The best $500 device for most!

The Google Pixel 7a makes its way to market on the back of the successful Google Pixel 6a, bettering the hardware it offers in more ways than one. With the latest Google Tensor G2 packed inside, a refined design, and hardware that’s rare to see on budget smartphones, the device packs a lot for $500.

Here we will dive into our experience using this device since it launched, looking at whether it’s worth keeping an eye out for if you’re an Android user in the market for a new phone.

About this review: The device used was purchased in India, and the views reflected are after using the device for two weeks. Google did not have any input on the content of this review.

Google Pixel 7a: Price and availability

The Google Pixel 7a has been available for purchase since May 11, 2023. We’ve listed the price for the 8 GB RAM and 128 GB variant in the table below. As for regions, you can officially buy the device in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Google Pixel 7a: Technical Specifications

Google Pixel 7a

The Pixel 7a is the new affordable smartphone from Google, featuring much-awaited features such as a 90Hz responsive display, a more powerful camera setup, and support for wireless charging. The Pixel 7a is powered by the Tensor G2 chipset, and it’s the best device in the A series yet.

Brand

Google

SoC

Google Tensor G2, Titan M2 security chip

Display

6.1-inch, OLED, 90Hz, FHD+, Gorilla Glass 3

RAM

8 GB (LPDDR5)

Storage

128GB (UFS 3.1)

Battery

4,385 mAh

Ports

USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2

Operating System

Android 13

Front camera

13MP, f/2.2, 95-degree FoV

Rear cameras

Primary: 64MP, f/1.9, 80-degree FoV, 1/1.72-inch, Ultrawide: 13MP, f/2.2, 120-degree FoV

Connectivity

5G (Sub-6Ghz/mmWave), Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC

Dimensions

6.0 x 2.87 x 0.40 in (152 x 72.9 x 9.0 mm)

Colors

Charcoal (Black), Coral (Red), Snow (White), Sea (Blue), Google Store Exclusive: Coral

Weight

6.8oz (193.5 grams)

Charging

18W wired charging, 7.5W Wireless charging

IP Rating

IP67

Price

From $499

Security

In-display fingerprint sensor, Face Unlock, PIN, Pattern, Password

Material

Gorilla Glass 3 front, aluminum frame, plastic back

Google Pixel 7a Design: Great borrowed looks

Google’s answer to smartphone design has been simple yet unorthodox in the last two years. The camera visor look introduced with the Pixel 6 series brought a breath of fresh air to its smartphone lineup, giving them a look that stood out compared to many phones on the market. With the launch of the Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, we saw it take a step further, featuring more elegance and refinement — tell-tale signs of a second-generation product — and the Pixel 7a continues this trend.

At first glance, you’d find it difficult to tell the Pixel 7a apart from the more expensive Pixel 7. Discerning which-is-which only becomes simple when looking at the front or having them next to each other. We’d say Google has done a great job at converting the premium finish of the latter into a more affordable option, keeping the essentials intact.

The decision to use a plastic back — with a great glass-like finish — and a metal chassis add volumes to the in-hand experience of the device. Plus, the color options are fantastic. In addition to the standard dark (Charcoal) and light-colored option (Snow), Google offers two more colors, a bright orange (Coral) and light blue (Sea). The last one is the color of the unit I purchased. One more thing, while the plastic back is likely immune to damage from bumps and falls, make sure to add one of the best cases for Pixel 7a if you want to protect the display.

But it would be wrong to say all is perfect with the Pixel 7a, as I did find its button placement off the mark. It’s not something you can’t work around, but having a power button so high up can cause unintended presses. Nevertheless, when it comes to design, the Pixel 7a is for sure a solid offering.

Google Pixel 7a Design Takeaways

• It perfectly emulates the flagship Pixel 7 by cutting the right corners.
• The device features a plastic back instead of glass, increasing resistance to falls and damage.
• There are fun colors to choose from!

Pixel 7a Display: Par for the course

The Pixel 7a has a relatively small 6.1-inch FHD+ (1080×2400) OLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate that gets reasonably bright. It has Gorilla Glass 3 protection and chunkier bezels compared to its competition. The two statements above encompass everything you need to know about the Pixel 7a’s display specifications.

When you’re interacting with the panel on the daily prowl, you won’t notice anything unusual for a device of its price. It has great color accuracy and sharpness when looking head-on — there is a color shift when peeking at it from drastic angles — and doesn’t seem to suffer from many quality issues.

Google Pixel 7a Display Takeaways

• The 6.1-inch panel is comfortable to work with!
• It has reasonable color accuracy and sharpness, with some color shifting happening at drastic viewing angles.
• Cost cutting leads to it featuring Gorilla Glass 3 protection.

Pixel 7a Performance: This phone runs warm

In previous years, the appeal of the A-series Pixel has been the affordable access it provides to Google’s camera smarts; the situation further improved when the device also started offering Google’s in-house processor. Like the other Pixel devices released since October 2022, the Pixel 7a features the Tensor G2 processor, which shows improved performance and more AI/ML integrations than before.

Despite not being a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 series chip, it does fairly well when it comes to day-to-day performance. Social media use and constantly switching between messaging and notetaking apps will be fine, but for intensive tasks, there is a pain point with it, which is it runs warm. In regions with ambient temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, you will notice the phone quickly ramp up in temperature.

