Google Pixel 7a review – Price Pioneer

It’s not that long ago since the superb Google Pixel 7 won accolades for its premium look, feel and experience at a sub-premium price. Its budget sibling has gone further still and brought much from upmarket devices for a decidedly mid-range pricetag. Google Pixel 7a brings a capable chipset, wraps it in a flagship look and feel, and gives it a bright, colourful display to match.

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Google Pixel 7a captures the look of Pixel 7 Series proper. Our Charcoal review model looks a dark grey with a navy tint at times. The solid colour and lack of texture feed a very Google minimalism.

The metallic sash and its slightly different shade maintain a little of that two-tone company device branding. The sash offers a bold macro detail that breaks up the clean rear that otherwise wears a solitary ‘G’, again in a different shade that somewhat occludes it and keeps the demure look of the device overall.

That clean colouring and lack of texture combine with the gently rounded box aesthetic to create something that looks professional without being boring.

Google Pixel 7a feels solid in the hand and its materials offers a premium feel to match its look. The brushed metal frame and plastic rear cover aren’t too slippery and the device’s dimensions make it easy to use one-handed.

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The 6.1″ screen is generous on a device that’s as easy to hold and manipulate – Pixel 7a feels like a smaller device. At just 9mm thick, it’s also quite slender and pocketable.

Google Pixel 7a weighs in at 193 grams and that gives the device a reassuring density inside its modest dimensions.

Smooth Pixel

Google Pixel 7a also feels like a more expensive device in operation. The device is powered by the same Tensor G2 as the more expensive Google Pixel 7 and it performs like it. For a €509/£449 smartphone, Pixel 7a is probably unbeatable in terms of everyday performance.

There were occasions when leaving a rake of RAM-heavy apps open induced a little lag in some of the OS opening/switching animations. But this was rare and barely noticeable. Android 13’s graphical finery and subtle transition animations were crisp and smooth every other time.

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Moving from an overpowered €1,300 premium plus device to the mid-range Google Pixel 7a as a daily driver didn’t feel like a step down for day-to-day use. And that’s incredible.

Near-Premium Face

Google Pixel 7a uses a 90Hz LTPO OLED display at 1080 x 2400 pixels resolution. At 6.1″, that is sharp enough to give a detailed and crisp look. The 20:9 aspect ratio of the device makes it slightly long but not unwieldy.

Google Pixel 7a has a neutral-to-slightly-blue tone out of the box. The colour can be calibrated to your preference but it maintains a pleasant contrast. Colours are also set to a natural and accurate level of saturation by default. Users can up the saturation for a juicier look with more pop should they prefer something more vibrant.

The device’s 90Hz refresh rate only enhance the beauty of the display as it smoothly scrolls past. The variable refresh rate of the display saves a bit of juice.

Budget Quick Snap

Google Pixel 7 a uses a dual-lens setup. The 64MP main lens does the heavy lifting most of the time and captures bright and well-toned shots with minimal fuss. There is also a pleasant contrast, high dynamic range and a solid level of detail in most shots first time around.

There were occasions when the AI hasn’t quite decided what the best settings are. The first shot of the pack might have a different, usually inferior, look to them. This happened rarely, mostly when I was whipping the phone towards objects of scenes in difference shadow or brightness scenarios.

Shots from the 2x ‘optical ‘Super Res’ zoom maintain that level of detail. 2x digially zoomed images are excellent in terms of their colour, dynamic range and detail.

Zoom beyond the 2x is spotty. The AI often does a great job at cleaning up textures and the edges of objects, particularly those which man-made. Nature like trees, rocks or fauna can be left with unnaturally smooth textures and sharp edges. Though, it must be said Google Pixel 7a does a good job in these scenarios give its price.

Pixel OS Prizes

Some UI features of Pixel 7 and Android 13 are very welcome in a mid-range device. Auto-captions and auto-translate are game-changing additions that wowed in premium devices.

If you bring up audio options or change the volume using the rocker, you can tap the captioning icon and Pixel 7a will caption in your home language or hunt for a translation if you require it.

Copying an image or text gives a flash menu along the bottom of the screen, allowing you to share or edit.

You can even keep more than one image or piece of text copied in a virtual clipboard. For professionals or those who process words on their phone on the go, these little features are a revelation.

The Android 13 visual design and the skin options preloaded on Pixel 7a looks incredible.

The rounded edges on the icons, the softer fonts and blocky pastel colour accents suit the look of the hardware and look particularly fine beaming from the device’s display.

Pixel 7a Unlock Options

Google Pixel 7a features both face and in-screen fingerprint unlocking. The fingerprint scanner works very quickly and accurately. The fingerprint area is relatively large so finding it quickly is straightforward. It’s also easy to set up upon starting your device.

The Face Unlock feature is similarly well implemented. It can be set to open once you look at it or can scan your face to reveal your notifications, ready to swipe up to open the home screen proper if needed. Once its too dark for it to work, it tells you so instead of trying, which is a nice touch.

Battery and Stamina

Google Pixel 7a handled my work and play for the promised day. By bedtime, the device had 10-20% left in most days on moderate workload. Those who don’t run the device as hard will certainly get a day-and-a-half.

Power-users may need the charger before the end of the workday. Google Pixel 7a has respectable stamina, helped no doubt by a capable chipset that doesn’t struggle to keep up.

The wired charging is at 18 watts and no charging plug is included with the device. Over the USB-C cable in the box, it takes just over 90 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%. This is definitely acceptable but this 18-watt charging maximum is one of the few places that Google Pixel 7a feels like a device in its market.

Google Pixel 7a also features wireless charging at 7.5 watts. This is quite slow for a desk cradle these days but very useful in-car nonetheless.

Google Pixel 7a Specifications

Mid-Range Marvel

Google Pixel 7a is probably the best all-round device you can buy for its price. The chipset offers a flagship level of performance for everyday tasks, impressively operating like a premium smartphone in use.

Similarly, the look and build quality of Pixel 7a bely its mid-range market. In addition to it strengths, there aren’t many places where the aggressively low pricetag becomes apparent on the device. Beyond a slow charging speed and a lack of optical zoom, it would be hard to tell Pixel 7a from a device at much higher cost.

Pricing and Availability

Google Pixel 7a is available in four colours – Charcoal, Snow, Sea, and Coral – from the Google Store priced at €509/£449.

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