Pixel 7a Review with Pros and Cons

Images: Fazli Halim

Pixel 7a 5G Price

8GB Ram + 128GB Storage: ₹43,999 or $499

PROS

1. Spectacular Cameras 2. Superb Software Experience 3. Faster RAM and Storage Support 4. 19 5G Bands 5. Solid Stereo Speakers 6. IP67 Rating 7. NFC Support

CONS

1. Not the Best for Gaming 2. Slower Wired and Wireless Charging 3. Plastic Back 4. Gets a Bit Hot 5. Missing FM Radio 6. No Charger in the Box 7. The Front Bezels Look Ugly 8. Portrait Mode needs Optimization

Camera Quality

I didn’t see a huge difference between Pixel 7 and Pixel 7a except for the 4k@60fps option in Pixel 7’s front cameras.

The 64MP primary sensor does all the magic and at this movement, you won’t get a better camera smartphone than the Pixel 7a under Rs 50,000 in India.

In short, whether it’s colors or even dynamic range, everything seems perfect unless we move to portrait mode.

Yes, the portrait mode is still not as good as other phones. I don’t know why Google didn’t work on it. What we can do is, wait and see what Google does till then use the primary sensor.

13MP ultra-wide is wider compared to Pixel 7 and yes it does take good images under low light and even under bright light.

13MP ultra-wide lens,

You can also shoot videos up to 4k@30/60fps with all the sensors except for the front cameras.

The 13MP front camera is a solid sensor that takes great images in all kinds of lighting conditions.

Google Pixel 7a has the best cameras under Rs 50,000 except for the portrait mode which is hit or miss.

So if you’re looking for the best camera phone then you won’t get a better option than the Pixel 7a under 50k.

Display Quality

This is where things get tricky because the Pixel 7a doesn’t have a good-looking display at all.

Yes, it has huge bezels all around it which doesn’t feel or look like a Rs 43,999 smartphone from any angle.

The in-display fingerprint sensor is not fast but it gets the job done along with that, you also get a face to unlock option.

Overall, for the price of Rs 43999, the Pixel 7a doesn’t have a display at all.

Performance

The new G2 chip is made by Samsung, so don’t expect much from it. Also, this is not a gaming chipset at all

So if you want to buy gaming smartphones, consider phones like OnePlus 11R, iQOO 9T, or even the recently launched POCO F5 5G, which is available at Rs 29,999.

Also, if you’re a casual user then a little bit of gaming won’t harm the device but if you gonna play games like Genshin Impact then Pixel 7a will turn into fire.

So yes, Google Tensor G2 is an average processor which is not made for power-hungry users at all.

Now, of course, the phone doesn’t have the 3.5mm audio jack but it does have a solid speaker which will give you the best audio experience.

Battery Life

The 4,385mAh battery is good but not the best.

Smaller battery along with slower charging support means, Google Pixel 7a. I mean, we’re living in 2023 and yet the Rs 43999 comes with only 18W wired charging support is not acceptable at all.

It also has massive 7.50W wireless charging which also doesn’t clock at 7.5W all the time, it runs around from 4W to 5W.

The problem is, the Pixel 7a doesn’t lock the charging speed to 18W all the time, it runs around 13W to 15W as a result, it took about 1 hour and 46 minutes to charge from 0% to 100%.

Maybe this is a software issue or maybe it’s not, nonetheless, this is not an ideal choice if you use a smartphone a lot.

Verdict

Cameras and the Software are the highlighting part of Pixel 7a, other than that, there is nothing special about this device that it is worth Rs 43,999 price tag.