Yeah I have machines with 8Gb and I am popping VMs like there is no tomorrow without problem.
Now I am not very knowledge about memory management on Android but I just noticed the 8Gb of the Pixel 8a are almost all used just after reboot. So this is very different than a Linux desktop...
Android is not GNU/Linux, yes it may use the Linux kernel, however it has a complete different userland, complete different driver model microkernel inspired with Android IPC, and the kernel itself is heavly customised, more so the OEMs ones.
Expecting Android to be just another Linux distro is exactly the root cause of many Termux developers frustations.
Yes, all of the background google services that don't come with desktop Linux chew up a big chunk. You could look into disabling all non-critical services on the phone, there's probably lots of low-hanging fruit.
Now I am not very knowledge about memory management on Android but I just noticed the 8Gb of the Pixel 8a are almost all used just after reboot. So this is very different than a Linux desktop...