If there’s one benefit to the sheer amount of new phones being released every year, it’s that formerly premium high-end technology becomes more and more affordable as time goes on.
At least, that’s the case with Google‘s new Pixel 7a. Billed as the ‘budget’ version of its pricier cousin, the Pixel 7, it packs all the performance and features of a much more expensive smartphone into a neat price tag of £449.
These two phones come in almost visually identical bodies and have only a £100 difference in price, which has led some to wonder what the difference between the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7a really is.
Well, on paper, the Pixel 7 has a much brighter AMOLED screen, ‘premium’ build quality (i.e. there’s more metal in the frame), a better camera sensor and more.
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But the Pixel 7a is smaller, more affordable, and still packs many of the same performance features including a 90Hz refresh rate display (although you’ll have to turn this on in settings for smoother performance).
So, put simply, if you want a brighter, larger screen and a fancier camera, the Pixel 7 might be for you—but after spending a week with the 7a, I can confidently say it’s an impressive phone that the average user is going to love for the price. Here’s why:
Pixel 7a: Fast performance and swish interface
What probably stands out the most about the Pixel 7a is how nippy it is. Once you’ve turned on the 90Hz screen refresh rate, using the phone is a joy.
I’ve barely experienced any lag or stuttering while jumping between different apps, except for the *occasional* frustrating moment when an app will freeze and needs to be exited and reopened. (This may be a bug that gets patched or updated by Google in future)
Aiding all this is the fact that the Pixel 7a, like other Pixel phones, comes with what Google sees as the full Android experience baked-in. That means you can expect a colourful, bright interface that’s highly customisable without loads of random dodgy apps stuck in there.
I particularly had fun picking out some cool-looking widgets for my Home Screen, as well as selecting a colour scheme for the phone’s app icons and menus.
I’ve tried using widgets on a lot of third-party phones from companies like Samsung, OPPO and Motorola, but they’ve always felt a bit clunky or out of place. The widgets on Pixel 7a feel really well-integrated into the design of the phone itself, and don’t seem to impact performance negatively.
Perhaps my main criticism of this ‘Android-first’ approach is that the Pixel 7a really pushes you towards using Google’s cloud services, to the point where the Google Photos app is the only photo app that comes baked into the phone.
The only problem with this is that it forces you to back up all of your images to Google’s cloud services, and if like me you don’t want to pay a monthly fee for cloud storage, it can be a little bit annoying to have to use this app.
You can access your photos on-device using the ‘Files’ app, but it’s not as convenient or intuitive as a dedicated Photos app would be.
Finally, probably one of the most important aspects of any phone is its battery life. Like other phone companies, Google promises an all-day battery life, and I’ve got to admit that the Pixel 7a comes pretty close to this.
It even has a handy time indicator which will let you know roughly when the phone is going to run out of battery, although this has been a bit inaccurate at times particularly when I’ve jumped onto a power-hungry app 40 minutes before the supposed cut-off time.
Pixel 7a: camera, photo quality, and AI tools
Although the Pixel 7a doesn’t have the biggest megapixel sensor on the market, and the camera’s zoom distance leaves a lot to be desired (it only zooms x2), the phone definitely makes up for it with other camera features.
I’ve been able to produce much more crisp and clear photos with the Pixel 7a than on other phones largely thanks to its AI, which is powered by the Google Tensor G2 chip and are built into every photo you take.
One of the best of these features is undoubtedly Photo Unblur.
If you’re anything like me and have shaky, caffeinated hands or forget to wear your glasses regularly, this tool is a godsend as it automatically brings blurry photos into focus.
All you have to do is open the photo editor tool and the AI will detect if the image is blurry and give you a suggested ‘Unblur’ option.
I haven’t personally had the chance to try out the Night Sight tool at nighttime, but its impact on photos taken in badly lit spaces is really noticeable even at day time.
Verdict: A premium smartphone for a fraction of the price
If you can’t afford an iPhone and want a smartphone that looks great, takes sharp pictures, and has the performance and features of a much more expensive device, the Pixel 7a is a fantastic option.
Photography buffs who want to take pictures of birds from 500 feet away might want to look elsewhere for a phone camera with a longer zoom range, though.
You can currently buy the Pixel 7a from Google for £449 or £18.71 per month over two years, and trade in your old phone for credit towards it. Right now, Google is also chucking in a pair of Pixel Buds A-Series with every order, so if you’re in the market for a pair of new headphones, it might be a good way to kill two birds with one stone. Find out more
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