Google Pixel 8a hands-on review

Camera

The Pixel 8a has the same basic camera setup as the Pixel 7a, with a dual camera setup on the back consisting of a 64MP quad-pixel f/1.89 main camera and a 13MP f2.2 ultra-wide camera. On the front is the same 13MP f2.2 camera. There is no telephoto camera and all zooming past 1x is done digitally using Google's Super Res Zoom up to 8x.

The camera app on the Pixel 8a is similar to that on the Pixel 8. You now have a greater range of options available compared to older Pixel devices at launch, including being able to brightness, shadows, and white balance. You can also shoot in RAW and there is an option to enable saving colors in the Display P3 color space.

Unfortunately, like with the Pixel 8, you don't get additional options such as manual focus, ISO adjustment, shutter speed, being able to force a lens without automatic switching, and capture in native high resolution of the sensor as these options are only offered on the Pixel 8 Pro. As with the Pixel 8, this feels like needless gatekeeping as these are just software settings but we suppose Google has to find some way to justify the Pro moniker on the most expensive model.

Image quality on the Pixel 8a is very good. You get excellent exposure with good dynamic range, great resolution and detail, largely accurate colors with decent white balance, and the clean Pixel look.

Main camera samples

There are occasions where the colors are a bit different than in the original scene, such as the Coke can looking a bit magenta instead of the usual deep scarlet, and the white balance in the late afternoon can be a bit too cool to capture the warmth in the sunlight. Some shots also exhibited purple fringing around high-contrast edges. Also, there is some noise in the shadows on this 64MP sensor. But aside from these minor issues, the overall quality is impressive.

The Pixel 8a has no telephoto camera but you wouldn't know that looking at the 2x images, which look quite good. Even the 3x images are perfectly usable most of the time. Anything beyond only looks good on the phone's screen without zooming in but is far from unusable.

1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 8x

2x digital samples

The ultra-wide camera manages to hang with the main camera thanks to the capable processing. The colors and dynamic range are nearly identical between the two but look closely and the ultra-wide doesn't have the same level of detail. Moreover, the shadow areas also show signs of greater noise reduction being applied and look smudged. Still, without pixel-peeping, the quality here is quite good.

Ultra-wide samples

The 4K video from the main camera has good colors, dynamic range, and stabilization. However, the image is quite soft and not worthy of the 4K resolution. There was also more of the purple fringing noticeable here that was present in some of the still images.

Video aside, the camera performance on the Pixel 8a is still very good for its class and continues to be one of the main reasons to consider a Pixel phone. At the same time, the Pixel 8a doesn't push the needle over its predecessor in this department and doesn't feel like a worthwhile upgrade.