Google’s newest budget smartphone comes with a hefty upfront fee at some UK retailers, but not here
The Google Pixel 8a is the newest smartphone on the block, packed with start-studded Android features including AI camera specs, an OLED screen and 24-hour battery life, all while being sold for a much friendlier price. The newest budget model from Google is certainly a lot lighter on the wallet and EE’s become the latest retailer to add it to its stock.
EE’s not offering the cheaper Pixel 8a phone from £30.97 a month, which for the price will give users the handset and a decent amount of data – always a welcome perk compared to buying the £499 model outright, which comes with nothing. At first glance over at Mobile.co.uk £19 a month deal EE may seem pricey, but there’s a big reason why you should still keep it in mind.
It’s all to do with the smaller upfront fee you’ll pay as EE only has a £20 fee on its Pixel 8a plan, a lot cheaper compared to Mobile.co.uk £19 a month Vodafone plan – it’ll cost you a hefty £95 first. Other plans, like this £14.99 a month iD Mobile one cost a bigger £149 upfront.
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So what’s the best to go for? If you have the newest Pixel 8a phone on your list, a superseded of the bigger Pixel 8 and 8 Pro models, then here’s what you need to know. Anyone who buys it outright will pay £499, when compared to other Pixel 8 devices it’s miles cheaper (by nearly £400 or so) – you can currently buy it at the Google Store and John Lewis.
For mobile shoppers who’d prefer to split the cost then EE’s deal offers the cheapest price upfront with its £30.97 a month and £20 upfront fee on a 24-month long contract – costing £741 in total, a lot more than it’s £499 retail price (but you do get data too).
Vodafone and iD Mobile options to split the cost work out cheaper overall, however as we’ve highlighted above you have to have more money in your bank at the time of buying to get the better price. The Vodafone plan comes to £599 in total but you’ll need to pay £95 first.
Less than a week old the Pixel 8a offers leading smartphone features for a fraction of the price, especially if you’re to consider its predecessor Pixel 8 and 8Pro models start at around £628, according to our cheapest find at Carphone Warehouse. Compared to the first models the Pixel 8a does have a few compromises to make the cheaper price fit.
To start, it’s smaller than the others and has a more rounded look (which can make the screen appear smaller). It has a pretty decent screen display quality though at 120Hz, compared to the cheaper Pixel 7a at 90Hz this is certainly an improvement.
To make up for the cheaper price the 8a does appear more clunky, in our opinion not as refined, with thicker bezels, however its features within are just as productive, the design is mainly where the differences lay….and slightly improved Pixel 8 cameras.