Google Pixel 8 vs Nothing Phone (3a) Pro

Google Pixel 8

Google

8.3

Best compact Google flagship — 7-year updates + AI in a small body

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro

Nothing

8.3

Best-value periscope-camera budget phone

Google Pixel 8

What Reviewers Agree On

Same industry-first 7-year update commitment as the Pixel 8 Pro — through October 2030
Same Magic Editor, Best Take, Audio Magic Eraser AI features as the Pro — entire AI suite trickles down to the cheaper Pixel
Compact 6.2-inch body at 187g — genuinely pocketable, rare in a 6.7"+ flagship market
Tensor G3 + 8GB RAM run the new AI features locally, same chip as Pro
6.2" Actua display at 2000-nit peak, 1-120Hz adaptive — bright enough for sunlight even without LTPO
Cleaner curve-free flat-front design with polished aluminum rails — most refined Pixel design yet

Pros & Cons

Google Pixel 8

Pros

Same industry-first 7-year update commitment as the Pixel 8 Pro — through October 2030
Same Magic Editor, Best Take, Audio Magic Eraser AI features as the Pro — entire AI suite trickles down to the cheaper Pixel
Compact 6.2-inch body at 187g — genuinely pocketable, rare in a 6.7"+ flagship market
Tensor G3 + 8GB RAM run the new AI features locally, same chip as Pro
6.2" Actua display at 2000-nit peak, 1-120Hz adaptive — bright enough for sunlight even without LTPO

Detailed Comparison

Battery & Charging

Google Pixel 8

4,575mAh battery delivers average all-day life — behind iPhone 15 (3,349mAh) per-mAh due to Tensor G3 inefficiency. 27W wired charging is modest.

4,575mAh battery — bigger than iPhone 15 (3,349mAh) but Tensor G3 inefficiency cancels much of the advantage.
Real-world: ~5-6 hours of screen-on time typical; all-day for moderate use but rarely two-day endurance.
27W wired charging — modest by 2023 standards. 0-50% in ~30 min, full in ~1h30m.
18W Qi wireless via Pixel Stand 2; 12W standard Qi — solid wireless charging story for a $699 phone.

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro

A 5,000mAh cell that's exceptionally well optimised — a day and a half of use that out-endures the Pixel 9a — with fast 50W wired charging, but no wireless charging.

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Deal Breakers

$699 starting was a $100 increase over the Pixel 7's $599 — value pushback at launch
No telephoto camera — 50MP main + 12MP ultrawide only; relies on 2x sensor crop for any zoom
Smaller 4,575mAh battery + Tensor G3 inefficiency = average all-day life, behind Samsung/iPhone equivalents
27W wired charging is modest; far behind OnePlus 11's 80W or even iPhone 15's 20W on smaller cells
Display tops at 2000-nit (vs Pro's 2400-nit LTPO) — Pro is meaningfully brighter outdoors
Tensor G3 thermal: runs warmer than Snapdragon under sustained load

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro

What Reviewers Agree On

Exceptional value — multiple reviewers call it the best affordable premium phone, picking it over the Google Pixel 9a.
The 3x periscope camera (with telemacro) is genuinely rare at this price and the standout reason to choose the Pro over the base 3a.
The 6.77-inch 120Hz AMOLED is excellent — bright (3,000-nit peak HDR) and a class leader.
Nothing OS plus the transparent Glyph design is one of the most distinctive, cleanest Android experiences outside a Pixel.
The 5,000mAh battery is very well optimised — a day and a half of use and it out-endures the Pixel 9a in rundown tests.

Deal Breakers

The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is upper-mid only — raw benchmarks are weak and sustained gaming drops frames despite good thermals.
No 4K60 video on any camera, and the 8MP ultrawide is poor.
No wireless charging, slow UFS 2.2 storage, and Nothing is adding lock-screen ads / bloatware to the lineup.

Cleaner curve-free flat-front design with polished aluminum rails — most refined Pixel design yet

Cons

$699 starting was a $100 increase over the Pixel 7's $599 — value pushback at launch
No telephoto camera — 50MP main + 12MP ultrawide only; relies on 2x sensor crop for any zoom
Smaller 4,575mAh battery + Tensor G3 inefficiency = average all-day life, behind Samsung/iPhone equivalents
27W wired charging is modest; far behind OnePlus 11's 80W or even iPhone 15's 20W on smaller cells
Display tops at 2000-nit (vs Pro's 2400-nit LTPO) — Pro is meaningfully brighter outdoors
Tensor G3 thermal: runs warmer than Snapdragon under sustained load

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro

Pros

Exceptional value — multiple reviewers call it the best affordable premium phone, picking it over the Google Pixel 9a.
The 3x periscope camera (with telemacro) is genuinely rare at this price and the standout reason to choose the Pro over the base 3a.
The 6.77-inch 120Hz AMOLED is excellent — bright (3,000-nit peak HDR) and a class leader.
Nothing OS plus the transparent Glyph design is one of the most distinctive, cleanest Android experiences outside a Pixel.
The 5,000mAh battery is very well optimised — a day and a half of use and it out-endures the Pixel 9a in rundown tests.

Cons

The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is upper-mid only — raw benchmarks are weak and sustained gaming drops frames despite good thermals.
No 4K60 video on any camera, and the 8MP ultrawide is poor.
No wireless charging, slow UFS 2.2 storage, and Nothing is adding lock-screen ads / bloatware to the lineup.

In an extreme multi-task drain test the 3a Pro lasted 9h08m, beating the Pixel 9a's 7h30m — a great improvement showing how well Nothing has optimised it.

In regular medium-to-heavy use you can expect about 7–8 hours of screen-on time, and a day and a half with moderate use.

50W wired charging fully replenishes the 5,000mAh battery from zero in about 56 minutes (50% in under 20 minutes).

At 5,000mAh it's starting to look modest against newer 6,000–7,000mAh rivals, but it's far from bad.

There's no wireless charging and no reverse charging — and no charger in the box.

Long-term battery health holds up unusually well — one owner reported it still at 100% after a year, a first for them.