The Pixel 8a may get a 256GB storage boost — and a price hike

The Pixel 8a phone is getting a new 256GB tier, at least according to rumblings heard from retailers by the usually reliable German tech news site WinFuture. The site’s sources also say it will come in four colors, like the $499 Pixel 7a, but it will cost a quite a bit more than that phone at €569.90, or about $618 USD.

According to WinFuture’s sources, the beefed-up storage version will cost even more — €630 (about $684 USD) — putting it a whiff away from the regular Pixel 8’s $699 price tag. However, as the site notes, that could be subject to change.

The Pixel 8a will reportedly come in obsidian (black), porcelain (beige), bay (light blue), and mint (light green). Last year’s Pixel 7a also came in four colors, but only as a 128GB phone, with the only real upgrade option being a 5G mmWave option offered by some carriers for $50 above its base price. Interestingly, the article says that only the black version of the phone is listed with a 256GB variant.

Previous leaks have said the 8a will have a similar form factor to the other Pixel 8 phones already released, with similar curves and two rear cameras like the existing base model in the lineup. It’s also possible it’ll get the same Tensor G3 chip and, as WinFuture writes today, 8GB of RAM — again, like the Pixel 8.

The big differentiator, then, will likely be the size, as rumors point to it being a 6.1-inch phone rather than a 6.3-inch affair like the Pixel 8, but Google notably threw a curve ball with the 7a, giving it a better main camera than the Pixel 7. There’s no guarantee that the company will do the same again this year, but you never know with Google. Maybe it gets better cameras, but the monkey’s paw curls as it artificially holds back features that the phone is perfectly capable of handling.