Pixel 7A Review: A Step Forward for Google's Budget Phone

Speaker 1: This is the new Pixel seven A and at first glance you might mistake it for the Pixel seven. Google's new budget phone has a lot in common with its flagship pixel and the similarities go way beyond design. The pixel seven A starts at 4 99 [00:00:30] making it $100 cheaper than the pixel seven. It's also $50 more expensive than the Pixel six A was last year, but that higher price does come with some additional benefits unlike the Pixel six A. The Pixel seven A supports a higher refresh rate for the screen base unlock and wireless charging. Plus it has the same tensor G2 processor as the Pixel seven and a Sharper camera. I've been using [00:01:00] the Pixel seven A for a couple of days and so far I'm really impressed with its excellent camera attractive design and the similarities it shares with the Pixel seven. With the Pixel seven A Google has done a good job at bridging the gap between its main pixel line and its more budget friendly pixels. Speaker 1: In fact, I can't think of a major reason to choose the pricier pixel seven over the seven A. Here's a closer look at what my experience [00:01:30] has been like so far. The Pixel seven A looks a lot like the Pixel seven. The redesigned camera bar is present on the back of the device and both phones have similar metallic matte edges. You may remember that I praised the Pixel six a's design last year since it felt very premium for a phone under $500. Luckily, Google maintains that approach with the Pixel seven A and it works really well. I'm actually wondering if it inspired Samsung [00:02:00] to up its game when it comes to the design for its Galaxy. A series as I noted in my hands on the Galaxy A 54 5g, which is Samsung's direct competitor to the Pixel seven A has a much more elegant design than the previous Galaxy A 53. Speaker 1: The Pixel seven A has a 6.1 inch screen just like the Pixel six A, but this time you have the option to boost the refresh rate up to 90 hertz for smoother scrolling. I didn't always notice a huge difference compared to the [00:02:30] Pixel six A, which lacks this option, but there were some instances in which flipping through my Twitter feed or scrolling around the operating system felt faster. However, I still feel like the Pixel seven a's screen is too dim, especially when using the phone outdoors. I had to crank the brightness all the way up on a few occasions. The Pixel seven A has an impressive camera for a phone of its price. It inherits a lot of the familiar features we've seen on previous pixels [00:03:00] such as photo on blur, magic eraser, and long exposure mode. The Pixel seven A surprisingly has a higher resolution main camera even than the pixel seven. Speaker 1: That's 64 megapixels on the pixel seven A versus 50 megapixels on the pixel seven. In my experience, photos taken on both phones looked really similar. There was even an instance in which I preferred the lighting in the pixel seven a's photo over the pixel seven s. I also [00:03:30] thought the Pixel seven A did a better job of capturing color outdoors compared to the Galaxy. A 54 Samsung's phone made colors look overblown and washed out in some circumstances while the seven a's color was more natural. The Pixel seven A also performs well in low lighting similar to the Pixel seven and Galaxy A 54. I also found it was a lot faster at snapping photos in the dark compared to the Pixel six A. None of these phones have a dedicated telephoto lens, [00:04:00] so if you want to zoom you'll have to rely on digital Zoom. Speaker 1: The pixel seven A has an eight x zoom just like the pixel seven, which is slightly closer than the six a's seven x zoom, but the Galaxy A 54 has the closest Zoom with a 10 x digital zoom. You can check out my written review for more details about the Pixel seven a's camera, but the bottom line is that you can expect a really similar camera experience across both the pixel seven and seven A. The [00:04:30] Pixel seven A runs on Google's tensor G2 processor, which is the same chip inside the Pixel seven performance feels similar between the two phones, which is no surprise. Apps open quickly and the camera launches almost instantly. I couldn't run our usual benchmark test because they weren't available for the Pixel seven A at the time of my review, but I'll add them to my written review as soon as possible. Speaker 1: Still, Google's chip is more about enabling new features rather than speed [00:05:00] alone. The tensor chip is part of what powers pixel specific features and improvements, especially those involving language translation and speech and image processing. Photo one Blur which sharpens old photos is one example of this. You'll also get many of the same software tools and apps found on other pixel phones like Google's recorder app and its suite of phone calling features like Hold for me, which has Google wait on hold for you when it comes to battery [00:05:30] life, the Pixel seven A can get through a full day without issue on a day in which I primarily use the seven A for browsing the web, checking email, playing games, taking photos, and recording a couple of videos. I had 41% of the battery left after roughly 16 hours of use for most of the day. Speaker 1: I had the brightness set to 50%, although I cranked it all the way up for about 15 minutes, went outside. I also had the high refresh rate setting turned on and the always on [00:06:00] display turned off. I'm mentioning these things because they usually impact battery life significantly. The Pixel seven A also supports wireless charging, which may be important if you're thinking about upgrading and use a wireless charger with your current device. It's also notable for this price range considering the Pixel six A and Galaxy A 54 don't have wireless charging. The Pixel seven A is a promising step forward for Google's budget phone. In fact, it makes it kind of hard to recommend [00:06:30] the Pixel seven. Both phones take excellent photos even though there are some hardware differences and they have a lot of the same performance and software features since they both run on the tensor G2 chip. The Pixel seven A is $50 more expensive than the Galaxy 8 54 and the Pixel six a's launch price from last year, but that price increase brings face unlock wireless charging more RAM and higher resolution camera, so it feels justified. I also think the Pixel [00:07:00] seven a's camera produces better photos when shooting outdoors compared to the Galaxy A 54. However, there are some things that Samsung does better, especially when it comes to screen brightness. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.