Google Pixel 7a review

Few cellphone manufacturers make mid-rangers like Google does lately. Its Pixel A-series telephones are direct descendants of the corporate’s flagships, with a lot shared DNA that at instances they really feel like flagships in their very own proper.  

That’s by no means been more true than with the Pixel 7a, which as soon as once more shares the chipset of the flagships it follows, however now throws in the identical show tech and wi-fi charging to finish the phantasm that it is a Pixel 7 in all however title. 

A slight worth hike isn’t sufficient to disrupt the worth on provide right here – if nothing else, it’s inside the bounds of the final yr’s inflation – and the Pixel 7a does sufficient to place each different mid-range cellphone on the market on discover. 

Design & construct 

• Comparatively compact by fashionable requirements 
• Metallic body with glass & plastic physique 
• IP67 score 

At a look, the Pixel 7a seems an terrible lot just like the Pixel 7 and seven Professional – and never accidentally. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

There are variations although. A smaller display means the cellphone as an entire right here is a bit more compact than even the usual Pixel 7. This isn’t as small because the likes of the Asus Zenfone 9 or iPhone 13 Mini, however it’s about the identical measurement as final yr’s 6a and nonetheless smaller than most fashionable handsets. 

The 7a runs very barely thicker than the 7, one of many few visible clues to its worth level, although this has the knock-on impact that the digicam bar doesn’t protrude from the physique fairly as a lot. 

Regardless of being about the identical measurement, the cellphone is a full 15g heavier than the 6a. At 193g it’s nonetheless a contact lighter than the Pixel 7, however it’s not an particularly light-weight handset. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

With that weight at the very least comes some sturdiness. Gorilla Glass coats the glass show, plastic coats the again, and metallic body coats an up to date design that Google says is more durable than ever. The cellphone has an IP67 score, giving it distinctive mud and water safety for the value. 

Lastly, it is available in a spread of vivid colors. I’ve been testing the comparatively uninteresting Charcoal, however it’s also possible to seize it in Snow (white) or Sea (blue) from most shops, with a Coral (purple/orange) choice accessible solely from Google. 

Display & audio system 

• ‘Small’ 6.1in OLED show 
• 90Hz refresh charge 
• Stereo audio system 

The Pixel 7a’s show is lastly a match for the flagship Pixel 7 – which, perversely, means it’s nonetheless lagging behind a lot of the competitors. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

The 6.1in panel is comparatively small however surrounded by a chunky black bezel – Google has by no means put a lot effort into borderless screens. 

It’s an OLED panel and, for the primary time within the A-series, it helps the identical 90Hz refresh charge because the Pixel 7. Meaning smoother animations and better potential body charges whereas gaming, making the cellphone as an entire really feel quicker. 

The dangerous information is that lately virtually each rival mid-range cellphone packs a 120Hz panel, usually additionally OLED, so the 7a nonetheless feels a little bit behind as compared. The excellent news is that the sensible hole between 90Hz and 120Hz is small, and so there’s not an excessive amount of to complain about right here. Google’s completed the essential bit, and a 90Hz panel is quick sufficient to not really feel like an egregious weak spot.

Dominic Preston / Foundry

See also  TP-Link Deco XE75 review: a solid WiFi 6E router system that delivers more for less

The display seems good too, with punchy colors and nice viewing angles. It’s not the brightest round, so might really feel a little bit restricted exterior in direct daylight, however in any other case I don’t have a lot trigger for grievance. 

Punchy stereo audio system assist, with respectable quantity. Sound will get a little bit muddied, with much less readability and separation to the sound than I’d like, however for a cellphone this will get the job completed. 

Specs & efficiency 

• Google Tensor G2 chipset 
• 8GB RAM and 128GB storage 
• No bodily dual-SIM 

It’s turn into custom for Pixel A telephones to re-use the chipset present in that technology’s flagships, and the identical is true right here. The 7a is powered by the Tensor G2, Google’s second-generation in-house chip, discovered not solely within the Pixel 7 telephones but in addition within the newly introduced Pixel Fold and Pixel Pill. 

With a deal with machine studying, the Tensor chips typically really feel a little bit under-powered in Google’s flagship telephones, however the G2 is excellent right here, with comparable efficiency to mid-range rivals together with the Samsung Galaxy A54. 

