Google Pixel 7a hands-on review

Design

Visually, the Pixel 7a looks identical to the Pixel 7. Both phones have a flat display with sizable bezels around them, curved sides, and the same large camera bar at the back. Like the more expensive Pixel 7 models, the Pixel 7a loses some of its predecessor's character, as the back is no longer two-tone, and the camera bar lacks that distinctive visor look.

Google Pixel 7a (white) next to Pixel 7 (black)

The main difference between the Pixel 7a and the Pixel 7 is the size. Due to the smaller display, the Pixel 7a is smaller by a few millimeters. This makes the phone feel noticeably more manageable in hand as it is much easier to hold and carry and you can also access more of the display with your thumb without stretching. The camera bar on the back is also slimmer and doesn't stick out as much.

The other difference is the choice of materials. The Pixel 7a still uses aluminum for the frame and the camera bar, but the two are no longer cut out of the same piece of metal. Also, the back cover is plastic and not glass. These changes are honestly quite difficult to notice and don't really make the phone look and feel particularly worse than the more expensive model.

Getting back to the bezels, they really are quite chunky and distracting on the Pixel 7a and even thicker than they were on the Pixel 7. On their own, they may not be larger than those found on other phones without a curved display, but since the display on the Pixel 7a is relatively small, the bezels seem much larger in perspective. The centrally located front camera can also detract from the content you are watching.

The right side of the phone has the physical switches. Like on the more expensive models, the buttons on the Pixel 7a are rather stiff, but due to the size of the device, they are always within easy reach.

Like the Pixel 6a, the Pixel 7a is IP67 rated for dust and water resistance. This is something that is usually lacking on the cheaper phones, and while the Pixel 7a isn't as affordable, at least you can have peace of mind while using the phone in less-than-ideal conditions.

Display

The Pixel 7a has a 6.1-inch OLED display with a 2400 x 1080 resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. The display has similar specifications to the more expensive Pixel 7, aside from being 0.2 inches smaller.

The display on the Pixel 7a may be on the smaller side, but it's sharp and mostly color accurate, at least on the Natural preset. The display gets sufficiently bright with the manual slider and can get even brighter in Auto mode under bright light. The display will also adjust its contrast to improve legibility under sunlight.

Like all OLED panels, you also get great contrast and motion performance. There is some color fringing when viewed off-axis but it's nominal and only noticeable on brighter-colored content or when not using dark mode.

The 90Hz refresh rate on the Pixel 7a is a huge bump up from the 60Hz on all previous a-series phones. Unfortunately, in that time, most of the competition has now moved on to 120Hz, even on much cheaper models. So while it's definitely an improvement, at this point, we expect higher refresh rates from phones in this price range.

Display settings

Fortunately, with Google, you mostly get what it says on the tin. While other companies may advertise 120Hz and only provide 60Hz at times, the Pixel 7a sticks to its 90Hz limit in most scenarios. Only in select scenarios, such as while watching videos, in the camera, or in games that don't support higher refresh rates, will the display drop down to 60Hz. This makes for a much more consistent experience, as a steady 90Hz is any day preferable over a refresh rate that keeps bouncing between 120Hz and 60Hz.

The Pixel 7a also supports HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG content. Google clearly has a better understanding of how HDR should work compared to its contemporaries in the Android space, and as a result, HDR content does look quite striking with great colors and respect for the original content brightness level. The lack of Dolby Vision is a shame but not a deal breaker.

Battery life and charging

The Pixel 7a has a 4300mAh battery that is almost the same size as the one on the Pixel 7. While we didn't run our full battery life test, the Pixel 7a had excellent battery life in our usage, lasting an entire day, even with extended usage. On average, we were seeing close to 7 hours of screen time, including long photography sessions.

The Pixel 7a supports 18W of wired charging, a step down from the already anemic 20W supported by the Pixel 7. As a result, charging speeds are very slow by today's standards, especially when looking at the full charge figure, which takes almost two hours. For reference, the OnePlus Pad with its 9510mAh battery charges more quickly.

The big new feature on the Pixel 7a compared to its predecessor is the addition of wireless charging. Of course, this would be even slower, but anyone who charges wirelessly knows speed has never been the reason to have this feature.

Speakers

The Pixel 7a has stereo speakers, with one at the bottom and the other being the earpiece. The speakers can get quite loud, but the audio quality is mediocre. There isn't much bass to speak of as you would get on larger, more expensive phones, nor is there much high-frequency detail.

Instead, you get more focus on the mid-range, and although that does help amplify vocals, they tend to sound tinny. This is fine for watching videos with a lot of spoken content but not for more cinematic content or music. The good thing about speakers is that the channels are well-balanced, and the sound is much more centrally located than on many of the cheaper phones with stereo speakers.