Google’s Pixel A series smartphones have always been the go-to mid-range devices for reliable smartphone photography and not so much about performance. They have also been the go-to devices for those who have wanted a vanilla Android software experience, as they have always offered the cleanest and most updated Android software experience (along with reliable update timelines) compared to all other brands at this price point. In short, Google’s Pixel A series was an attractive choice for the average consumer, even though these were not the best devices for gaming or battery life. However, Google had to upgrade it with the times; it wanted to cram in more features to compete with other brands, and so we had a very interesting and feature-packed 
Google Pixel 8a daylight camera samples. Top to bottom: Ultrawide, primary and 2X digital zoom crop (tap images to expand)
Photos captured from the primary camera showcase natural colours with good dynamic range, however, it was easy to spot some blown highlights in some photos, especially those with contrasted lighting. The photos, unlike the Pixel 8 Pro, showcase the typically cooler colour tones that Pixel cameras have had for a while. Thankfully, there is a white balance slider which will let you correct this while shooting. The noise is well controlled outdoors and when shooting indoors or in low or dim settings as well. Results from the digital 2X zoom focal length are good in daylight but showcase noticeably less detail in low light, so it’s best avoided in dim lighting.
Portraits captured using the rear camera show good detail and edge detection but show a lot of noise, especially when shooting subjects under artificial lighting or low light. Indeed, the 2X zoom is best avoided in Portrait mode, and most users will find the 1.7X default in Portrait mode enough to get rid of any unwanted distortion. Selfies pack plenty of detail but have slightly aggressive edge detection, which cannot detect edges evenly, leading to noticeable borders around the subject. Skin tones appear quite natural, but I noticed that the selfie camera cannot handle bright background lighting, resulting in blown-out backgrounds.
Google Pixel 8a’s daylight selfies do not have accurate edge detection and also showcases blown out backgrounds (tap image to expand)
Google Pixel 8a’s primary camera offers impressive low-light performance (tap image to expand)
The ultrawide camera captures impressive photos with excellent detail and good dynamic range and manages to bring in a lot more into the frame compared to the primary camera. It’s also nice to see how Google has perfectly matched the colour tones of both rear cameras, which is still a rarity at this price point.
Video quality is a bit of a hit or a miss depending on how much the phone heats up as it automatically scales down the quality. Still, I managed to get plenty of samples, and the 4K 30fps video seems to hit the sweet spot for this phone, managing good quality and contrast. But the camera, for some reason, does not maintain focus while panning, making things appear a bit soft when doing so. Low light video recordings aren’t all that great for a smartphone at this price point, with footage showcasing some noise and textures appearing a bit soft overall.
Google Pixel 8a Review: Verdict
Google’s Pixel 8a sure appears to be a solid contender at the bottom end of the premium segment. But the phone also has quite a few things going against it. The Tensor G3 processor handles daily tasks just fine but gets a bit too hot when stressed. Battery life isn’t the best in class, while wired charging is extremely slow compared to competing devices at this price point. There’s also the obvious fact that it has a smaller display compared to most smartphones at this price point. And this makes it very hard to recommend unless a compact form factor, along with timely updates are all you desire from your next premium smartphone.
The Pixel 8a’s starting price of Rs. 52,999 (8GB + 128GB) is making things worse. Numerous devices from competing brands are available in India at lower price points.
If a compact form factor is what you seek, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 (Review while a year old, is a far better option and even offers Qualcomm silicon (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC), which has gone missing from this year’s models. AI features from the latest S24 series have also made it to the S23, so you will not be missing out on much in terms of features either. The S23 also offers a more flexible camera setup with a proper 3X telephoto camera. It also has a vapour chamber cooling system to manage heat and won’t slow down or get hot when stressed.
The iQoo 12 (Review), which retails at the exact same price, offers a bigger display, far superior performance, good cameras, and fast wired charging. And if you are willing to spend a bit more, the OnePlus 12 (Review) is not too far away at Rs. 64,999 (12GB + 256GB) and is an all-rounder of sorts in this price range.
