Google Pixel 8a must be close as it's just popped up on a retailer's site

Google's "a" devices are designed to be more affordable, while offering many of the same experiences as the full device, and its latest – the Pixel 8a – has just leaked again. It leaves us with the inevitable feeling that this phone is about to launch.

Google hasn't put a date on the launch of the Pixel 8a, but the Pixel 7a that it will replace was announced on 10 May 2023, so following a process of deduction it's not too much of a leap to suggest that the Pixel 8a might be announced on 14 May.

How did you reach this deduction Mr Holmes? Because that's the date that the company's developers convention, Google I/O, starts. With that date rapidly approaching, it would be no surprise to learn that one of the networks in the US listed the Pixel 8a on its site, jumping the gun by a month.

Revealed by Evan Blass – aka evleaks – we don't learn much about the phone from this, other than that US Cellular is going to stock it. But, as I said, this isn't the first leak of the Pixel 8a and it probably won't be the last – and this phone is gearing up to be one of the best cheap phones of the year.

What we already know about the Google Pixel 8a

The Pixel 8a is expected to come with a bit of a price rise over the Pixel 7a, but you'll potentially get a bigger battery for your money. It's expected to be powered by the Tensor G3 hardware – the same as in the Pixel 8 Pro – and this combination should give you a phone that has real staying power.

There will be four colours – Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay and Mint, with all those colours comprehensively leaking too.

It's expected to have a bump in the peak brightness to take it up to 1400 nits, while the refresh rate could increase to 120Hz making for a much more comprehensive package.

But it's unlikely that there will be any changes to the camera, sticking to a 64-megapixel main camera and 13-megapixel ultrawide.

All will be revealed soon, probably on 14 May, if not before when it leaks again.