What’s odd wanting on the cellphone’s benchmark outcomes is that it’s hardly quicker than the 6a, and markedly under-performs the Pixel 7 – regardless of operating on the identical {hardware}. That might be right down to unfinished optimisation, inferior cooling, or perhaps a acutely aware effort to underclock the G2 on this cellphone, however both manner know that proper now you’re not fairly getting the total flagship efficiency. 

Nonetheless, the lengthy and wanting it’s that the G2 is highly effective sufficient to maintain the Pixel 7a feeling snappy it doesn’t matter what you throw at it, however it would possibly start to wrestle should you ramp up the graphics settings on among the extra demanding Android video games on the market. 

Google has stored issues easy by solely providing the 7a in a single spec, with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That isn’t expandable both, with Google clearly hoping that you simply’ll as an alternative put money into its Google One cloud storage choices. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

As for networking, all the most recent stuff is right here – 5G (together with mmWave), Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6E – however like all Pixel telephones the 7a gained’t help two bodily SIM playing cards. As an alternative, you possibly can pair one bodily SIM with a second eSIM, however relying in your service which may not be an choice, so it’s possible you’ll must look elsewhere for a dual-SIM cellphone. 

There’s additionally a welcome improve to biometrics. Along with the dependable fingerprint sensor underneath the show, Google has additionally lastly added help for Face Unlock for the A-series Pixel utilizing the one selfie digicam. It’s fast, seamless, and simply works. 

Digital camera & video 

• Wonderful 64Mp most important digicam 
• Improbable low-light efficiency 
• 4K video from each digicam 

Google has rebuilt the Pixel 7a’s digicam from the bottom up with all-new sensors that you simply gained’t discover in both the 6a or the flagship 7. 

On the coronary heart of that is the 64Mp most important digicam, which makes use of each the best decision and largest sensor in a Pixel A-series cellphone but. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

Images from this digicam actually are wonderful. Virtually any mid-range cellphone will shoot properly in good gentle lately, however the 7a is equally snug in difficult backlit scenes, dim eating places, and night-time streets with competing gentle sources. 

Photographs are crisp and detailed, with wealthy however pure colors and nice dynamic vary. The one actual instances I bumped into bother have been occasional focus issues when capturing up shut, not helped by the dearth of any devoted macro mode. 

The primary shooter is joined by a 13Mp ultrawide lens. In easy lighting there’s little to inform this other than the primary digicam, however they pull aside a little bit at night time. The ultrawide isn’t dangerous per se, however element does drop with the sunshine, and it has extra of a bent to blow out streetlights and related vivid factors. 

There’s no devoted telephoto lens right here – no shock, since the usual Pixel 7 doesn’t have one both. The digicam app does provide a 2x zoom choice by default although, and in complete you possibly can zoom to as much as 8x, all utilizing Google’s digital trickery off the primary lens. Outcomes are acceptable however unimpressive, and even at 2x some images – like my canalside graffiti shot – come out painterly and gentle.

Listed below are a pair picture units evaluating all three default zoom choices, adopted by some low-light comparisons between the ultrawide and most important cameras:

Flip to the entrance and you discover one other 13Mp digicam for selfies. This can be a broad lens, so can serve for each group photographs or solo selfies, and in daylight photographs are nice, with a portrait mode that’s among the many greatest round. High quality noticeably drops at night time, however even most flagships wrestle with low-light selfies, so I wouldn’t maintain it towards Google an excessive amount of. 

All your images additionally profit from a few of Google’s Pixel-exclusive software program methods by way of the Google Images app, like Magic Eraser to take away distracting objects or Unblur to, properly, unblur. 

In a welcome twist, Google has additionally delivered 4K video at 30fps throughout every of the three lenses, with the primary digicam in a position to go as much as 60fps. I’ve reviewed telephones twice this worth (or extra) that gained’t document 4K video from the front-facing digicam, so it’s secure to say that the 7a is extra TikTok-ready than most. 

Battery & charging 

• All-day battery life 
• Wired and wi-fi charging – however gradual 
• No charger in field 

Outfitted with a 4385mAh battery, the 7a has sufficient juice to final a full day of pretty typical utilization, although don’t anticipate rather more than that. 

Battery is properly beneath the midway line once I head to mattress most nights, and if the cellphone begins from a full cost at 8am then it’s going to die mid-morning the following day. 

