Google has accidentally confirmed the development of its latest budget smartphone, the Pixel 8a, via a bug tracker page. Details of the upcoming phone were revealed thanks to the new battery status feature, which was teased recently.
According to Google, removing the battery statistic was ‘intended behavior’ as the feature was never meant to be rolled out for existing Pixel devices. The tech company clarified the situation by saying that Android’s new battery statistics feature will be supported only on Pixel 8a and future smartphones made by the company. This is the first official confirmation of Google’s upcoming budget offering from the organization.
The upcoming Pixel 8a is expected to retain the design language of the flagship Pixel 8. It is expected to be powered by Google’s own Tensor G3 processor. The display will likely remain at a 90Hz refresh rate like the Pixel 7a. Seeing as how Google has a habit of using the same image sensors for generations, it’s unlikely we’ll see any major changes in the camera department.
Google’s ‘A-series’ smartphones refer to Google’s more affordable lineup that offers a mix of flagship features with few corners cut. The first smartphone in this segment was announced by Google in 2019 as 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 has added a new battery statistic extension to its Pixel lineup with the Android 14 QPR1 update. The update showed the number of charging cycles of the smartphone’s battery and its manufacturing date. Despite its limitations in practical utility, the new feature was a welcome one among Pixel users.
However, in the March 2024 feature update, battery stats disappeared from Pixel devices. Addressing the doubts about this unprecedented removal of the feature, Google said this according to 9to5Google – “We’ve only enabled this page on Pixel 8a and later, so it’s working as intended (WAI) is)is.”
It is still not known exactly why the battery statistics feature first appeared on existing Pixels. By the time it was available on other Pixels, the statistics provided by this feature were often inaccurate. This may indicate the possibility that Google intends to expand on this feature going forward. Pixel users can also see proper battery health information in the future. The much-awaited Pixel 8a is expected to be announced during the I/O 2024 keynote which usually takes place around May every year.