Google Pixel 7a long-term review – Premium Slayer

It’s around two months since TechStomper received a Google Pixel 7a for review. As always, I took Pixel 7a as my main for a few weeks for the purposes to crafting a review. And I didn’t miss my €1,300+ premium daily driver – in fact, Pixel 7a held its own so well that my SIM still resides in the trust mid-range device.

But how does the €509* Google Pixel 7a achieve this game-changing feat?? Here’s a long-term review of the device from someone, on paper, making a step downwards from a full flagship device.

*Pixel 7a is currently available for €454 on Google Ireland’s store

In-Form Form Factor

Google Pixel 7a wears the same look as Pixel 7. The device has a boxy form with rounded edges softening the design. Pixel 7a is dominated by a metallic band swishing its way across the upper rear, collecting the LED flash and dual-lens camera setup.

Our grey review model is the least eye-catching of the four colours but is far from boring. The design has a pleasing symmetry, and an even more pleasing restraint. The solitary dark grey ‘G’ is the only detail outside that daring and functional band on our muted and elegant rear cover.

One small area where a visual difference exists between Google Pixel 7 and its budget-friendly A-Series is a slightly larger screen bezel on the lower-priced model. It barely takes from the premium look that the Pixel 7a borrows so beautifully.

Reliability and Raw Power

Google Pixel 7a, with its premium features and powerful Tensor G2 processor, feels like device twice its price. The device delivers outstanding performance, practically identical to its more expensive counterpart, Google Pixel 7. For its launch price of just €509/£449, the Pixel 7a is unmatched in terms of everyday performance. And it’s even better value now with a price cut.

Occasionally, with a multitude of RAM-intensive apps running simultaneously, some minor delays in the OS opening/switching animations may occur. However, these occurrences are rare and hardly noticeable. The graphical finesse and smooth transition animations of Android 13 are, for the most part, crisp and seamless.

Moving from a €1,300 high-end device to the mid-range Google Pixel 7a as my daily driver did not feel like a downgrade in any way for everyday usage. This fact alone is truly remarkable and the highlight of this device’s ‘David vs. Goliath’ experience.

The Face of Premium

The Google Pixel 7a utilises a 90Hz LTPO OLED display with a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels. With its 6.1″ size, this resolution offers sharpness and clarity, allowing for a detailed viewing experience.

Despite its slightly elongated 20:9 aspect ratio, the device remains manageable and not too unwieldy. Out of the box, the Google Pixel 7a’s display exhibits a neutral-to-slightly-blue tone. However, users have the option to calibrate the color preferences to their liking while still maintaining a pleasant contrast.

By default, the colors are set at a natural and accurate level of saturation, ensuring a realistic visual representation. If so desired, users can increase the saturation for a bolder and more vibrant aesthetic.

Furthermore, the device’s 90Hz refresh rate further enhances the already captivating display by ensuring smooth and seamless scrolling. Additionally, the display’s variable refresh rate helps conserve battery life.

Pixel Perfect

The visual design of Android 13 is as elegant as the Pixel hardware itself. The rounded edges of the icons, subtle choice of fonts, and the delightful pastel color accents perfectly complement the device’s overall look, especially when emanating from its impressive display.

The preloaded skin options on the Pixel 7a deserve a special mention also. Many premium devices come with an array of wallpapers and menu designs harmonised to the grander visual design of the hardware. Google Pixel 7a features that same care in packaging a congruent software aesthetic design as any premium device.

Read More: Google Pixel Watch review -Solid First Effort

But with Pixel 7a user can effectively build their own perfect pastel pixelscape to match their device. The customisation options are impressive. The choice of colours, widgets, shapes and sounds all seem to work well together.

Budget Quick Snap

The Google Pixel 7a employs a dual-lens setup, featuring a primary lens with an impressive 64MP, enabling it to capture vibrant and well-balanced shots. In the majority of cases, this lens excels.

Moreover, the camera showcases a delightful contrast, a high dynamic range, and an impressive level of detail, providing a excellent experience for users straight from the pocket.

On rare occasions, there might be situations where the AI encounters difficulty in determining the optimal settings. As a result, the initial shot in a sequence may exhibit slight variations, sometimes with slightly diminished quality. This occurrence is infrequent and typically happens when swiftly shifting the phone’s focus between objects or when presented with challenging lighting conditions.

When using the 2x ‘optical ‘Super Res’ zoom, the camera continues to impress by maintaining a high level of detail in the captured images. Images zoomed digitally at 2x also exhibit excellence in terms of color accuracy, dynamic range, and level of detail.

However, zooming beyond 2x can be inconsistent. The AI often performs admirably in cleaning up textures and refining the edges of man-made objects. However, in some cases, natural elements such as trees, rocks, or fauna may display unnaturally smooth textures and sharp edges.

Read More: Google Pixel Buds A-Series review – Budget Wireless Earphones Worth Waiting For

Despite this, it is worth noting that the Google Pixel 7a does an exceptional job in these scenarios, especially considering its price point.

Premium Pixel Prizes

All of the of the UI features found on Google Pixel 7 make their way to the mid-range 7a and are truly a welcome addition. Game-changing additions like auto-captions and auto-translate are spectacular extras implemented to perfection.

The user can bring up the audio options or adjust the volume using the rocker, then simply tap the captioning icon on the Pixel 7a to get captions or even apply a real-time translation.

If you ask for a phone call to be captioned, you have the option to type your responses and have Google’s AI voice read them to whoever’s on the other end of the line.

Similarly well-realised are the enhanced copy and paste options. Copying an image or text will elicit a convenient flash menu at the bottom of the screen, offering quick sharing or editing options. You can even copy, paste and save text and images from the Recents menu. This means you can chop and change material between apps that bit quicker.

Moreover, the virtual clipboard feature allows you to keep multiple images or pieces of text copied, making it a revelation for professionals or those who frequently work with words on their phone while on the move.

Pixel 7a Unlock Options

The Google Pixel 7a is equipped with face and in-screen fingerprint unlocking capabilities, providing users with convenient and secure access to their device. The fingerprint scanner is remarkably fast and accurate, making it effortless to unlock your phone. With its generous fingerprint area, locating the sensor is a breeze.

Setting up the fingerprint unlock feature is also a simple process, ensuring a seamless experience from the moment you start using your device. Moreover, the Face Unlock feature is almost flawlessly implemented.

You have the option to set it to unlock your phone as soon as it detects your face, or it can scan your face to display your notifications, allowing you to swipe up and access the home screen when necessary.

Additionally, the Face Unlock feature intelligently recognises when the lighting conditions are too dim for it to work effectively and tells you instead of letting you try in vain. There were rare occasions when the device a little longer to recognise me than it probably should, but it works impressively well the vast majority of the time.

Google Pixel 7a Specifications

Pricing and Availability

Google Pixel 7a is available in four colours – Charcoal, Snow, Sea, and Coral – from the Google Store priced currently at €454.