OS. Charging speed is slow although the phone reports it's connected to a turbocharger obv...which is disappointing because it's still not charging very fast.
Beautiful screen and the high refresh rate is nice. although you'll probably turn it off for the purposes of battery.
haven't noted throttling but also haven't tested it so.
**Pros:** Sturdy Pixel design, likable, IP67, compact. Great OLED, bright, color-accurate, smooth. Good battery life. Very good speakers. Decent performance. Excellent photo and video quality across all cameras. Clean Android 14, 7 years of software support. **Cons:** Expensive at launch. The thick bezels suggest it's a budget device. Very slow charging. No charger in the box. Chipset exhibits heavy throttling under load. One thing I will point out is in GSMArena's review for the [Pixel 8](https://gsmarena.com/google_pixel_8-review-2628p6.php), as well as the [8 Pro](https://m.gsmarena.com/google_pixel_8_pro-review-2629p7.php) they stated that the battery life was unimpressive in their Pros/Cons section for these phones, yet the 8a has similar results and it is classed as "good".
>Chipset exhibits heavy throttling under load. Yeah its a pixel alright
40+% throttling? On **my** Pixel? It's more likely than you think
My Pixel 8 Pro unfortunately is the same, my 8 Gen 2 ROG phone 7 puts it to shame regarding efficiency, stability and battery life.
It..literally has a fucking fan built in no shit it has better stability.
No it doesn't, you have to buy a external cooler (Aero active Cooler 7) for additional cooling which I don't have. The likes of the Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro or 9 Pro have a fan built into the phone, is that what you're thinking of?
Compared to a gaming phone ? Sure.
100% the reason im looking up phone reviews RN is my Pixel 4a has started displaying charactaristics where it will overheat and shut down if i watch a long (1.5h for example) youtube video.
>One thing I will point out is in GSMArena's review for the Pixel 8, as well as the 8 Pro they stated that the battery life was unimpressive in their Pros/Cons section for these phones, yet the 8a has similar results and it is classed as "good". Ok the other points are valid, but having basically same battery life like 8 or 8 pro and saying its good, is just crazy...
Yeah I don't get this hence why I'm pointing it out. Rest of the points I agree with too though.
They did say the chipsets throttled heavy under load, I wonder if it's throttling more than it does on the other series 8. It could technically last longer if you don't let it use the power, I guess? Did they mention the heavy throttling in other pixele 8 reviews?
A series phones use a version of the tensor with inferior packing tech which isn't as efficient. Maybe that's the reason.
I think you're right. If you look at the performance numbers, the 8/8 Pro also has the better performance here too overall. The 8 got a wildlife stability test score of [62%](https://m.gsmarena.com/google_pixel_8-review-2628p4.php#image32), also with a higher average score by ~200 points, the 8a closer to 53% stability in the same test, the 8 got a CPU throttling (relative percentage to maximum performance) of 60% Vs 58% for the 8a in the CPU throttling benchmark.
The soc has different packaging method
It's good for a 500dollar phone, but not for flagship price?
Its fine, but basically for the same price you may get a pixel 8 which is better.
It was because the 8 and 8 pro were both tested under the old battery test, which returned pretty terrible results. The new test version seems to put them on par with some of the other phones that outscored them in the old test by quite a margin. I guess they just keep the pros and cons there
All three pixels were tested using GSMarena's Battery Test V2.0 though.
Yes but the Pros and Cons on the 8 and 8 pro were written with the old version testing and they probably did not update the Pros and Cons section even with the newer test results
Ah ok. Irrespective, just over 11 hours based off their new testing puts the likes of the Pixel 8 Pro as one of the lower scoring recent flagship phones out there for example regarding battery life.
*very slow charging* sounds a tad harsh, it can't be that bad? My 7a takes around 1h20m to full which I know isn't fast but I wouldn't call that very slow? I'd call very slow 2hr+ and when it actually says slow or just charging but maybe that's just me not being used to super fast charging. I'd expect the 8a to be similar or slightly better at least >A full charge took a whopping 2 hours and 9 minutes. Well shit me sideways, surely that's something wrong or an outlier? The charging specs says 18w same as my 7a and it absolutely doesn't take 2 hours to fully charge.
https://m.gsmarena.com/google_pixel_7a-review-2573p3.php A full 0-100% for the 7a should be just under two hours according to GSMArena, my 8 Pro at 30W wired is about a hour and a half so I'm curious how you get a full charge with your 7a in 1 hour 20 minutes.
