The Google Pixel 8a has been rumored for some time as the next inexpensive Pixel phone from the tech giant It is expected to debut in a few months, probably at I/O 2024, but there has yet to be an official announcement regarding this upcoming device That is, until this week, when Google casually confirmed the existence of the Pixel 8a as it talked about the Pixel's disappearing features

This discovery comes after several users reported that the new "Battery Info" page no longer appears on Pixel devices following the March update to Android 14 This page appears under Settings > About Phone > Battery Information and was first added in last year's Android 14 QPR1, and displays the device's manufacture date and number of battery cycles

As 9to5 Google discovered, a Google software engineer recently responded to these concerns on the Android 14 bug tracker page This engineer explained that the page was only supposed to be available on future Pixel phones starting with the Pixel 8a, so it never showed up on existing devices

"We are only enabling this page on Pixel 8a and later, so this is WAI (Working as Intended)," they wrote on March 7

And not only is it the first official confirmation that the Pixel 8a is coming, but we now know what features it will include Nevertheless, the exact reason why the battery statistics page was displayed on the existing Pixel in the first place remains unclear Users pointed out that the statistics themselves were not particularly accurate and that the page was far removed from the depth of battery health data already available on the best iPhones Google may intend to improve this page in the future, perhaps developing it into a comprehensive battery health information panel But we will have to wait and see

If Google sticks to its usual schedule of unveiling budget devices at the Google I/O conference in the spring, it seems we won't have to wait long; according to retailers who spoke with Winfuture, the 128GB model will go from €509 to €569, and the 256 GB version could jump to 630 euros

If you're in the market for a device right now, check out our list of the best budget phones and find the one that best suits your needs Also, visit our Pixel 8a hub for the latest news and rumors