Google Pixel8a has many amazing features that were originally only available in pixel8 and Pixel8Pro. Currently, the latest Android15 beta may have added support for USB-C display output. 

This feature was discovered by Reddit user u/deedsdude1 (via Android Police) and confirmed by Tom's Guide on Pixel15a running Android2beta8. It is not mentioned anywhere in the release notes for Android15beta2 and has not been explicitly confirmed by Google, but this feature is available.

The process of setting up that external display was too incredibly simple. I simply had to connect a USB-C cable that was connected to my desktop monitor and the option to mirror my screen immediately popped up at the bottom of my screen. I didn't even have to go to the USB Preferences menu to set things up.

One thing I've also noticed is that dismissing the screen mirroring prompt means there was no obvious way to set up the connection after the fact that you have to unplug the cable and connect it again. Still, everything seemed to work as expected, with minimal lag and output issues.

The ability to connect to an external monitor via USB-C has been missing for several years on Pixel phones, raising Pixel owners' frustration. But this was made available in the Pixel8 series last year using the same screen mirroring feature. So it's possible that Google is warming to the idea that Android phones can be used with larger screens.

What makes the news more interesting is that Google reportedly made a private demo with Pixel desktop mode earlier this week. The demo is said to show Pixel8 running a version of Chromeos, an open source version of chromiumos, on an external monitor. This timing suggests that Google may be warming to the idea of monitor output, but there was no official announcement of this nature.

There were not many announcements related to Android15 this week, even though the Google I/O developer conference had been held since then. While the keynote focused on Gemini and AI instead, the announcement of Android15 was relegated to a press release that did not fully represent everything Android15 and its 2nd beta had to offer.

Therefore, if you have Pixel8a or plan to get pixel8a in the coming weeks, knowing that screen mirroring is available is heavy and you agree to sign up for the Android15 beta and suffer good or bad as a result of that decision. Alternatively, you can wait for the final release, which should launch at any time between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.