Google has just announced the most affordable smartphone in its current lineup powered by the in-house Tensor G2 chipset — the Pixel 7a. The smartphone will be available in Charcoal (black), Snow (white) and the new Sea (blue) colour variants for Rs 43,999 — the same price point as its predecessor, the well-received Pixel 6a.
It comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, as expected, an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, and will be sold exclusively on Flipkart.
Design
The 7a's design is identical to that of the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, with brushed aluminium side rails and vertical camera bar that houses the dual-lens array. The back is plastic, though it’s hard to tell the difference, even holding the 7 — which sports a glass back — and the 7a side by side. The 7a's camera bar is not as thick as the 7 or 7 Pro's and is almost flush with the body, making it the first major physical differentiator from its bigger siblings.
Thanks to the plastic and the aluminium housing, it's slightly lighter in weight — coming in at 193 grams — than the 7, which is its closest in size. The Pixel 7 weighs around 197 grams.
The 7a has a 6.1-inch Full HD+ (2400x1080) OLED display which, just like the 7, supports variable refresh rate — it goes as high as 90 Hz and low as 60 Hz, based on the screen content. The bezels are ever-so-slightly thicker, but the display is punchy and colourful and, combined with the dual stereo speakers, makes for a very enjoyable viewing experience.
The 7a sports a flat-screen design, just like the 7, which should make it easier to find a suitable tempered glass screen protector.
Cameras
Google has upped the megapixel (MP) count for the Pixel 7a — where the 7 and 7 Pro sported 50 MP primary wide-angle lenses, the 7a boasts of a 64 MP shooter, although the output will be confined to 16 MP. The imaging software combines four megapixels into one large megapixel, so contains more detail.
The 7a also has a 13 MP ultrawide lens on the rear and a 13 MP selfie camera on the front.
Battery
The Pixel 7a comes with a slightly larger battery than the 7, packing a 4,385 mAh battery as compared to the latter's 4,355 mAh. Google promises over 24 hours of battery life, going up to 72 hours if the Extreme Battery Saver feature is turned on.
Software
The smartphone runs Android 13 out of the box and the experience is vintage Pixel — all the bells and whistles from the 7 and 7 Pro are present. The 7a is chockfull of Pixel-exclusive camera features, such as Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, etc, while also coming with the excellent voice recorder — which can record the audio and transcribe it at the same time.
Google promises five years of OS and security updates, bringing the Pixel series on par with Samsung and Apple flagship smartphones.
The setup process is extremely smooth, especially if you have previously used a Pixel device, and once done, the Pixel 7a is ready to fire on all cylinders.
I'll be testing the device, pushing it to the limit, in the coming few days, so be sure to watch this space for the full review.
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