We’re less than two weeks out from Google’s official unveiling of thePixel 8 series(along with anewly-refined Pixel Watch 2). You’d think, this close to an event, that any leaks would be directed towards the company’s upcoming fall lineup. In classic Google fashion, you’d be wrong. In a strange turn of events, we’re getting a very early, very unofficial look at what seems to be next year’s Pixel 8a, even while its big brothers have yet to hit store shelves.
Asshared on Twitter(or X, whatever) by user Abhishek Yadav — the same user who just leaked a teaser for Samsung’s Galaxy S23 FE a few hours ago — these photos show off a device that looks to combine this year’s Pixel 7a and Pixel 8 into one phone (via9to5Google). The blue shade is reminiscent of what’s on the latest A-series entry, complete with a matching aluminum camera bar, while the corners are far more rounded, much like what we’ve seen from the Pixel 8.
In fact, in looking at the official Pixel 8 imagery Google has issued in the run-up to its October 4th event, I’d say this phone looks even more rounded, far closer to what current iPhones look like. Comparing it to my ownPixel 7a, I’d say the rest of the phone looks pretty similar to its predecessor, right down to the (relatively speaking) large bezels surrounding the screen. Likewise, this shade of blue is more in line with what we’ve seen on the Pixel 8 than the lighter shade used on the Pixel 7a, though this does cement blue as Google’s go-to color of the moment.
This early, it’s worth taking any leak with a pretty massive grain of salt — this phone is, after all, unlikely to arrive before next summer. Back in December of last year, aleaked roadmap pointed to a planned Pixel 8alaunch hinging on the sales of its predecessor. Large portions of that plan — including the $1,800 price point for the Pixel Fold, the addition of a 90Hz display on the Pixel 7a, and a slightly smaller size for the Pixel 8 — have proven themselves to be true, with only a couple of minor discrepancies (that $450 price point for the Pixel 7a did not happen) between the initial report and where we are today.
I didn’t have a September leak for the Pixel 8a on my bingo card, but if this is indeed the phone, it’s one of the earliest leaks we’ve ever seen for Google’s hardware — especially when it comes to real world units. Keep an eye out for more rumors and reports about this phone. If there’s one thing we know about Google leaks, it’s how similar they are to Pringles: once they pop, they just can’t stop.
