In a bit of a surprise, Google has decided to go ahead and launch its new Pixel 8a Android smartphone one week ahead of its 2024 Google I/O developer conference on May 14. This is the latest "a" version of the Pixel series that"s been made to be more affordable that the standard Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
As previously revealed via a leak to its product page, the Pixel 8a has a 6.1-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1,080 x 2,400 and a 120H refresh rate. The display is covered with Gorilla Glass 3 for protection. Inside it has Google"s in-house Tensor G3 chipset along with 8GB of LPDDR5x RAM.
The phone has a 64MP main rear camera along with a 13 MP ultrawide camera and a 13MP front-facing camera. It includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5,3 wireless hardware. The 4492 mAh battery is supposed to last 24 hours with normal use, or up to 72 hours with the Battery Saving feature. It also supports wireless charging. It also has an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance
The phone ships with Android 14 out of the box, and Google says the Pixel 8a will receive seven years of OS, security, and feature drop updates. Google is hyping the phone"s many software features, including photo functions like Magic Eraser, Best Take, and Night Sight, and support for Circle to Search as well.
The Pixel 8a comes in a 128GB storage version for the price of $499 unlocked. That version comes in four colors (Aloe, Bay, Obsidian, and Porcelain). There"s also a $599 model with 256GB of storage but is only available in Obsidian.
You can pre-order the Pixel 8a at Amazon right now. At the moment, the retailer is offering buyers a $100 Amazon gift card with the smartphone at no additional charge. This special promo ends on May 19.
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