Latest Google Leak Reveals Potential Pixel 8a Details

While the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro launch will happen in the next few months, Google is hard at work on the next Pixel handset. The Pixel 8a will be the mid-range variant of the leading handsets, and while it is not expected to launch until 2024, it has been spotted online on the ever-reliable Geekbench benchmarking site.

The site shows a single-core score of 1218, and a multi-core score of 3175, comparable to the Pixel 7a, albeit with a lower single-core score.

These numbers should not be taken as the final word. While the Tensor Mobile G3 chipset is set to debut in the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro in the next few weeks, the indications are that the Pixel 8A/Tensor Mobile G3 combination has been under-clocked so these results should not be seen as definitive marks for the G3 chipset as a while.

We can see the broad strokes of the presumptively named Pixel 8a, and the apparent fact that Google is working on a Pixel 8a model. Geekbench shows not just the G3 but also the Mali-G715 GPU, backed up by 8 GB of RAM. Given its status as part of the Pixel 8 family, it’s not a surprise that it is running Android 14; it’s unlikely that any of the Pixel 8 handsets will ever see Google’s flavor of Android 13.

Although the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are launching early in Q4 2023, don’t expect to see the Pixel 8a to be launched at the same time. Previously, the Pixel 6a and Pixel 7a were launched at Google I/O in June of the following year, with the cardinal numbers opening up the annual product cycle and the ‘a’ class handset launching at the end of the cycle.

When the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro launch, the entry-level Pixel will remain the Pixel 7a, a competent handset for those needing the power of Pixel and its AI and ML advantages but aren’t looking for a flagship. From Forbes’ review earlier this year:

“At this price point, consumers are not looking for the maximum amount of power. They are looking for something that just works. That the Tensor G2 delivers quietly on the first of those as it over-deliverers on the latter benefiting the user experience. Is it obvious? Not unless you are looking at it, but it’s there. Take voice recording, which offers simultaneous transcription. It seems the most straightforward feature to transcribe a conversation, but it takes a lot of code running on optimized hardware to make it look easy. That’s what the G2 chipset delivers.”

And for those collecting the pre-production names, the Pixel 8a looks to be using the moniker “Akita”, sharing it with a Japanese breed of dog.

Now read more about Google’s plans to offer eSIM only Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones in some countries…