Hence, if you plan on using the phone for intense gaming, we recommend against it. Playing casual games will be fine — I spent a lot of time dual-wielding Discord and Catan on the phone with the occasional round of Clash Royale — but anything intense like Genshin Impact will make you want to stop within a few minutes.

Note: The Pixel 7a is only available in a single SKU with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.

Google Pixel 7a Performance Takeaways

• Tensor G2 on Pixel runs warm.
• It’s great for casual use but is not ideal for gaming.

Google Pixel 7a Battery Performance: It charges a little too slow

Next, we will discuss the battery performance of the Pixel 7a, which has been disappointing. The disappointment isn’t in terms of endurance but rather in the sheer amount of time it takes to charge up the 4,385 mAh battery.

The Pixel 7a easily lasted me through a day of use but often cut it close. I’d pin this onto the phone heating up and suffering with efficiency issues since May is often one of the hottest months here in India.

The abovementioned situation should be fine in cooler regions, and you will most likely get through a day’s use even more easily.

When charging up the device, the Pixel 7a showed its true weakness. There are two ways to power this device, wired fast charging and wireless charging, with maximum speeds capping at 18W and 7.5W, respectively. If you’re someone who spends a lot of time commuting via car or has a desk job that doesn’t need you to hurry through your day, the Pixel 7a is going to be fine, but if you’re someone who moves at a moment’s notice, you might get caught struggling for power.

Despite using a high-wattage charging adapter, the Pixel 7a takes nearly 2 hours to go from 0 to 100%. Wireless charging is even slower. It isn’t always that you’ll be charging your phone from 0%, but if you’ve had a heavy day, plan a window to charge the phone or have an alternate measure like one of the best power banks handy.

Google Pixel 7a Battery Performance Takeaways

• With a 4,385 mAh cell, the device can last an entire day.
• Charging via 18W fast wired charging or 7.5 wireless charging is extremely slow.

Google Pixel 7a Camera: New hardware, improved software

Moving onto the final leg of this review, we’ll focus on the feature that stands out for this smartphone — and why many consider buying the best Google Pixel phones — the cameras.

In a unique move from Google — which normally ships familiar camera hardware — the Pixel 7a features all-new sensors we’ve never seen on its devices. The primary is a 64-megapixel Quad Bayer wide camera with an 80-degree field of view, a 1/1.73-inch sensor size, f/1.89 aperture, and a 0.8 μm pixel width. The secondary is a 13-megapixel ultrawide with a 120-degree field of view, a f/2.2 aperture, and a 1.12 μm pixel width.

Now, this hardware isn’t better when compared to the Pixel 7, which has a larger sensor size and more pixel width, but the software mastery that Google has in store puts the device right next to the Pixel 7 in the case of most shots.

You’ll notice that the Pixel 7a captures some of the best-exposed images with its wide camera, hardly ever struggling with dynamic range. The shutter speed is also great for its price bracket, capturing images within moments of pressing the button. And you’ll never really find the colors askew because of lighting conditions. In the camera UI, a 2x button applies a sensor crop to capture zoomed images; the results are fine, but it felt like they lacked sharpness.

Google Pixel 7a: Portrait orientation shots

Google Pixel 7a: Landscape orientation shots

When it comes to the ultrawide, the camera matches the primary when it comes to daylight shots, but at night time, you’ll notice that the image are softer and lack finer details. Nevertheless, Google has done a great job at matching the color profile of the two sensors, and you’ll find all images from this phone pleasing to the eye.

Google Pixel 7a: Ultrawide shots

Video footage from the device is also relatively smooth compared to the competition. You can record up to 4K 60fps footage from the rear camera.

As for the front camera, you will find a 13-megapixel camera with a 95-degree field of view, f/2.2 aperture, and 1.12 μm pixel width; this is similar to the ultrawide camera, and the images resulting from it are acceptable. But unlike the rear cameras, it is limited to 4K 30fps, a point to remember if you tend to record videos from the front camera.

Google Pixel 7a: 2x Sensor Crop

Google Pixel 7a: Night Sight shots

Google Pixel 7a Camera Takeaways

• The camera hardware on this device offers a flagship-like experience for $500.
• The ultrawide sensor does stumble in sharpness when it comes to low-light scenarios.
• Long 4K video recording sessions do result in the device heating up.

Pixel 7a Review Verdict: A top choice for $500

The Pixel 7a is a great device when viewed with the lens of a budget phone. The choices Google has made to reduce the price don’t impact the user experience, and for $500, while $50 more at launch when compared to its predecessor, the Pixel 6a, it is a value-for-money offering.

You can pick this phone up in North America without looking for other options — the more premium Pixel 7 is often on sale. However, if you’re in Europe, where brands like HONOR, Poco, and Nothing have a presence, consider the Pixel 7a for its camera prowess and the stock software experience it offers.

Google Pixel 7a

Editor’s Choice

$450 $500 Save $50

The Pixel 7a is the new affordable smartphone from Google, featuring much-awaited features such as a 90Hz responsive display, a more powerful camera setup, and support for wireless charging. The Pixel 7a is powered by the Tensor G2 chipset, and it’s the best device in the A series yet.

Pros

• Clean software with reasonable update support
• Closely matches flagship Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro in terms of performance
• Great camera for $500

Cons

• Disappointingly slow charging
• Gets uncomfortably warm during intense use