Briefly: there’s sufficient battery life that you simply don’t actually have to fret about it, however you have to an everyday every day charging schedule. 

In concept this could enhance over time because of the cellphone’s ‘Adaptive Battery’ tech, which tries to be taught out of your utilization to optimise energy consumption, however in per week with the cellphone I can’t actually assess that. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

Charging itself is a blended bag. Google has given the 7a a critical improve within the type of 7.5W wi-fi charging to associate with the 18W wired speeds, a welcome oddity for a cellphone at this worth. 

These speeds are gradual although, and keep in mind that Google doesn’t ship the cellphone with any charger in any respect – wired or wi-fi.  

Utilizing a third-party USB-C charger I managed to prime the cellphone as much as 20% in quarter-hour, and 38% in half an hour, that means you’ll must put aside an hour or two to get a full cost. Quick charging this ain’t. 

My wi-fi expertise was worse, with the 7a topping itself up fortunately on certainly one of my Qi charging pads, however refusing to interact with two others, and charging agonisingly slowly on a 3rd. Maybe a firmware patch may repair this, however for now I wouldn’t fully belief it. 

Software program & updates 

• Ships with Android 13 
• Pixel software program stays Android’s greatest 
• Three OS updates promised 

Unsurprisingly, the Pixel 7a ships operating Android 13, the most recent model of Google’s working system. 

As a Pixel cellphone, it’s going to probably be among the many first to get the improve to Android 14 later this yr, and Google has promised that it’s going to then even be upgraded to at the very least Android 15 and 16. Safety patches will run for at the very least 5 years, carrying you thru to 2028 – a fairly good run for any cellphone. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

Lately the software program on Google’s Pixel telephones – which isn’t fairly inventory Android, because it features a few exclusives – is comfortably the very best on any Android cellphone, having seen off challenges from the likes of Samsung and OnePlus. 

Bolstered by the Materials You design overhaul from Android 12, that is the best-looking cellphone software program round – sure, even in comparison with iOS – and in use it’s easy and easy.  

You’ll need to put up with just a few Google-isms – the branded search bar is locked to your house display whether or not you prefer it or not – however should you’re shopping for a Google cellphone anyway then odds are you gained’t thoughts. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

As a Pixel cellphone, it additionally enjoys just a few unique options not discovered on different Android gadgets. I’ve already detailed just a few of the additional digicam choices, however you additionally get entry to Google’s wonderful Recorder app, good computerized name screening, Google Assistant dictation typing, and extra, with further choices added within the sporadic Pixel Function Drops. 

Value & availability 

The Pixel 7a is out now and can set you again $499/£449/€509 direct from Google. 

That’s $50/£50/€50 greater than the Pixel 6a value at launch, however extra importantly nonetheless an honest chunk lower than the $599/£599/€649 Pixel 7 – particularly within the UK and Europe. 

When you can afford to stretch to the 7, the soar in digicam high quality and extra premium construct could be worthwhile, however most individuals will probably be completely proud of what the 7a has to supply. 

It additionally gives a extra compelling package deal than some other mid-range cellphone on the market proper now, and virtually actually the very best digicam you’ll discover at this worth. 

Verdict 

The Pixel 7a is one other reasonably priced triumph from Google, balancing a premium characteristic set with an reasonably priced worth level, and within the course of inflicting some actual issues for its mid-range rivals. 

US consumers particularly could be tempted by the slight $100 soar as much as the slicker Pixel 7, however in apply the 7a ought to ship every thing most individuals need from a cellphone: stable efficiency, dependable battery life, and a very good most important digicam.  

An IP67 score and wi-fi charging (when it really works) add to the flagship feeling, whereas long-term software program help ensures this shouldn’t want changing any time quickly. 

Proper now, that is the very best mid-range cellphone, bar none. 

Specs 

• 6.1in, FHD+, 90Hz OLED 
• Google Tensor G2 chipset 
• Google Titan M2 safety chip 
• 8GB RAM 
• 128GB storage 
• Cameras: 
  • 64Mp, f/1.9 most important digicam 
  • 13Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide 
  • 13Mp, f/2.2 selfie digicam 
• 4385mAh battery 
• 18W wired charging 
• 7.5W wi-fi charging 
• IP67 score 
• 5G 
• Android 13 
• 72.9 x 152.4 x 9.0mm 
• 193g