{"id":670,"date":"2023-10-29T08:11:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T05:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/670\/pixel-7a-vs-pixel-8_id5793\/"},"modified":"2023-11-02T00:42:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T21:42:09","slug":"pixel-7a-vs-pixel-8_id5793","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/?p=670","title":{"rendered":"Google Pixel 8 vs Pixel 7a: Good things come in small packages"},"content":{"rendered":"
There are indeed rumors that Pixel 7a<\/span> could be the latest member of the affordable Pixel series, and it would make sense for the Pixel 8<\/span> to act as its spiritual successor of sorts, so it’s quite interesting to see how things will turn out for Google’s compact phones in the future.<\/p>\n

Design and display quality<\/span><\/h2>\n
Pixel friendly design<\/h5>\n
THE Pixel 7a<\/span> is unapologetically Pixel, with a familiar, friendly design language that mostly fits the Pixel 7<\/span> and Pixel 7 Pro. Gone is the black stripe on the back of the phone, one of the iconic elements of the Pixel 6 series. Instead, the Pixel 7a<\/span> has a 3D metal visor in the same color as the side frame of the phone. As you would expect from an “affordable” Pixel, the back of the phone is made of plastic, while the frame of the phone is made of recycled aluminum.<\/div>\n

THE Pixel 8<\/span>, on the other hand, is a cooler take on the Pixel design, with slightly more curved edges and contours. The 3D visor on the back is slightly larger and the device comes in a host of fresh new colors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The big difference, however, lies in the size. THE Pixel 8<\/span> features a 6.2-inch screen, a bit larger than the 6.1-inch screen on the Pixel 7a<\/span>but at the same time, the Pixel 8<\/span> is the most compact and lightest phone, so it surely has a much more efficient design.<\/p>\n

THE Pixel 7a<\/span> The box is neatly packed with a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable in the box, a USB Type-A to USB Type-C adapter, the usual booklets and a SIM card ejector tool . No charger in the box of this one; This is the new normal.<\/p>\n

In terms of size and display qualities, the Pixel 7a<\/span> reiterates the Pixel 6a<\/span> specifications for the most part. It comes with a 6.1-inch FHD+ OLED display with relatively thick bezels, a punch-hole display, and an in-display fingerprint scanner. Of note is the increase in refresh rate to 90Hz, which makes navigating the interface noticeably smoother and more rewarding. The phone supports displaying HDR content.<\/div>\n
THE Pixel 8 comes with Google’s<\/a> new Actua display, which can reach up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness. This is cool and would surely leave the Pixel 7a<\/span> in the dust regarding overall brightness. THE Pixel 8<\/span> also allows up to 120Hz refresh rate, but its display is not an LTPO like the Pixel 8 Pro<\/a>, so the user can only manually switch between 60 and 120Hz in the settings. Meanwhile, the Pixel 7a<\/span> can only display content at 60 or 90 Hz, which is not as smooth. Apart from that, the Pixel 8<\/span> has a much brighter screen with significantly better outdoor readability, but other than that both devices have very decent OLED screens.<\/div>\n

THE Pixel 7a<\/span> and the Pixel 8<\/span> both come with in-display fingerprint scanners and photo-based face unlock on board. The fingerprint sensor on the Pixel 7a<\/span> is fast and snappy, but you need to make good contact with the scanning area. You can also use the faster and more convenient Face Unlock, although it’s certainly not as secure as the fingerprint scanner.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Pixel 8<\/span>Face unlock is considered as secure as possible, so you can not only unlock the phone but also use photo face unlock to authenticate fintech apps.<\/div>\n

Performance and software<\/span><\/h2>\n
Will the generational leap from Tensor G2 to G3 be significant?<\/h5>\n

Although it is perceived as “affordable”, the Pixel 7a<\/span> is actually powered by the flagship Tensor G2 chipset, which is the same one that clicks and ticks inside the Pixel 7<\/span> And Pixel 7 Pro<\/span>. That’s pretty fast by today’s standards, but it’s worth emphasizing once again that Google’s line of custom Tensor chips has never been about raw performance and high benchmark scores. Instead, it puts artificial intelligence as well as machine learning at the forefront.<\/p>\n

From my personal experience, performance on the Pixel 7a<\/span> is more than adequate. However, you’ll need to adjust your expectations accordingly, so don’t expect record-breaking fps numbers in 3D games. For my regular use, the Pixel 7a<\/span> is perfectly capable of easily handling anything I throw at it. The smoother display definitely leaves the phone feeling a lot faster, which certainly contributes to its perceived performance. There’s only 128GB of storage available on board, so you’ll probably need to resort to a cloud-based storage solution at some point.<\/p>\n

THE Pixel 8<\/span>, on the other hand, comes with the 64-bit non-core Tensor G3 chipset only, along with a faster GPU and a new TPU unit for AI and ML calculations. THE Pixel 8<\/span> comes with 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 128GB or 256GB of native UFS 3.1 storage.<\/div>\n
In terms of software support, the Pixel 7a<\/span> comes with Android 13 and will get three major software updates as well as five years of security support. This means you should expect Android 14, Android 15, and Android 16 to power the latest Pixel phone, and it will receive security patches until 2028.<\/div>\n

Meanwhile, the Pixel 8<\/span> will receive the humble seven years of software updates and major Android releases until 2030, which is awesome!<\/p>\n

Camera<\/span><\/h2>\n
Pixel 7a gets new cameras, can we expect the same for Pixel 8?<\/h5>\n
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