The Google Pixel 7A is a great phone for anyone who wants a flagship-like experience at a midrange price.
The phone offers excellent camera performance, long battery life, smooth display quality, and a powerful processor.
However, the phone is not perfect. The fingerprint reader can be inconsistent, the storage is not expandable and the design is not very original.
The phone also only gets three generations of Android OS updates, compared to Samsung’s four-generation pledge.
Overall, we think the Pixel 7A is worth buying if you value photography, battery life, and software over other aspects.
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Design
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Display
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Camera
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Performance
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Battery
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Software
Google has done it again. The Pixel 7A is the latest addition to the Pixel family, and it offers a flagship-like experience at a midrange price.
The phone was unveiled at Google I/O 2023 on May 10, and it is available now for $499/£449/AU$749. You can choose from four colors: Charcoal, Snow, Sea, and Coral (the latter is exclusive to Google Store).
The Pixel 7A has a lot going for it: a stunning camera performance, a long-lasting battery life, a smooth display quality, and a powerful processor.
It also inherits some of the features that make Pixel phones unique, such as Magic Eraser, Face Unblur, and Live Translate. But it is not without its flaws: the fingerprint reader can be inconsistent, the storage is not expandable and the design is not very original.
In this review, we will take a closer look at the pros and cons of the Pixel 7A, and see how it compares with other phones in the same price range.
Is this the best cheap phone of 2023? Let’s find out.
Design and Display
The Pixel 7A shares a lot of design elements with the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. It has a smooth back, a metal frame, and a camera bar that houses two lenses and a flash.
The phone is also made of recycled materials, such as aluminum, glass, and plastic, which is good for the environment.
The phone feels solid and durable in the hand, thanks to the Corning Gorilla Glass protection and the IP67 water and dust resistance.
The display of the Pixel 7A is a 6.1-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of up to 90Hz. The screen is bright, sharp, and responsive, with vibrant colors and deep blacks.
The refresh rate adapts to the content you are viewing, so you can enjoy smooth scrolling and animations without draining the battery too much.
The screen also supports HDR10+ for enhanced contrast and details.
Performance and Battery
The Pixel 7A is powered by Google’s Tensor G2 chip with Titan M2 security and 8GB of RAM.
This is the same chip that runs on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, which means that the Pixel 7A can handle multitasking, gaming, web browsing, and other tasks that require speed and power with ease.
The phone also supports 5G connectivity for faster data speeds and lower latency.
The storage capacity of the Pixel 7A is 128GB (UFS 3.1), which is enough for most users.
However, there is no option for expansion via microSD card, which might be a deal-breaker for some users who need more space for their photos, videos, and apps.
The battery life of the Pixel 7A is impressive. The phone has a 4,385mAh battery that supports 20W wired charging and 5W wireless charging.
According to Google, the phone can last up to 24 hours on a single charge with moderate use.
In our tests, we were able to get through a full day of heavy use with some juice left over.
The phone also supports Adaptive Battery, which learns your usage patterns and optimizes the battery performance accordingly.
Camera and Software
The camera system of the Pixel 7A is one of its main highlights. The phone has a 64MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 13MP selfie camera.
The main camera uses pixel binning to combine four pixels into one to produce sharper and brighter images with less noise.
The ultrawide camera has a larger field of view (120 degrees) and supports autofocus for more versatility.
The selfie camera has a wider angle (95 degrees) to fit more people or more background in your shots.
The camera performance of the Pixel 7A is impressive, especially for its price range.
The phone captures photos and videos in different lighting conditions, modes, and scenarios, such as portrait, night sight, astrophotography, and cinematic pan.
The photos are rich in detail, color, and contrast, with minimal distortion or noise. The videos are smooth and stable, with good audio quality and dynamic range.
The Pixel 7A also inherits some of the camera features that are exclusive to Pixel phones, such as Magic Eraser, Face Unblur, and Motion Mode.
Magic Eraser lets you remove unwanted objects or people from your photos with a simple tap.
Face Unblur lets you fix blurry faces in your photos with AI. Motion Mode lets you capture moving subjects with a blurred background for a professional look.
The software of the Pixel 7A is another strong point of the phone. The phone runs on Android 13 with 3 years of guaranteed updates and security patches.
Android 13 brings new features and improvements, such as Material You design, Privacy Dashboard, Quick Tap gestures, and more.
The phone also supports some of the software features that are exclusive to Pixel phones, such as Hold for Me, Call Screen, and Live Translate.
Hold for Me lets you delegate waiting on hold to Google Assistant when you call customer service numbers.
Call Screen lets you screen unknown callers and block spam calls with Google Assistant.
Live Translate lets you translate speech and text in real-time across different languages with Google Lens.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Excellent Camera System | Inconsistent Fingerprint Reader |
| Good Display | Lack of Performance |
| Best Android UI | Very Slow Charging Speed |
| Decent Battery Life | Only 128GB Storage Option |
