Since its price drop, the Pixel 7 Pro has made it to the headlines. Now that it’s cheaper than the more affordable version of the Pixel 8 series, I thought it makes sense to make a comparison of the two.
Google Pixel 8a vs. 7 Pro: The Cameras
Google Pixel 8a vs. 7 Pro: The Performance
Google Pixel 8a vs. 7 Pro: The Verdict
Pixel 7 Pro was launched officially on October 13, 2023, in the US market. It’s been a while and the phone was a top-tier until Google launched Pixel 8 Pro. Even though it’s comparatively an older phone, it still holds up to categorize itself as one of the best in this price range.
On the flip side, weirdly enough Pixel 8a was launched with a price tag of $500. Why am I saying it’s weird? When Google launched the Pixel 8a, the original Pixel 8 already had dropped a big chunk of dollars off of its price. It happened the same with the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.
Anyhow, now that the Pixel 8a and the 7 Pro are closely rivaling each other in the pricing, let’s see how they compare when it comes to the specs and the actual performance.
Google Pixel 8a vs. 7 Pro: The Cameras
Let’s start with the specs of both the Pixels.
Pixel 8a has a 64MP main shooter with OIS and a 13MP ultra-wide lens. On the flip side, the Pixel 7 Pro has three cameras with one addition of an optical zoom lens. A 50MP main shooter, a 48MP telephoto lens with OIS that can zoom up to 5x optically, and a 12MP ultra-wide lens.
That was an on-paper comparison but how they compare with each other when it comes to the real-life performance.
The actual performance of both phones is almost the same and I had to nitpick to spot the difference between the two. Personally, I liked the Pixel 7 Pro’s photo quality. The images are sharp and the main camera performed much better when it was put to difficult lighting.
The shadows were not that deep and the highlights were not high, it was just a perfect balance. The pictures from the Pixel 8a were not bad either. In perfect lighting, I couldn’t even spot the difference between the two.
One situation in which 8a performed significantly better than the 7 Pro was the low light. Pixel 8a has a bigger 64MP camera lens than the 50MP of the 7 Pro. So, it has more room for getting the light into the lens and having brighter night shots.
I can’t miss talking about the video so, here we go: Pixel 7 Pro records a better-quality video thanks to the 10-bit HDR capability which Pixel 8a doesn’t have. It’s sharper and perfectly vibrant.
Also, the selfie camera on the 7 Pro can record videos in 4k@ 60fps whereas 8a is just limited to 4K@ 30fps.
The bottom line is if cameras matter to you the most in your phone, go with the Pixel 7 Pro.
Google Pixel 8a vs. 7 Pro: The Performance
This is where you will see the smaller 8a shining brighter than the 7 Pro.
The newer Pixel 8a has a Tensor G3 based on the 4nm. On the other hand, Pixel 7 Pro has Tensor G2 based on 5nm. Both of the chipsets have different GPUs. Pixel 7 Pro has Mali-G710 MP7 and 8a has Immortalis-G715s MC10.
The version 10 AnTuTu scores differ significantly for both devices, with 8a clearly way ahead of the 7 Pro.
Pixel 7 Pro AnTuTu scores: 857045
Pixel 8a AnTuTu scores: 1193520
It isn’t enough to justify the value of both phones so I put both into rigorous testing. I played COD Mobile for hours on both phones while connected to my high-speed Xfinity Internet. And like the on-paper scores, Pixel 8a stood out. Pixel 7 Pro was getting heated up more than the 8a. The heating in turn was causing it to drop some frames. Pixel 8a managed the game pretty well and there were no lags or stutters that I could have noticed.
That said, not everyone will use their phones to play games like I did. So, how do they perform normal day-to-day tasks like scrolling through social media, switching between apps, or taking photos?
Honestly, I couldn’t catch any difference between the two. They were smooth and enough powerful to handle any lightweight tasks. But still, having more power, the Pixel 8a can last longer than the 7 Pro without any hiccups specifically in the performance.
Google Pixel 8a vs. 7 Pro: The Verdict
In the end, the purchase decision will totally be yours but if I had to pick one, I’d go for the Pixel 8a.
Even though it lacks some of the flagship features faster wireless charging, a smaller battery, and one less camera lens, it still can stay in my pocket for a couple of years because of its performance and longer software support.
