Should I upgrade my Pixel 8a?
The Google Pixel 8a went on sale on 14 May 2024. It has a 6.1-inch display, a weight of 189 g, the Google Tensor G3 chip, a 64 MP main camera and 128 GB of storage to start. Security updates are committed until 1 May 2031. Every figure in the Google Pixel 8a specifications below links the page it came from and the date it was read.
2.4 years oldPatched until 2031-05-01Read
Is it still supported?
Yes. Google has committed to security updates for the Pixel 8a until 2031-05-01. A phone that is still patched is not a phone you have to replace.endoflife.date — Pixel, retrieved 2026-08-20
What the Pixel 9a changes
The newest Google phone in this line is the Pixel 9a at £399, released 10 April 2025. Judged row by row against our published thresholds; the full table is at Pixel 9a vs Pixel 8a.
On the makers’ published figures, the Pixel 9a wins on peak brightness (2,700 nits against 2,000 nits), typical brightness (1,800 nits against 1,400 nits) and battery per charge (52.32 h against 40.1 h). 3 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: display size (6.3 in against 6.1 in) for the Pixel 9a, HDR peak brightness (1,800 nits against 1,400 nits) for the Pixel 9a and battery capacity (5,100 mAh against 4,492 mAh) for the Pixel 9a. The differences in weight, fast charging and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same refresh rate, storage (base), RAM, battery lifespan and wireless charging. The other 31 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
- Peak brightness: 2,000 nits → 2,700 nits
- Typical brightness: 1,400 nits → 1,800 nits
- Battery per charge: 40.1 h → 52.32 h
- Display size: 6.1 in → 6.3 in borderline; marginal — most people won’t notice.
- HDR peak brightness: 1,400 nits → 1,800 nits borderline; marginal — most people won’t notice.
- Battery capacity: 4,492 mAh → 5,100 mAh borderline; marginal — most people won’t notice.
Other makers at the price
Phones from other makers released within a year of the Pixel 9a and priced within a quarter of its £399, nearest price first, each judged the same way against your Pixel 8a — or, where that pair is not one this site indexes, against the Pixel 9a.
What yours is worth
Our reading of the figures
The Pixel 8a is committed to security updates until 1 May 2031, so nothing forces a move yet.
The Pixel 9a clears our noticeable threshold on 3 rows: peak brightness, typical brightness, battery per charge. 3 more gaps are borderline, which most people would not notice. Nothing goes backwards.
At £399 new, less the £165 CeX was paying for a grade A Pixel 8a on 2026-09-11, the move costs about £234.
Every sentence above is built from the figures on this page by a rule, not written for this phone: a support date, the rows that clear a published threshold, a price and a trade-in. There is no score and no recommendation. The methodology page has the thresholds and where they come from. Every phone’s version of this page is listed at All upgrade questions.