Google’s Pixel 8a is an AI phone that beats its price – especially with this Black Friday deal

ZDNET Key Takeaways

• THE GooglePixel 8a is one of the few phones with AI features that costs less than $500, and you can find it for just $399 on Amazon and to Best buy during a post-Black Friday/early Cyber ​​Monday sale.
• I’m a fan of the comfortable design and the IP67 dust and water resistance rating.
• Unfortunately, the screen isn’t bright enough for outdoor use and has thick, uneven bezels. For many, this may not matter as much.

THE Pixel 8a is Google’s best smartphone in the sub-$500 segment. It’s very comfortable to hold, has a reliable camera system, and should last for years and years thanks to its frequent software updates.

Like its more expensive Pixel siblings, the Pixel 8a uses Tensor G3 for all of its AI, giving it faster and more efficient machine learning capabilities and ultimately giving the phone an edge over the competition. Are the AI ​​features enough to stand out when the competition offers better hardware and, often, better performance? I discovered.

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The Google Pixel 8a features a soft-touch back made from 76% recycled plastic, but don’t let the number fool you; The phone looks beautiful and is one of the few devices I would recommend using without a case. The camera module’s metal frame gives it that distinct Pixel look, and its size – which is much smaller than your traditional Pro Max, Plus, or Ultra phone – makes it very comfortable to hold.

The Pixel 8a could pass for a flagship phone when you look at it from the back. However, once you flip it, you’re taken back to the pre-2020 era of phones with thick, uneven bezels. I thought I would get used to the front design over time, but that’s not the case – not when others phones in this $500 price range beginning to look more refined than ever.

Additionally, the screen isn’t bright enough outdoors for a comfortable viewing experience – at least not for me. In direct sunlight, I found myself turning the brightness up to maximum every time.

That said, Google has improved the OLED display to offer a 120Hz refresh rate for a smoother experience than last year. Pixel 7a. It’s a great screen for watching videos indoors, with no notch or noticeable interference with viewing quality. I will mention that the OnePlus 12R is better for mobile entertainment, both media consumption and gaming. You also get a faster and more reliable in-display fingerprint scanner with the OnePlus.

Where the Google Pixel beats the competition

Having a flagship chipset in the Tensor G3 means you get the same, or most, AI features on the $399 Pixel 8a as the $999 Pixel 8 Pro (which is also significantly reduced). It’s not the most powerful processor on the market by any means, but Tensor is responsible for the clean, adaptive Pixel experience that many Androids prefer. There are no additional features that you need to know about or might feel obligated to use.

It helps that when Google brings new features to the Pixel experience, you can expect them to be pretty polished. For example, my favorite Galaxy S24 Ultra AI feature, Circle to searchis also available on the Pixel 8a. This is a feature that has become essential in my daily life, especially when traveling, as I often search for text and images on my phone screen.

Also: Android 15’s Gemini overlay feature can answer questions about everything that appears on your screen

I also use the native Recorder app for AI-based transcriptions, which is more reliable than third-party apps on Samsung and OnePlus phones. Then there are the AI ​​Camera features like Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur and Magic Editor which come in handy when I need to make a great photo even better.

The icing on the cake is that the Pixel 8a, currently $399, will get seven years of software support, which includes quarterly Pixel Feature Drop updates and security patches. By purchasing the device today, you will receive relevant updates until at least 2031.

How are the cameras on the Pixel 8a?

The Pixel 8a sports a 64 MP main camera and a 13 MP ultra-wide sensor on the back. Google phones I’ve had some exceptional cameras in the past, and the Pixel 8a is no different. It relies heavily on software processing rather than camera hardware to produce beautiful photos, and I’m not complaining. I like his photos better than the ones I took on the Nothing Phone 2a and the OnePlus 12R.

Photos taken with the Google Pixel 8a are sharp and vibrant. The Pixel 8a also handles high-contrast scenes better than other devices I’ve tested, and I’d choose it for low-light shots, which remains a strong point.

Also: The best Google Pixel phones you can buy: tested by experts

I noticed two issues with the camera system, however: the phone tends to sharpen some photos too much, and there’s a pink tint to my face in portrait mode, which isn’t suited to my skin tone. Despite this, the photos are still good enough to post on social media.

In the next iteration, or via a software update, I’d like to see Google touch up the camera app’s UI. For example, switching to Portrait mode changes to a 1.7x crop with a 2x zoom option. This isn’t ideal, and going from 1.7x to 2x doesn’t provide any real benefit for my use cases.

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Second, when I switch to the front camera, it defaults to 1x, which is too wide, gives a fish-eye effect, and looks weird if I’m the only person in the selfie. Instead, I’d like to see the phone automatically switch to a closer 1.4x when it only detects one person in the frame.

ZDNET’s purchasing advice

THE GooglePixel 8a is the best value Pixel phone you can buy, and if you can find it for $399, that’s an even better deal. The intelligent AI features and long software support make it a great and reliable investment, and you won’t find a better camera system for less than $500, but you should also consider the alternatives.

If you need a phone with a big, bright screen, great performance, great cameras, and faster charging, the OnePlus 12R ($500) is my preference. On the other hand, the Nothing Phone 2a ($379) offers more interesting hardware and software customization.

What are the best Black Friday 2024 deals?

ZDNET experts scoured live Black Friday sales to find the best discounts by category.

Here are the best Black Friday deals so far, by category:

And other Black Friday deals: