It looks like the upcoming Pixel 8a, expected later this year, will receive another price hike. Like last year, it will be priced higher than its predecessor. Is the Pixel 8a still considered a mid-range phone?
Google raised the price of the Pixel 7a last year by €50 to €510. We already concluded in our Pixel 7a review that that was on the hefty side. Fortunately, the device received a €100 price cut shortly after that, which we hoped Google had learned from. It didn't, as it turns out.
Because, according to WinFuture, the future Pixel 8a with 128GB gets a European starting price of a whopping €569.90. If you want 256GB of storage, it will cost you €630. For this amount, you also get a Pixel 8 with better specs.
Not for the first time
This is not the first time that Google has given itself a hard time. First, Google priced itself out of the market for affordable mid-range phones with other alternatives such as the Samsung Galaxy A54 and the recently announced Nothing Phone (2a).
Secondly, the Pixel A is increasingly competing with the regular Pixels, partly because they are reduced in price when the Pixel A comes out. The situation it will be for the Google Pixel 8a remains to be seen, but a false start usually means a disqualification.
At least 4 colors
Google is expected to announce the Pixel 8a sometime around May during Google's I/O event. Previous rumors mentioned at least four colors are coming: White, Black, Bay, and Mint.
Photo: Smartprix