Google Pixel 8a Model Accidentally Confirmed, Launching Soon?

Google has accidentally confirmed the development of its latest budget smartphone offering, the Pixel 8a via a bug tracker page. The details of the upcoming phone were revealed thanks to the new battery status feature which was removed recently.

As per Google, the removal of the battery statistic was ‘intended behaviour’ as this feature was never meant to be rolled out for existing Pixel devices. The tech company cleared the air by saying Android’s new battery stats feature is only going to be supported on the Pixel 8a and future smartphones made by the company. This is the first official confirmation of Google’s upcoming budget offering from the organisation.

The upcoming Pixel 8a has been expected to retain much of its design language from the flagship Pixel 8. It is expected to be powered by Google’s own Tensor G3 processor. The display will likely remain at a refresh rate of 90Hz like the Pixel 7a. Given, how Google had a habit of using the same image sensors for generations, it is unlikely that we will be seeing any major changes in the camera department either.

Google’s ‘a-series’ smartphone refers to a more affordable lineup from Google that offers a blend of flagship features with some cut corners. The first-ever smartphone in this segment was announced by Google back in 2019 in the form of the Pixel 3a. Since then we have had various models of this phone including the Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6a and Pixel 7a.

Google added a new battery statistic extension to its Pixel lineup with the Android 14 QPR1 update. This update showed the smartphone battery’s charging cycle counts and the date it was manufactured. Despite its limitations in practical utility, the new feature was a welcome addition amongst Pixel users.

However, in the March 2024 feature update, the battery statistics disappeared from Pixel devices. Addressing the doubts surrounding this unprecedented removal of the feature, this is what Google said as per 9to5Google – “We only enabled this page on Pixel 8a and beyond, so this is WAI (working as Intended).”

It is still not known exactly why the battery stats feature showed up on the existing pixels in the first place. For the time it has been available on other Pixels, the statistics provided by this feature were often inaccurate. This could suggest a possibility of Google intending to build on this feature going forward. Pixel users could also see the addition of proper battery health information in the future. The highly-anticipated Pixel 8a is expected to be announced during the I/O 2024 keynote which usually happens around May every year.