The Google Pixel 7a launches to replace the Pixel 6a. It comes in vibrant new colors — the red-ish Coral, the baby blue-ish Sea, and the well-known Charcoal and Snow. Here’s the not-so-good news — the Coral is exclusive to Google Store orders, so if you want that one, don’t go to your favorite retailer. Here’s the “let’s sweeten the pot” news — order one from Google now and you will get a set of Pixel Buds A-series earbuds and a limited edition case for the Pixel 7a!
Pixel 7a: familiar design, but is it a bad thing?
It has a 6.1-inch OLED screen up front, with a 90 Hz refresh rate. Yes, it’s a $499 phone, so you might be asking “What corners were cut?”. For one, it’s protected by the old Gorilla Glass 3 instead of the latest Victus on the “bigger” Pixel 7 units. Also, the Pixel 7a’s screen doesn’t quite reach the peak brightness of the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, but we don’t have the exact maximum number yet. Still, it does support HDR so it should be capable of getting sufficiently bright.
Pixel 7a: is the hardware bad?
OK, so if the design elements are fairly good then the hardware must be bad, right?
The Pixel 7a comes with the same Tensor G2 chip that powers the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. Then… it comes with 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, same as the Pixel 7. And with one storage tier of 128 GB UFS 3.1. Well, that seems like quite the deal, then?
The cameras are different!
OK, we got one — the cameras of the Pixel 7a are different! It has a 64 MP main shooter and a 13 MP sensor under an ultra-wide lens. The Pixel 7 has a 50 MP main and 12 MP ultra-wide camera.
Of course, we all know that it’s not all about the pixels on the sensor. A lot goes into taking a good photo, so don’t just take those numbers and run with them. For example, the Pixel 7a doesn’t have laser detection autofocus, but relies on the good old contrast pixels which may or may not alter the camera experience.
But then, we will also say that a lot of people praised last year’s Pixel 6a camera as better than the Pixel 6… for certain scenarios. So, we can’t wait to get our hands on this new one!
Pixel 7a: price and launch date
The Pixel 7a will launch… oh it’s out right now! You can order it from the Google Store and you will get it wit a pair of Pixel Buds A-series as well as a special, exclusive case. The price is $499 for a 128 GB model and there are no other storage options to pick from.
