Google Pixel 9a vs Pixel 8a preliminary comparison: Google might be turning things up to eleven!

Intro

Design and Size

Changes are looming on the horizon

The Pixel 9a will be scoring a redesign and will become more similar to its pricier peers, the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro. It appears that all curves will be gone, substituted for a completely flat design on all sides, right angles and all. That’s the trend these days, and it was high time the affordable Pixel adopted it. The phone will surely use an aluminum frame and a textured plastic back, which is fine. 

Not only that, but the Pixel 9a will also score a larger 6.3-inch Actua display, similar in size to the aforementioned more premium devices. This means the upcoming device will likely get larger to accommodate that screen, so it won’t be as compact as its predecessor. 

The Pixel 9a will measure 154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9mm, so just slightly taller and wider than the Pixel 8a, which measures 152.1 x 72.2 x 8.9mm. Interestingly, the newer phone will weigh 186gr, while the older Pixel tips the scales at 188gr, which is curious. 

The Pixel 8a, on the other hand, still sports some slight curves here and there to remind us of the glorious past. It will possibly remain more compact in light of the Pixel 9a‘s potential growth, which might be bad news for all those who have enjoyed the slightly smaller form factor of the affordable Pixel.

Other than that, we don’t expect any major changes with the Pixel 9a. We will likely get the same rear camera island as the Pixel 9/Pixel 9 Pro, while the Pixel 8a will still boast the older style camera strip.

Just like its predecessor, the Pixel 9a will likely be an IP67-rated phone. Additionally, we don’t expect the biometrics to change, so expect a fingerprint scanner embedded straight into the power button on the side. 

Display Differences

As we mentioned, the Pixel 9a will be scoring a screen size bump to 6.3 inches, which will bring it up to speed with the big boys in the Pixel 9 lineup. 

Aside from that, we are certain that the screen will remain an OLED one, with FHD+ resolution, and with adaptive 60/120Hz refresh rate (just like the Pixel 9). We’ll likely get the same high peak brightness as the Pixel 9, likely in the ~2,000 nit range. 

The Pixel 8a boasts pretty similar specs––OLED, 60/120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Save for the smaller size and potentially lower peak brightness, the Pixel 9a and Pixel 8a probably won’t differ that much.

Performance and Software

The usual suspects

The Tensor G4 is built on a 4nm manufacturing process, which means it’s absolutely decent and up to par with most other flagships these days. 

Sure, we will be getting an onslaught of 3nm flagships running the Snapdragon 8 Elite in the coming months, but for all intents and purposes, the Tensor G4 is a decent chip.

It’s optimized for on-device artificial intelligence and machine-learning, so it doesn’t really shine in synthetic benchmarks, but is absolutely decent in most real-life tasks. 

Memory-wise, the Pixel 9a will boast 8GB RAM and come with 128GB or 256GB of storage. That’s the same memory configuration as the Pixel 8a. 

Camera

New main camera

The Pixel 9a is rumored to come with a new 48MP camera, which might sound like a downgrade from the 64MP one on the Pixel 8a, but this isn’t the early 2000’s, so more megapixels don’t “automagically” mean a better camera. 

There’s a strong possibility that the Pixel 9a will adopt the Pixel 9 Pro Fold‘s main camera, which is also a 48MP one. If that happens to be the case, the camera will sport an F1.7 aperture, boast a 1/2.0″ large sensor with 0.8µm pixels, and dual-pixel autofocus and OIS. A pretty decent camera hardware, which would likely rank the Pixel 9a just in the midst of its peers. 

Meanwhile, the Pixel 8a came with a very adept 64MP camera as well, and the same 13MP ultrawide camera we mentioned earlier. With a pretty decent image quality, this one proved that affordable phones can be decent camera performers either. 

Just like previous Pixel phones, we expect the Pixel 9a to be a very decent performer. 

Battery Life and Charging

A much-needed upgrade!

Yes, it appears that we might actually get a larger 5,000mAh battery inside the Pixel 9a. This will be a great upgrade over the 4,492mAh battery inside the Pixel 8a and also a big upgrade from the 4,700mAh battery on the Pixel 9. In fact, the Pixel 9a battery will be just a shy smaller than the 5,060mAh battery of the Pixel 9 Pro XL.

Strong potential for a new battery life king on the Pixel scene! Certainly, the faster and therefore more efficient Tensor G4 will play a large part in this potential run for the top. 

At the same time, the Pixel 8a came with a smaller battery and a slightly less efficient chipset. It delivered a mostly average battery life, so the bar for the Pixel 9a could be very low to leap over. The Pixel 8a scored almost 14 hours in our browsing test, 8 hours and a half in our video test, and a little over seven hours in our gaming test. 

Charging-wise, no changes are expected: 18W wired and 7.5W wireless charging will complete the Pixel 9a‘s specs sheet. Slow by today’s standards, but could be stomachable if the battery life is good.  

Specs Comparison

Summary

The Pixel 8a is still a great phone and will remain so even after the arrival of the Pixel 9a. No matter how things play out, you probably shouldn’t consider upgrading. 

However, those potentially eyeing the Pixel 9a as an entry-level point into the Pixel ecosystem might be in for a real value-for-money treat.