Google Pixel 8a Rumored For A 120Hz Display And A Brightness Boost
A reliable leaker is claiming that the next affordable Google Pixel phone will make outdoor viewing easier with a peak brightness of 1,400 nits, which (if true) would be a nice bump over the 1,000 nits on the 7a. Not only that, the refresh rate will be increased from 90Hz to a smooth 120Hz. It also seems like the 8a might now be able to output to an external display via USB-C DisplayPort support, as the Pixel 8 is currently capable of. Could Mountain View be readying a Samsung DeX competitor?
The leak also claims that the 8a's camera sensors aren't receiving any upgrades, instead carrying over hardware from the 7a. Thus, the primary camera will be a 13MP Sony IMX787 with a 1/1.73" aperture, a 13MP Sony IMX712 ultrawide, plus another IMX712 for the selfie cam. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as quite a bit of the camera prowess of Pixel phones are famous for is thanks to computational processing.
Design-wise, the Pixel 8a should fall in line with the rest of the Pixel 8 lineup with more rounded corners while keeping the same 6.1-inch display size.
Internally, buyers will get to enjoy the markedly faster Tensor G3 processor, with a small difference. To reduce costs, the 8a's G3 could be using a plastic package that's thicker and runs slightly hotter than the G3 on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. With the news breaking that regular Pixel 8s won't be able to access the AI powers of Google's Gemini Nano LLM due to hardware differences, the further "downgraded" G3 in the 8a might be even more limited in its AI abilities.
Another positive sign is market availability. Presently Google sells the 7a in 21 countries, but if the leak is true, that number grow to 31 (possibly more), centered around European locales like Hungary, Poland, Romania, Finland, etc.
