Google released its latest budget smartphone, the Pixel 7a, at I/O 2023. The phone takes after Pixel 6a, one of the best budget Android phones in the market, and brings a number of upgrades, including a higher refresh rate screen, a better chipset, and support for wireless charging. Buyers get to choose from four color options, including Charcoal, Snow, Sea, and Coral.
The most striking feature, however, is the smartphone's camera, which stands its ground even when compared to some of the best-selling flagships in the market. However, just like any other device, the Pixel 7a is not all perfect, and there are a few shortcomings that could have been better. But all-in-all, buyers should know that the Pixel 7a is one of the best Android phones available in the sub $500 segment. Here are the key areas where the Pixel 7a excels, and where Google might need some upgrades in the future.
5. The 90Hz Screen Is A Big Upgrade
One of the critical areas which held the Pixel 6a back was its 60Hz screen. However, the Pixel 7a has a screen that supports up to 90Hz refresh rate, and it feels like a significant upgrade. The importance of high-refresh screens is often understated, but only when users scroll through a 90Hz screen do they realize the difference. Users should enable the Smooth Display by going to Settings > Display, and once they do, the user interface responds faster and feels smoother.
4. Tensor G2 Enables Several AI-Based Features
Nestled away in the Pixel 7a's chassis is the Google Tensor G2 (5nm) chipset. For those catching up, this is the same processor that powers the more expensive Pixel 7 lineup. Although it's slightly underpowered, considering what the competition offers, it comes with a considerable improvement. Right off the bat, the Pixel 7a feels snappy. It hardly takes a blink to open most apps, while multitasking on the phone also seems smooth.
Although Google's Pixel phones are not designed for gaming, especially the A-series devices, the Pixel 7a can run popular titles like Call Of Duty: Mobile at moderate settingswith no dips and hitches. It is the Tensor G2 chipset that gives the latest Pixel 7 lineup its advanced AI and machine learning capabilities, which unlocks features like Live Transcribe, which not only detects the user's voice but also surrounding sounds such as the sound of the wind, finger-snapping, electronic appliances, and so on. Then there are several speech-related features including voice recording with speaker labels, Clear Calling, Quick Phrases, and Voice Message Transcription.
3. Best Cameras In The Segment
The Pixel 7a might be a jack of all trades, but it's the master of cameras for mid-range Android phones. Whether users take images in daylight, indoors, or at night, the Pixel 7a clicks excellent shots with balanced colors and enough details. It doesn't appear like the pictures are over-processed. However, in some cases, the HDR feels a tad off, but that holds for several flagship phones as well.
This time around, the Camera app also has a 2x button, apart from the standard 0.5x and 1x buttons, which digitally crops in to provide a zoomed-in photograph. It's only able to pull this off thanks to the new 64MP (f/1.9, 1/1.73-inch) sensor. Although this sensor is smaller than the 50MP (f/1.9, 1/1.31-inch) sensor on the Pixel 7, it benefits from Google's computational photography to the extent that it's hard to differentiate between the phones.
The 13MP (f/2.2) ultrawide sensor also clicks sharp images, perfectly in tune with the primary camera's color science. Similarly, the 13MP (f/2.2) selfie camera is among the best in its class. It offers a broader field of view, enough to snap a group selfie within an arm's distance. The camera app provides features like Super Res Zoom for up to 8x digital zoom, Long Exposure, Real Tone, Night Sight, and Guided Frame.
Videos are no slouch on the Pixel 7a, where the primary camera can record 4K videos at up to 60 frames per second, and offers four stabilization modes, including Standard, Locked, Active, and Cinematic Pan. The front camera is limited to 4K at 30 frames per second, but that isn't a deal-breaker. Another helpful feature that not many people talk about is Speech Enhancement, which filters the user's voice from the background noises and enhances it.
2. Additional Tools For Editing Images
Google Pixel's image editing tools, unlike those of other smartphones, are capable of not only tweaking an image but improving it. For instance, there's Magic Eraser tool that helps in removing distractions from an image. Although it leaves discernable marks in photos with average light, the feature is quite handy. Then there's the Unblur feature, which works quite nicely on shaky images and uses machine learning to sharpen them. Using Tensor G2's advanced AI capabilities, users can apply the bokeh effect to an image after clicking it.
