While Google’s flagship phones are widely celebrated, perhaps the most significant devices it produces are lower down the scale. The Pixel A has given us a run of great devices, highlighted for their affordability, while holding on to many flagship specs.

The Pixel 7a follows a widely-lauded Pixel 6a, an established formula that might lead to a foregone conclusion: the 7a offers specs close to the Pixel 7, yet it’s more affordable. Is that the end of the story? Not quite.

Price and availability

• Launched on 10 May 2023

The Google Pixel 7a was announced on 10 May 2023 and went on sale immediately. There’s no pre-order for this device, it’s just available to buy immediately, priced at $499 in the US and £449 in the UK.

It will be widely available, but the Coral colour will be exclusive to the Google Store, so you’ll have to buy it there if that’s the colour you want.

Design and build

• 72.9 x 152.4 x 9.0mm, 193g
• Gorilla Glass, aluminium frame and plastic
• IP67

The Google Pixel 7a sticks to an established design language, using the camera bar across the back to divide the rear of the phone. This camera bar – as per the Pixel 7 – is higher quality giving the Pixel 7a an upgraded look over the Pixel 6a. The camera bar on the 6a looked a little basic, but the Pixel 7a is far from it. Perhaps that’s designed to convince buyers that the $50 bump in price is worth it over the old phone.

There are four colours being offered: Charcoal, Sea, Snow and Coral – the latter of which is a Google Store exclusive. There’s no two-tone fun here, they are now single colours, the metal frame and camera bar matching the rest of the phone, which wasn’t the case with the Pixel 6a. Again, the colouration of the metal makes for a higher-quality look. However, the important IP67 protection remains, so there’s no need to worry about the odd dunk or when you get caught in the rain.

The Pixel 7a comes in smaller than the Pixel 7 because of the smaller display, but it’s thicker, and it feels thicker when you hold it despite being a smaller phone. That partly comes down to having a flatter display, so there isn’t such a pronounced curve to the edges to make the phone feel slimmer. So although it’s perhaps better suited to those who don’t want a huge phone, you might actually find the Pixel 7 nicer to hold. The Pixel 7a also has a pretty wide border or bezel around the display, which takes it down a notch from flagship design. It’s also a glossy finish, so well worth protecting with a case to avoid the scratches.

Stereo speakers remain in place, able to put out appreciable volume and they’re well placed, so you’re unlikely to muffle them whatever you’re doing, so it’s good for gaming too. There’s also support for hi-res music, so if you have a pair of headphones supporting LDAC, for example, you’ll really be able to take advantage of better audio formats. There’s no 3.5mm headphone socket, however.

Display

• 6.1in, 2400 x 1080 pixels, 429ppi
• OLED, 90Hz
• HDR

The story of the Pixel 7a display is interesting, because there’s little change from the Pixel 6a, except for the change in refresh rate. The move to 90Hz means that you’ll get smoother scrolling in your apps, a step-up on the spec sheet over the older phone, and that helps make it more competitive against rivals. You can opt to stick with 60Hz, but we suspect many will just jump to 90Hz and stay there. There’s no adaptive refresh option.

But otherwise this is a good quality display, with the full HD resolution fitting the size to give nice rich detail, with good colour saturation, so it’s nice and vibrant. Setting it alongside the Pixel 7 Pro it’s not as bright and there are moments when it looks a little dull, more obvious in daylight than darker conditions where the lack of peak brightness is less important.

There is enough brightness to deliver the HDR visuals and on balance, it’s hard to criticise this display too much at this price, although if it’s brightness you’re after, you might find that Samsung’s Galaxy A54 is a better choice when it comes to display.

There’s a fingerprint scanner under the display which is fast to unlock and we’ve found it reliable enough in daily use. It’s supported by face unlocking, but as was the case on the Pixel 7 models, this face unlocking only appears to apply to unlocking the device – it doesn’t extend to unlocking other apps on your phone. Still, it’s a faster way to get into your device when you look at it.

Hardware and performance

• Google Tensor G2, 8GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• 4385mAh, 18W wired, 7.5W wireless

One of the headlines for this phone is that it uses the same Tensor G2 hardware as Google’s flagship phone, the Pixel 7 Pro (and the Pixel 7 for that matter). Indeed, it’s the same hardware that Google is using in the Pixel Tablet and the Pixel Fold, so you could say that you’re getting a lot for your money.

The advantage of having top-notch hardware is that it supports all the features that you get elsewhere. Those little details like that hi-res audio support, the AI and everything else that Google packs in, means there aren’t many compromises for picking a mid-range device. Yes, it’s now a more expensive package than when Google performed this trick with the Pixel 6a, but there are few companies that offer this grade of hardware in this position of phone; it was one of the advantages of the iPhone SE, although Apple’s cheaper phone has been hindered by an old design and the absence of some features. Sure, there’s only 8GB RAM and only one storage option, but otherwise the hardware gives you a lot.