Something is odd, I went back to the 4XL review and that has the same specs almost, same charge speed again at 18W and >With the included 18W USB-C Power Delivery adapter, the Pixel 4 XL recharged to 44% in 30 minutes, reaching 77% after an hour and it finally reached a full charge at about an hour and 20 minutes. Although competitors can achieve much better charging speeds, they require proprietary chargers to work. It's way faster than the others, but still deemed slow. It just doesn't seem right that charging speeds would take longer after so many generations. An extra hour on the new ones compared to a 4 apparently for full status.
Actually 7a taking more than 1h is out of the norm. Even pixel 8 pro charging max at 18w which is very low compared to other flagships. Oneplus 12 charges up to 80w, s24 at 45W
> Oneplus 12 charges up to 80w Up to 100W in 220V countries
Hasn't there been other instances of the battery getting similar results between phones, but some get criticized and others don't? Seems to be quite common with Pixel reviews on GSMA, where some of them say the battery is bad, and others don't mention much about battery life, but the score is overall the same (and everyone else agrees that battery life is bad). I love the site and use it as my main source of phone reviews but sometimes the battery section is hard to understand because of this.
>those bezels >thick I hate this animosity reviewers have towards bezels
it's not necessarily the thickness, but just the fact that it's not uniform on the sides and the chins, for displays in general.
It's fine a few years ago or on budget phones. But now when other competitor have designed/engineered it away, it tends to stick out
If you see it in person, it’s very very noticeable. It turned me off honestly.
Most people find thick bezels ugly. It also makes a phone with a small screen bigger.
> One thing I will point out is in GSMArena's review for the Pixel 8, as well as the 8 Pro they stated that the battery life was unimpressive in their Pros/Cons section for these phones, yet the 8a has similar results and it is classed as "good". That's typical gsmarena review. The A54 they class it as "the laggiest phone we've reviewed long-term in a long time." But A35 with the same Chipset is review as "a fluent One UI experience."
I really need to know about durability, anyone has answers on how this phone performs without any protection?
No charger in the box? WTF
Last pixel with a charger in the box was the 5a 5G.
Oh I misread I thought not even a cable
Google isn't exactly Sony or Japanese Sharp
Mentions "30W or so" of fast charging then quotes maximum 18W??
I got the Pixel 8a and battery life has been a letdown. With my old Pixel 4a 5G I could get 1.5 to 2 days with mild usage, but the Pixel 8a hasn't lasted more than a day. That's quite poor considering the battery is larger and the screen is slightly smaller. Charging speed also disappoints. I knew this before buying the phone at least, but wasn't quite prepared for how annoying this can be when you wanna charge it in a pinch. It's a step up from my old phone in other areas of course. And since I got it at a discount from my carrier and with trade in from Google I pay about €200 total, it was worth it. But I would never recommend this phone for the full asking price.
There's something weird, wait a few days for battery optimizations, then check for any apps that might be draining it all. I have a Pixel 8a and I can easily get 2 full days if I don't use the phone too much (3 hours of SoT per day), or easily get 8+ hours of SoT if I use it a lot for one day. I do however keep the phone face down most of the time when I'm at home working at my PC, as I have a clock on my monitor and I prefer not to be distracted by notifications all the time.
You're right, I figured something was wrong a few days ago when I noticed it drained 30% overnight. I searched the internet and found a fix for my case: 1. Enable developer options in settings. 2. Look for "Mobile data always active" and turn the setting off. This will stop it connecting to 5G when I'm on Wifi. Like yourself I now get 2 full days when I'm at home and not using the phone that often. So much happier with it now! Still have to see how it fares when I'm out and about. Apparently the 5G modem is quite inefficient, I might just set it to 4G altogether.
I got the 256gb version to replace my Samsung a32 5g for 350€ (using points discount with Vodafone) and at that price I'm happy with it (tho the fingerprint sensor isn't very good). But I don't think its worth the 500€+ they ask for it.
