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

Key findings from ZDNET

• The Google Pixel 8a is one of the few phones with AI features that costs less than $500, and you can get it at just $399 off Amazon and at Best buy in a post-Black Friday/early Cyber ​​Monday sale.
• I’m a fan of the comfortable design and IP67 dust and water resistance.
• Unfortunately, the display is not bright enough for outdoor use and has thick, uneven edges. For many this may not be so important.

The Pixel 8a is Google’s best smartphone in the sub-$500 segment. It fits very well in the hand, has a reliable camera system and, thanks to regular software updates, should give you many years of pleasure.

Like its more expensive Pixel siblings, the Pixel 8a uses the Tensor G3 for all of its AI smarts, 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 has better hardware and often better performance? I figured it out.

Also: The best Black Friday deals: live updates

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 great and is one of the few devices I would recommend using without a case. The metal frame for the camera module gives it that distinctive Pixel look, and the size – which is much smaller than your traditional Pro Max, Plus or Ultra phone – means it’s very comfortable to hold.

If you look at it from the back, the Pixel 8a could pass as a flagship. Flip it over, however, and you’re transported back to the pre-2020 era of phones with thick, bumpy bezels. I thought I’d get used to the front design over time, but I didn’t – not when other phones in this $500 price range are starting to look sleeker than ever.

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

However, Google has improved the OLED display to offer a 120Hz refresh rate for a smoother experience than last year’s Pixel 7a. It’s a beautiful display for watching videos indoors, with no notch or significant degradation in display quality. I will mention that the OnePlus 12R is better suited for mobile entertainment, both media consumption and gaming. With the OnePlus you also get a faster and more reliable in-display fingerprint scanner.

Where the Google Pixel beats the competition

If you have a flagship chipset in the Tensor G3, you get the same AI features on the $399 Pixel 8a, or most of them, as on the $999 Pixel 8 Pro (which is also the case). significantly downgraded). It’s by no means the most powerful processor on the market, but Tensor is responsible for the clean, adaptive Pixel experience that many Android devices prefer. There are no additional features that you need to learn or feel pressured to use.

When Google adds new features to the Pixel experience, you can expect them to be reasonably sophisticated. For example, my favorite AI feature on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Circle to Search, is also available on the Pixel 8a. It is a feature that has become essential to my everyday life, especially when I travel, as I often look for text and images on my phone screen.

Also: Android 15’s Gemini Overlay feature can answer questions about anything on your screen

I also use the native Recorder app for AI-powered 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 want to make a nice photo even better.

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

What are the cameras on the Pixel 8a like?

The Pixel 8a has a 64 MP main camera and a 13 MP ultrawide sensor on the back. Google’s phones have had exceptional cameras in the past, and the Pixel 8a is no different. It relies heavily on software processing rather than camera hardware to produce good-looking photos, and I’m not complaining. I like the recordings better than the ones I took with the Nothing Phone 2a and the OnePlus 12R.

Photos taken with the Google Pixel 8a look 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 are still a good choice.

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

However, I noticed two issues with the camera system: the phone tends to over-sharpen some shots, and in portrait mode I have a pink tint on my face that doesn’t match my skin tone. However, the photos are still good enough to post on social media.

In the next iteration or via a software update, I would like to see Google revamp the camera app UI. For example, switching to portrait mode switches to a 1.7x crop with a 2x zoom option. It’s not ideal and the jump from 1.7x to 2x has no real benefits for my use cases.

Also: The best cheap phones in 2024: Tested and rated by experts

Second, when I switch to the front camera, it defaults to 1x, which is too wide, creates a fisheye effect, and is weird when I’m the only person in the selfie. Instead, I’d like the phone to automatically switch to a closer 1.4x value when it detects just one person in the image.

ZDNET’s buying guide

The Google Pixel 8a is the cheapest Pixel phone you can buy, and if you can find it for $399, it’s an even better deal. Its intelligent AI features and long software support make it an impressive and reliable investment, and for under $500 you won’t find a better camera system, but you should also consider the alternatives.

If you need a phone with a big and bright display, great performance, powerful cameras and faster charging, this is it OnePlus 12R ($500) is my preference. On the other hand, that is Nothing phone 2a ($379) offers other interesting hardware and software customizations.

What are the best deals for Black Friday 2024?

ZDNET’s experts have now searched live Black Friday sales to find the best discounts by category.

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

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