Google Pixel 9 Pro XL vs Pixel 8a
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.8-inch Google Pixel 9 Pro XL (with Google Tensor G4) that was released on August 13, 2024, against the Google Pixel 8a, which is powered by Google Tensor G3 and came out 4 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
- The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
- Has a 0.7 inch larger screen size
- Has 2x more RAM: 16GB versus 8GB
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Delivers 57% higher peak brightness (2383 against 1518 nits)
- Shows 11% longer battery life (21:55 vs 19:43 hours)
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Comes with 568 mAh larger battery capacity: 5060 vs 4492 mAh
- Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- Thinner bezels – 8.2% more screen real estate
- More recent OS version: Android 15 versus 14
- Supports higher wattage charging (37W versus 18W)
- 13% higher pixel density (486 vs 430 PPI)
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 8a
- CPU with a higher amount of cores (+1)
- Weighs 33 grams less
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.8 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1344 x 2992 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 486 ppi | 430 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (1-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 3000 nits | 2000 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 2000 nits | 1400 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.5% | 81.3% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99% | 99.1% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Response time | 2 ms | 2 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 162.8 mm (6.41 inches) | 152.1 mm (5.99 inches) |
| Width | 76.6 mm (3.02 inches) | 72.7 mm (2.86 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 221 g (7.8 oz) | 188 g (6.63 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP67 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Gray, Pink | White, Black, Blue, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Google Tensor G4 | Google Tensor G3 |
| Max clock | 3100 MHz | 3000 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 9 (1 + 4 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.92 GHz: Cortex-A520 - 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 1 core at 3.1 GHz: Cortex-X4 | - 4 cores at 1.7 GHz: Cortex-A510 - 4 cores at 2.37 GHz: Cortex-A715 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X3 |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G715 MP7 | Mali-G715 MP7 |
| GPU shading units | 896 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 940 MHz | 890 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1792 GFLOPS | ~1594.8 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 395641 | 368321 |
| GPU | 448762 | 432077 |
| Memory | 213528 | 218319 |
| UX | 235197 | 204978 |
| Total score | 1292858 | 1223695 |
| Samples | [2 tests] | [3 tests] |
Memory
| RAM size | 16 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | - | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128, 256, 512, 1024 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 15) | Android 14 |
| ROM | Stock Android | Stock Android |
| OS size | - | 18.4 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5060 mAh | 4492 mAh |
| Max charge power | 37 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (12 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (67% in 30 min) | Yes (33% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:18 hr | 2:09 hr |
| Web browsing | 11:42 hr | 08:15 hr |
| Watching video | 10:46 hr | 13:00 hr |
| Gaming | 05:57 hr | 04:54 hr |
| Standby | 92 hr | 86 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 64 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8160 x 6144 | 9000 x 7000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 5x | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 48 MP 3) Ultrawide: 48 MP | 1) Standard: 64 MP 2) Ultrawide: 13 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 64 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 25 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung GN1 | Sony IMX787 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.31" | 1/1.73" |
| Pixel size | 1.2 micron | 0.8 micron |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.8 | - |
| Focal length | 113 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGM5 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" | - |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 13 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/2.2 |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGM5 | Sony IMX712 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" | 1/3.06" |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 75 | 60 |
| Preview | 86 | 71 |
| Zoom | 155 | 126 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Google Pixel 9 Pro XL from DxOMark | Photo samples of Google Pixel 8a from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 42 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | - |
| Focal length | 17 mm | - |
| Sensor size | 1/2.51" | - |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | - |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | - | 20 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | August 2024 | May 2024 |
| Release date | August 2024 | May 2024 |
| Launch price | $1099 | $499 |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.4 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

