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Google Pixel 8a vs Pixel 4a

66 out of 100
Google Pixel 8a
VS
44 out of 100
Google Pixel 4a
Google Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 4a

Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.1-inch Google Pixel 8a (with Google Tensor G3) that was released on May 7, 2024, against the Google Pixel 4a, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G and came out 3 years and 10 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
6 / 128 GB
  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 8a
  • Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
  • 2.9x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1433K versus 495K)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
  • Comes with 1352 mAh larger battery capacity: 4492 vs 3140 mAh
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Delivers 88% higher peak brightness (1513 against 804 nits)
  • Shows 10% longer battery life (19:43 vs 17:58 hours)
  • Handles wireless charging up to 7.5W
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 13
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Tensor G3
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4a
  • Has 2 SIM card slots
  • Weighs 45 grams less
  • Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 8a and Pixel 4a crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 95% Yes
Yes, this is a clear and meaningful upgrade.
Updating from Google Pixel 4a to Google Pixel 8a is a clear step forward, and the improvements should be easy to notice.
Main improvements: performance, camera, and display.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Pixel 8a
vs
Pixel 4a

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.1 inches 5.81 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 1080 x 2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
PPI 430 ppi 443 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max rated brightness 2000 nits 700 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1400 nits -
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, HDR10
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Screen-to-body ratio 81.3% 82.9%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 99.1% 95.3%
PWM 120 Hz 255 Hz
Response time 2 ms 6.2 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Screen space comparison
Pixel 8a
6.1″ (20:9 ratio) = 13.9 in2
Pixel 4a
5.81″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 12.8 in2
~8% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Pixel 8a +88%
1513 nits
Pixel 4a
804 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 152.1 mm (5.99 inches) 144 mm (5.67 inches)
Width 72.7 mm (2.86 inches) 69.4 mm (2.73 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 8.2 mm (0.32 inches)
Weight 188 g (6.63 oz) 143 g (5.04 oz)
Waterproof IP67 No
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Metal Plastic
Colors White, Black, Blue, Green Black
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, rear
Repairability Good (3.52/5) -
Drop resistance Excellent (A) · 270 drops -
Screen-to-body ratio
Pixel 8a
81.3%
Pixel 4a +2%
82.9%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Google Pixel 8a and Google Pixel 4a
SoC
Chipset Google Tensor G3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
Max clock 3000 MHz 2200 MHz
CPU cores 9 (1 + 4 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.7 GHz: Cortex-A510
- 4 cores at 2.37 GHz: Cortex-A715
- 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X3		 - 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76)
Manufacturing Samsung Samsung
Lithography process 4 nanometers 8 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Yes Hexagon 688
GPU
Graphics Immortalis-G715s MC10 Adreno 618
GPU shading units 896 256
GPU clock 890 MHz 825 MHz
FLOPS ~1594.8 GFLOPS ~422.4 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Google Pixel 8a and Google Pixel 4a
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Pixel 8a +119%
1491
Pixel 4a
680
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Pixel 8a +97%
3584
Pixel 4a
1816
Compute Score (GPU)
Pixel 8a
8490
Pixel 4a
n/a
Compute Score (GPU) 8490 -
Single-core score 1491 680
Multi-core score 3584 1816
Sources: Geekbench [3]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Pixel 8a +189%
1433693
Pixel 4a
495785
CPU 546093 207965
GPU 391230 63453
Memory 195569 79928
UX 300801 144439
Total score 1433693 495785
Samples [6 tests] Less than 3
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Pixel 8a
990
Pixel 4a
n/a
Stability 67% -
Graphics test 7 FPS -
Graphics score 990 -
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Google Pixel 8a
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2025-12-28 (adismsha)AnTuTu 111471866
📘 2025-12-22 -> jpara_diseGeekbench 6 GPU8490
📘 2025-12-22 -> jpara_diseGeekbench 6 CPU1491 / 3584
📘 2025-12-22 -> jpara_diseAnTuTu 111397797
📘 2025-12-17 (jpara_dise)AnTuTu 111397797
Add View all (9)
Google Pixel 4a
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-22 (Hlopni)AnTuTu 12585625
Add View all (1)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 8 GB 6 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory clock 3200 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 128 GB
Storage type UFS 3.1 UFS 2.1
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM Stock Android Stock Android
OS size 18.4 GB 15 GB
OS updates 7 years -
Security updates 7 years -

Battery

Capacity 4492 mAh 3140 mAh
Max charge power 18 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (7.5 W) No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (33% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 25 min)
Full charging time 2:09 hr 1:27 hr
Battery cycles 1000 cycles -
Battery life tests
Web browsing 08:15 hr 06:35 hr
Watching video 13:00 hr 11:24 hr
Gaming 04:54 hr 04:08 hr
Standby 86 hr 90 hr
General battery life
Pixel 8a +10%
19:43 hr
Pixel 4a
17:58 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 64 megapixels 12.2 megapixels
Image resolution 9000 x 7000 4000 x 3000
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 30FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 120 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens 120° -
Lenses 1) Standard: 64 MP
2) Ultrawide: 13 MP
1) Standard: 12.2 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution 64 MP 12.2 MP
Aperture f/1.9 f/1.7
Focal length 26 mm 27 mm
Sensor Sony IMX787 Sony IMX363
Sensor size 1/1.73" (≈ 0.58 inch) 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch)
Pixel size 0.8 micron 1.4 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 13 MP -
Aperture f/2.2 -
Sensor Sony IMX712 -
Sensor size 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) -
Pixel size 1.12 micron -
Stabilization Digital -

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Pixel 8a +22%
141
Pixel 4a
116
Video quality
Pixel 8a +28%
128
Pixel 4a
100
Generic main camera score
Pixel 8a +36%
136
Pixel 4a
100
Bokeh 60 55
Preview 71 47
Zoom 126 48
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 8a from DxOMark Photo samples of Google Pixel 4a from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 13 megapixels 8 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 3264 x 2448
Aperture - f/2.0
Focal length - 24 mm
Sensor - Sony IMX355
Sensor size - 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch)
Pixel size - 1.12 micron
Autofocus - No
Stabilization - Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5.1
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes -
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 1 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode - Standby
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* 20 15
5G support Yes No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No Yes
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos No No
Speakers test
Max loudness
Pixel 8a +4%
89.3 dB
Pixel 4a
86 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Mid-range
Announced May 2024 August 2020
Release date May 2024 October 2020
Launch price (MSRP) $499 $350
Successor - Google Pixel 10a - Google Pixel 10a
SAR (head) - 1.37 W/kg
SAR (body) - 1.39 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Not included -
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Google Pixel 8a is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
7 (63.6%)
4 (36.4%)
Total votes: 11

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