Google Pixel 7a review

The meat of the matter is the Pixel’s exemplary camera and its AI that retouches everything into astronomical quality. The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7a don’t have any difference in their camera quality but if you want my Sherlock opinion, I can find a difference which will only impress the most nitpicky nerds. In my camera testing, the Pixel 7 had better exposure control for outdoor scenes with harsh lighting. The 7a had more natural black and better noise control. The Pixel 7a also reduced Google’s aggressive image sharpening this time for natural details but I am seeing that software improvement on the Pixel 7 as well. In short, you will not be able to tell the difference in camera quality in everyday use.

That said, there’s barely any camera that rivals its natural skin tone detection and phenomenal quality. The Pixel 7a, like its 7 series siblings, can judge exposure, white balance and more in a wink. 

Google says the 64MP main camera on the Pixel 7a has a 72% larger sensor than Pixel 6a and Night Sight is two times faster than the Pixel 6a. These are not just software adjustments but also hardware improvements. You’re getting a better camera system which is also very quick. The Google Pixel 7a brings Super Res Zoom from the headlining Pixel 7 series which lets the 7a do up to 8x zoom and tidy the shot using AI. It’s a respectable amount of zoom and doesn’t overprocess the image as well.

The selfie camera is good too but we’ve seen OnePlus and Vivo do a better job in this price range.

Compared to the OnePlus 11R, the Google Pixel 7a takes more natural-looking photos but that’s about it. If you’re not too nitpicky about your camera quality, the OnePlus 11R doesn’t falter as much.

Besides that, the Google Pixel 7a will really struggle to make anyone excited about what’s under the hood. A measly 128GB of storage is archaic even by Google’s standards and for the same price, you can get a minimum of 256GB storage on any smartphone these days. The Google Tensor G2 processor is fine and Google’s best yet. Our Deputy Editor has been using the Google Pixel 7 Pro as a daily driver and so he’s faced no processing problems with the Google Tensor G2. That said, with every new software update, Google either makes or breaks a tiny feature on its device. The most recent one was that the brightness slider stopped working on the Pixel 7 Pro and then fixed itself after a quick update. On Pixel 7a, I’ve seen anomalies and one of them is that our most recent photo will disappear from the library right after taking the shot.

Wired charging is only available up to 30W and there’s no charging brick in the box. There’s very little for Google to fight in this price range based on specs alone and the same problem was with Pixel 6a. 

This is not meant to be a gaming smartphone but if you’re dabbing in light gaming and some creative exercise in Lightroom, the phone can handle it. It doesn’t heat up as such but if you run Diablo Immortal on the high settings then that’s on you. For that you need something with better cooling, OnePlus 11R maybe.

The 6.1in OLED display comes with a 90Hz refresh rate. Compared to the 6.3in display of the Google Pixel 7, this display is point-two-inches smaller but with the same FullHD+ resolution and refresh rate it happens to be slightly sharper. The colour balance on the Google Pixel 7 is slightly better than the 7a. It’s all so… how we Indians say ‘Unees Bees’, that given the chance between 7 and 7a, I would buy the cheaper one. Although storage would play a huge role in my buying decision, everything else is secondary since it's all… and I repeat ‘Unees Bees’. You also get Gorilla Glass Victus on the Pixel 7 whereas the 7a gets Gorilla Glass 3 protection.

The Pixel 7 also has slightly better speakers than the 7a. The Google Pixel 7 has cleaner highs than the 7a.

The Google Pixel A-Series continues to be a conundrum of specs vs use. Objectively, everything about the Google Pixel 7a is fantastic barring the 128GB storage. It’s a software experience Google is trying to sell you and the smart photography features are only locked to Pixel devices. The promise of up to 5 years of software and security updates is essential to many, many users and like Apple iPhones, this software is going to be tailor-made for Google Pixel devices. That’s something you cannot get on other Android devices.

The Android competition is fierce in this price bracket and for ₹43,999 it’s foolhardy to opt for a 128GB storage option. For what it's worth, the Google Pixel 7a is a better value for money than the Pixel 7, only if you can come to terms with its low storage option. If you really want a Google Pixel then pick it up when it goes on sale eventually.