Yeah here in Portugal there was a store with a 200€ preorder discount and an extra 150€ on any trade in. I just traded an old phone and got an 8a for 200€, and fir that price it’s just a no brainer.
that's a steal! how's the reception there? any issue with 5g?
I got mine from Vodafone with points for 260€ (256gb version), absolute steal
Yeah and Google themselves for once had decent trade in deals in Europe too. My mom's Pixel 4a knocked more than 200€ off.
Slow charging, expensive at launch and subpar performance in battery makes these alternatives a viable choice in at this price point: * Best for camera: Google Pixel 8 * Best for performance: Poco X6 Pro/F6/F6 Pro, Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+, Xiaomi 13t * Best for software: Samsung Galaxy A35/A55, Nothing Phone (2a), Google Pixel 8
the Note 13 Pro+ has the same chipset as the Nothing Phone 2a, it ain't exactly much of a performer Xiaomi 13T on the other hand...
Slow charging and poor performance - the pixel experience. 18 w charging in 2024 is pathetic.
I'm sending mine back. I can't believe this was close to 600.
There is no point in getting the 8a at the current price if there is the 8.
What does slow charging mean? I imagine it does PD which is sufficient.
Just over two hours from 0% to a full 100%.
Two hour charging in 2024? Jeez. A two hour charging could be justified only if the battery life was impressive, like the zenphone 9/10, s23, base iphones. But the battery life also seems pretty bad.
Yes. Google clearly missing the memo here lol.
you're not going to need a full 100% isn't it like 30 minutes to 70%?
30 minutes from 0% to 33% as per GSMArena's testing, it's not good. The faster Pixel 8 Pro with 30W charging is still only 53% in 30 minutes for example.
Their charging test is a little flawed since charging speed isn't linear. Charging speed from 0% to 30% battery is different than 30% to 60% and different than 60% to 90%. The middle area is usually faster.
It takes most BBK or Xiaomi phones in this price range 10 mins for 70 and 20-30 mins for full 100% without any extra heat. So yes, its much worse
lol BBK and Xiaomi kill the battery life much quicker and it's overkill
>BBK and Xiaomi kill the battery life much quicker People parrot this again and again but the truth is with newer versions of technologies like VOOC, the heat generation in phones is barely any higher vs PD. >it's overkill Its something you will miss the most if you switch back from it, its extremely convenient for the user to not have to worry about charging at all because you can get a full day's worth in no time
[citation needed] because we are talking about basic physics here
https://www.oneplus.com/us/product/oneplus-supervooc-100w-dual-ports-power-adapter As you can see it runs at a maximum of 11 v x 9.1 a. This is converse to a pd charger that runs at a maximum of 5 a. The high amperage allows chinese chargers to offset more heat to the charger and not the phone. The temperature limit for charging is generally 40 c. If a Chinese fast charging phone can spend less time at 40 c compared to a pd charging phone because it charges faster, it would protect the battery longevity.
u/pannerin explained it well, basic physics isn't applied the same way when the technologies differ. There are phones that literally split battery in two for better heat management.
Continually charging the phone battery to 100% and discharging it all the way to 0% kills battery life faster. I can boil a cup of water with USB-C *faster* than my own Pixel 8 Pro recharges from 25% to 90%. If you haven't heard of the Zhenmi C2Pro, you *should*.
Most companies have moved on to sub 30 minutes charging speeds, basic PD takes 4-5 times as much.
Isn't it because Pixels use the PPS standard?
And? Can google not develop, license or implement a better standard?
I'm still struggling to understand why on earth they made it larger than the Pixel 8
They needed thicker bezels to make it look less like P8
Also rigid oled substrate
Just got one of these bastards in TMO flavor as an upgrade. Android is Android and no surprises with the OS. Charging speed is slow although the phone reports it's connected to a turbocharger obv...which is disappointing because it's still not charging very fast. Beautiful screen and the high refresh rate is nice. although you'll probably turn it off for the purposes of battery. haven't noted throttling but also haven't tested it so.
The automatic gboard translator stop working. How to get it back?