Back in May, 2022, Google announced the Pixel 7 and Pixel Pro, the flagship of their smartphone offering. As has been the tradition, a number of months later, Google has now revealed a new entry-level device in the Pixel series.
The Pixel 7a offers many of the great features found in the other Pixel 7 series devices, but in at a more affordable price.
Google ships the Pixel 7 with Android 13 which is now really well-refined and a very slick user experience.
Google included their fancy Tensor G2 chip to ensure the phone delivers great performance. It’s the same chip that’s in Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, powering Google’s advanced machine learning and speech recognition, and Google’s smarts for improved audio on phone calls, great battery life, and amazing photo and video quality. This is paired with 8 GB of RAM, to make sure running your games and apps is quick and efficient.
The camera remains as one of the key reasons you should consider a Pixel over other brands and on the Pixel 7a, it takes amazing photos and stunning video. The Pixel 7a gets an upgraded dual rear camera system and combined with Google’s software magic, enables great night photos, and can even fix blurry photos.
You can use one of the best Pixel 7 features, which is to remove items from photos in just a few taps in Google Photos with Magic Eraser. New to the A-Series, the Pixel 7a gets Long Exposure adding motion, texture and energy to your photos.
The screen on the Pixel 7a is 6.1″ in size, generous and feels good in the hand. It’s not the fastest on the market, but with an impressive 90 Hz refresh rate, is super responsive for this price point.
Google says the Pixel’s Adaptive Battery will help it last over 24 hours, but I’ll have to spend more time with it before we can really evaluate that. The phone tried to learn your favourite apps, so it doesn’t waste power on ones that you rarely use – smart.
If for some reason you find yourself without a charger, you can turn on Extreme Battery Saver, and the battery can last up to 72 hours. When it does come time to charge the device, the 7a supports wireless charging with a Pixel Stand or any Qi-certified device.
The phone also supports dual-SIM for those people who like to keep their work and home life separate. This is achieved through the common setup of 1 physical sim slot and support for an eSIM.
Pixel 7a is Google’s most durable A-Series phone yet. And it’s as beautiful as it is durable. It’s colourful and sophisticated, with a smooth, sleek back and a metal frame and camera bar. Pixel 7a can handle a little water and dust with IP67 protection. The display is scratch-resistant, featuring Corning Gorilla® Glass.
With so many of the must-have features like tap-and-pay NFC, Bluetooth, wireless charging, dual SIM etc.. there’s really not a lot missing from the 7a, which makes it a great deal for the price.
Price and availability
The Google Pixel 7a costs A$749.00 RRP and will be on sale starting May 11 available online at the Google Store, JB HI-FI, Telstra, Optus, Officeworks and Harvey Norman. It will be available in 3 colours, Charcoal, Sea and Snow.
Google’s got a nice little deal for the Pixel 7a, it includes a 3 month trials for new users of YouTube Premium and Google One with a combined value of over $50 to help get the most out of your new Pixel.
Google One keeps your photos and files safe with 100 GB of storage and automatic phone backup. With YouTube Premium, you can enjoy YouTube videos and music without ads, in the background and offline. Plus when you buy the new Pixel 7a, you can get $150 worth of Google Store credit and a free limited case.
I’ve been fortunate to get hands-on with the Pixel 7a early, and ahead of a full review, check out the unboxing of the latest hardware from Google below.
Google provides a nice Pixel 7a case in the matching Charcoal colour, this gives the exterior a rubberised feel and is likely to serve two functions. Firstly your chance of dropping it should be greatly reduced, rather than holding a slippery glass finish, while the landing if you do drop it, may not end in the tragedy of a smashed device. Best not to try that one.