The Google Photos app also has a tool that recognizes the sky in an image and allows users to adjust its appearance so that it's just the right shade of blue or as bright/dull as users want. Last but not least, the color focus tool washes the color from the background, leaving the subject and giving the photo a rather artistic look. Apart from these, the Photos app has regular editing tools that enable users to change the aspect ratio, rotation, exposure-related settings, apply filters, and more. Although these features might not matter to regular users, the Pixel 7a is an enthusiast's paradise.
1. Pixel 7a Offers More Software Updates
Google's smartphones are known to provide the best Android experience, and the Pixel 7a is no different. The Material You color scheme, along with the tile-shaped quick-action buttons and extensive privacy controls, provide users with an easy-to-use operating system that's pleasing on the fingers and on the eyes too. Additionally, users also get quarterly feature drops that add new features to the phone.
Currently, the Pixel 7a is the only smartphone by Google that guarantees the latest Android version until May 2026, whereas the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are good until October 2025. Regarding security updates, the Pixel 7a will last another two years, through May 2028. Of course, once the Pixel 8 arrives, these statistics are bound to change, but keep in mind that the flagship phone would cost much more than what the Pixel 7a costs.
Now, here are a few things we wish were better.
5. Pixel 7a's Rear Panel Might Disappoint Certain Users
The Pixel 7a offers buyers the best software and camera experience at its price, but there are a few things that are easy to overlook which might affect the buyer's time with the phone. Although the more expensive Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro come with a glass back that feels premium to the touch, the Pixel 7a comes with a "3D thermoformed composite back," which translates to high-quality plastic.
Now, there are certain advantages of using plastic instead of glass on the phone, one of which is durability. The material is less likely to shatter on impact than glass and doesn't add a lot of heft to the phone. But on the Pixel 7a, the back acts like a strong fingerprint magnet, which isn't ideal for users who don't like to put a case on their phone. The in-hand feel is also different compared to the Pixel 7. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that the phone has a sharp, elegant appearance that's easy to distinguish from other smartphones. And it has a IP67 water-resistance rating too.
4. There's Only One Storage Option
In the digital age, where everyone has several apps on their phone, takes countless pictures and videos, and stores a ton of files, limiting a 2023 smartphone to 128GB storage seems a tad odd. Out of the total storage, a good 10-15 percent is reserved for the operating system, leaving users with about 110-115GB of usable storage, which could easily run out in a couple of months.
One might counter that many other smartphones, like the iPhones or the Galaxy S-series, also offer 128GB of internal storage, but they also offer higher storage variants for those who need them. And it's not like Google provides unlimited Google Photos backup anymore, as it did in the good old days, which could have been a hot-selling feature in 2023. Nonetheless, Google might want to bump up the base storage on the A-series or provide a higher storage option.
3. The Pixel 7a Heats Up Quickly
While playing around with the device, it heated up pretty quickly, especially while taking pictures or recording videos, to the extent that it's turned off the flash. This could be an ambient temperature issue or an internal heat dissipation problem. Further, once the phone heats up, the camera app takes longer to process pictures.
In a few instances, the phone also struggled to switch between the ultrawide and the primary camera, wherein it clicked an image from the ultrawide sensor even after changing the viewfinder from 0.5x to 1x. The phone also heats up during charging, both wired and wireless.
2. Slower Charging Rates
The Pixel 7a comes with a 4,385 mAh battery, which supports up to 18W fast wired charging on paper, but there's more to it. The phone's charging algorithm will reduce the power level when there's an increase in the battery's temperature. On the one hand, it's great for battery health, but on the other, it slows down the charging rate. Hence, charging the phone with a compatible USB PD adapter (18W or more) takes well over two hours to reach from zero to 100 percent.
Wireless charging is a whole different subject and not one where the Pixel 7a does well. The phone does support up to 7.5W wireless charging, but it would take several hours before it juices up to 100 percent. In terms of battery life, the phone is slightly above average.
1. Pixel 7a's Price Puts It Into Competition With Pixel 7
It is not uncommon to spot the flagship Pixel 7 on a sale, where its price has plummeted to less than $400 for the 128GB storage variant. This puts the Pixel 7a in a very weird position. Just before the Pixel 7a came out, Best Buy offered a whopping $250 discount on the Pixel 7, reducing its price to $349. During the same deal, the 256GB version of Pixel 7 was available for $449.
And while Google's A-series smartphones are supposed to provide a similar experience at a more affordable price, the $499 Pixel 7a, with slower wireless charging and an inferior plastic back, costs nearly as much as the Pixel 7, and more when the latter is on sale. Nonetheless, the Pixel 7a might receive a price cut pretty soon, placing it in a better position in the lineup.