There’s a 4385mAh battery, with the addition here being wireless charging, so it’s a great opportunity to pick-up a wireless charger for your Pixel. That’s going to be popular with those who want that convenience, but there’s no reverse wireless charging as you’ll find on the Pixel 7 Pro. The wired charging rate is 18W, not hugely fast, or 7.5W wireless, which again isn’t hugely fast and this is one area where some rivals will have an advantage, giving you faster charging speeds. The battery life is good, with the Pixel 7a easily lasting through a typical day easily enough.

Cameras

• Main: 64MP, f/1.89
• Ultrawide: 13MP, f/2.2
• Selfie: 13MP, f/2.2

There’s a dual camera system on the rear of the Pixel 7a, here comprising a main and ultrawide camera, with the 7a missing out on optical zoom. This also isn’t the same camera as you’ll find in the Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro, which have a 50-megapixel main sensor compared to the 64-megapixel sensor used here. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that more megapixels automatically makes for a better camera, as not all sensors are equal.

It is, however, also a complete change from the Pixel 6a in terms of hardware. That marks new ground for Google, which had been pretty consistent with its cameras on the Pixel phones for a number of years. However, the important thing is that this is a Pixel camera, so it’s not just about the optics and sensors, but about the processing that happens after you press the shutter button.

The ultrawide camera gives you creative options and the performance is good enough, but it needs to be used with consideration. Not because the ultrawide lens is bad, but because the management of lens switching isn’t as smooth as we’d want it to be. When you use the ultrawide and switch back to the main camera, it doesn’t instantly switch to the other lens. Instead it crops on the ultrawide sensor to give you an undisturbed view. Unfortunately, if you’re too fast to take the shot, you’ll be taking that shot from the cropped ultrawide sensor – and it’s possible for subsequent zoomed photos to come from that sensor too.

And there’s a massive difference in the quality you’ll get from the ultrawide and main camera – especially when it comes to zoom. So just be careful when moving from ultrawide to the main camera and into zoom – you’ll see a little pulse in the display when the cameras switch and there’s a good chance Google could fix this with a software update.

Otherwise, the Pixel displays the sort of strengths we’ve come to expect from the Pixel camera. The main sensor copes well in pretty much all conditions, capturing low light and night shots with skill and delivering great portrait images too. The edge detection is great, with processing just taking a second when you flip over to view your shot. Night Sight remains a great skill – not always matched at this price point, and now faster than it was on the Pixel 6a.

The hybrid zoom system is also capable, with Google using its computational photography to sharpen up images. The results end up being usable (as long as they range isn’t too great), but they can’t compete with a camera packing in a proper zoom lens.

It’s not just the capturing of those images that’s important, it’s what happens to them afterwards, with options in Google Photos to use Magic Eraser or camouflage elements in photos, add background blur and a whole lot more. As a complete package – accepting there’s that bug to be fixed – the Pixel 7a repeats Google’s performance of delivering a camera that’s great in all situations. Yes, there’s no zoom, but at this price point, it’s highly competitive and one of the best all-round packages.

Software

• Android 13
• 4 OS updates, 5 years security updates

The big advantage of choosing a Pixel, of course, is that it’s Google-native hardware and front of the line when it comes to software updates. There’s expected to be 4 years software updates on the Pixel 7a and 5 years of security updates – and you’ll be the first to receive those updates to new versions of Android.

In addition, this is a bloat-free device, offering Google’s apps and services all neatly integrated for a slick experience. There aren’t many Android phones that have a software experience this clean at this sort of price, so if you’re after a bloat-free experience without the clutter, then you should definitely look to the Pixel 7a.

The phone will also be updated with feature drops, where new features are rolled out to Pixel devices. This often introduces something new, often leveraging AI. Because the core hardware has the same power as Google’s other devices, there’s no reason why there shouldn’t be parity between the Pixel 7a and other more expensive Pixel devices.

Indeed, about the only thing we’ve spotted that this phone doesn’t do is the Action Pan mode in the camera. Otherwise, the experience is pretty much the same as on the Pixel 7 Pro, albeit on a smaller scale and in a device that’s not quite as premium.

Verdict

The Pixel 7a is a great offering in the mid-range offering performance that sits it in a competitive place. The biggest challenge that Google now faces is convincing you that this more expensive mid-ranger has the same appeal as the Pixel 6a. Although it’s technically more advanced than the 6a, the move to over $/£400 immediately makes it look like it’s slightly less attractive. Consider too, that discounts on the Pixel 7 mean that these two devices will often sit very close in terms of price. If that’s the dilemma you’re faced with, then pick the Pixel 7. It might be that potential customers want to wait for discounts before buying the Pixel 7a.

But taken for what it is, you have great camera performance, plenty of power and decent battery life. The camera is good – accepting there’s a problem switching from ultrawide to main camera that you need to watch out for – but otherwise, this is a great package.