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Credit: Illustration by Ian Moore and product image courtesy of Amazon.
The new Pixel 9 lineup launched last month, bringing with them a drop in prices for the Pixel 8 lineup. Amazon is currently offering the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro starting at $499 with a free Pixel Watch, but if your budget is a bit tighter, the Pixel 8a is $399 (originally $499) after a $100 discount, matching its lowest price according to price-checking tools. This is the best budget Google Pixel you can get today.
The Pixel “a” series is the Pixel lineup’s budget option. These devices tend to be missing some features of their pricier counterparts, but they often end up looking like a better value for the money, even if you have to wait for them: They are usually released much later than the Pixel 8/8 Pro, but the tradeoffs might be minimal. For example, the Pixel 8a was available to preorder this May, and the biggest “cut” from the Pixel 8/8 Pro was the camera. Here is what assistant tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt had to say about the differences between the twos:
The 8a’s camera is 64MP main wide/12MP ultrawide on the rear and 13MP on the front. By comparison, the regular Pixel 8 is 50MP main wide/12MP ultrawide on the rear and 10.5MP on the front. However, due to improved light sensing and pixel size, the Pixel 8’s camera may be a better choice for some.
The Pixel 8a has the same Tensor G3 processor as the Pixel 8/8 Pro, a slightly smaller 6.1-inch 120Hz “Actual” display, and a slightly better camera system in terms of pixels, but it may have weaker sensors. Still, the 8a is getting Google Gemini Nano support, like the other Pixels, along with seven years of guaranteed software support as well as the same new drop features. (You can read our full review of the 8a here.)
