Google Pixel 8a Canadian Pricing, Specs, Features: Now Official

Google has officially announced its Pixel 8a smartphone, its entry smartphone that it says delivers a blend of delight, power, and advanced AI capabilities.

The company says the Pixel 8a features superb photography functions, swift AI-based features (Gemini is here!), and high-level security measures, all available at a competitive price.

Google is calling the Pixel 8a the most robust A-Series Pixel to date, incorporating a metal frame and camera bar, along with IP67 protection against water and dust. It features a new scratch-resistant 6.1-inch Actua display with 120Hz refresh rate for super smooth scrolling and is crafted from recycled aluminum, glass, and plastic.

New colours include limited-edition Aloe and Bay, alongside neutral colours Obsidian and Porcelain. For the first time for a A-series Pixel phone we now have a 256GB storage option.

Google AI significantly boosts the Pixel 8a’s efficiency, enabling users to perform tasks such as searching for items directly within apps by circling an image or text. It also supports multilingual messaging through Live Translate and displays timely information with the At a Glance feature.

At the core of the Pixel 8a lies the Google Tensor G3 processor, which is shared with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro models. This chip enhances the phone’s performance across various domains including photo and video quality, audio on calls, speech recognition, and security.

The Pixel Camera on the 8a model excels in capturing perfect shots every time, especially in low light conditions with its Night Sight feature. It also includes Best Take for optimal group photos, Photo Unblur for correcting image clarity, and Real Tone for accurately depicting all skin tones. The dual camera rear set up includes a 64MP main lens and 13MP ultrawide lens, while the front-facing camera is 13MP.

Users of the Pixel 8a will get seven years of OS updates, security patches, and feature drops from its release.

With the Pixel 8a, there’s an easier set up for the device for a child out of the box, including setting parental controls for digital limits.

Google has engineered the Pixel 8a to provide clearer phone calls by reducing background noise and enhancing the caller’s voice, making conversations clearer even in loud environments.

As for starting pricing of the Pixel 8a in Canada? It starts at $679 for 128GB in Canada, which is a price hike compared to last year’s Pixel 7a which was $599 CAD (and had the same price as the Pixel 6a). When asked why there was a price jump in Canada? Google said in a media briefing attended by iPhone in Canada it was due to foreign exchange rates.

You can pre-order the Pixel 8a today in Canada, while it is available on May 14, 2024. A promo right now offers up to $679 CAD back with eligible trade-in, plus get $140 CAD in Google Store credit with your purchase. Ends May 19, 2024.

Also starting today? You can pre-order a Pixel Tablet without a Charging Speaker Dock for $549 in Canada (it debuted for $699 last year with the dock), with availability coming on May 14.

Full Google Pixel 8a tech specifications below:

Display

• 6.1-inch Actua display, 20:9 aspect ratio
• 1080×2400 OLED at 430 PPI
• Smooth Display up to 120Hz
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3 cover glass
• Always-on display with At a Glance and Now Playing
• HDR support, up to 1400 nits (HDR) and up to 2000 nits (peak brightness)
• 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
• Full 24-bit depth for 16 million colors

Dimensions and Weight

• US: 6.0 height x 2.9 width x 0.4 depth (inches), 6.8 oz
• Rest of World: 152.1 height x 72.7 width x 8.9 depth (mm), 188 g

Battery and Charging

• 24+ hour battery life
• Up to 72-hour battery life with Extreme Battery Saver
• Typical 4492 mAh (Minimum 4404 mAh)
• Fast charging, Wireless charging (Qi-certified)

Memory and Storage

• 8 GB LPDDR5x RAM
• 128 GB / 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage

Processors

• Google Tensor G3
• Titan M2 security coprocessor

Security

• VPN by Google One at no extra cost
• End-to-end security designed by Google
• Multi-layer hardware security: Tensor security core, Titan M2 security chip, and Trusty (Trusted Execution Environment)
• 7 years of OS, security, and Feature Drop updates
• Anti-malware and anti-phishing protection, support for passkeys

Rear Camera

• 64 MP Quad PD wide camera, ƒ/1.89 aperture, 80° field of view
• 13 MP ultrawide camera, ƒ/2.2 aperture, 120° field of view
• Optical + electronic image stabilization on wide

Front Camera

• 13 MP, ƒ/2.2 aperture, 96.5° ultrawide field of view

Camera Features

• Magic Editor, Best Take, Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur
• Real Tone, Face Unblur, Night Sight, Top Shot
• Portrait Mode, Portrait Light, Motion Auto Focus

Video and Audio

• Rear Camera: 4K at 30/60 FPS, 1080p at 30/60 FPS
• Front Camera: 4K at 30 FPS, 1080p at 30 FPS
• Slo-mo video support up to 240 FPS
• Optical and fused video stabilization
• Audio: Stereo recording, speech enhancement, wind noise reduction

Authentication

• Fingerprint Unlock with under-display sensor
• Face Unlock, Pattern, PIN, password

Sensors

• Proximity, ambient light, accelerometer, gyrometer, magnetometer, barometer

Buttons and Ports

• USB Type-C 3.2, power button, volume controls

SIMs

• Dual SIM (Single Nano SIM and eSIM)

Connectivity and Location

• Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 2.4GHz+5GHz+6GHz, HE80, MIMO
• Bluetooth v5.3, NFC, Google Cast
• GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS (varies by region)

Network

• Supports GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA, LTE, and 5G bands (varies by model)

Colours

• Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay, Aloe

In the Box

• 1 m USB-C to USB-C cable, Quick Switch Adapter, SIM tool

Warranty

• 1 year in the US, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, India
• 2 years in the UK, Germany, France, Ireland, Australia, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands