Google Pixel 8a AI Features, Software Support Details Leaked

Google Pixel 8a is expected to make its debut next month at the company’s annual Google I/O conference that begins on May 14. While the company is yet to announce plans to launch a new handset, details of the purported Pixel 8a have been spotted online several times over the past few months. With a few weeks to go before its anticipated debut, a promotional video showing off the handset’s AI features has been leaked. Meanwhile, other Pixel exclusive features and software support for the upcoming Pixel 8a has also surfaced online.

Tipster Steve Hemmerstoffer (X: @OnLeaks) leaked a promo video for the Pixel 8a in collaboration with MySmartPrice that shows several Pixel-exclusive features expected to arrive on the upcoming smartphone. The video shows the Pixel 8a will include Google’s Best Take feature that swaps out faces from multiple group photos or burst photos to ‘replace’ faces with eyes closed or unwanted expressions.

Circle to Search — another feature currently available on select Pixel and Samsung Galaxy smartphones — will also be available on the Pixel 8a, according to the leaked video that also suggests the smartphone will feature Google’s Audio Magic Eraser feature that is designed to remove unwanted background sounds from recorded videos using artificial intelligence (AI). Live translation will for voice calls will also be supported on the Pixel 8a, as per the video.

Meanwhile, images leaked by Android Headlines also show that the Pixel 8a will arrive with the Best Take and Audio Magic Eraser features. It will also feature Call Assist, offer Circle to Search Support, and Google VPN support — a feature the company is set to shut down on June 10.

The leaked teasers also state that the phone will be equipped with Tensor G3 chip and get “seven years of security updates”, but it is currently unclear whether the phone will get the same number of Android OS upgrades as the more premium models in the Pixel 8 series that are also equipped with the same processor. The company is expected to reveal more details about the handset in the days leading up to its anticipated debut on May 14.