Google Pixel 8a: New leak hints at battery upgrade for potential Nothing Phone (2a) rival

The Pixel 8a is projected to launch soon as a more affordable source of the same Tensor G3 chipset as its flagship 8 and 8 Pro siblings. Now, it is also thought to launch with a potentially major upgrade.

A new Google device has reportedly passed safety testing at Demko, the Danish subsidiary of independent group UL Solutions. It is thought to launch as the Pixel 8a based on its model number GH2MB, which is fairly similar to those associated with the 7a (G82U8, GHL1X, G0DZQ or GWKK3).

Should that be the case, the 8a has acquired a significantly larger battery: 4,942mAh, much larger compared to a typical rating of 4,385mAh for the "24-hour battery" 7a and, in fact, more or less on par with the 8 Pro's official typical 5,050mAh capacity.

Accordingly, its successor might be capable of even better advertised screen-on times - then again, it might also mean that the 8a has also been bumped up to an 8 Pro-level ~6.7-inch display size, thereby possibly leaving rumors of more compact ~6.2-inch dimensions in the dust. 

In addition, that would put the 8a even more in the crosshairs of its rumored 2024 nemesis the Nothing Phone (2a). That device's own battery specs remain uncertain, although it is slated to keep a Phone (2)-sized display on.