Google Pixel 7a Review | Tom's Guide
The Pixel 7a delivers a smoother 90Hz OLED display, great cameras and longer battery life in a sleek design for less than $500.
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00:00 With the Pixel 7a, Google is blurring the line between budget phones and flagship phones.
00:08 And that's a good thing.
00:09 On paper, the specs almost scream flagship.
00:12 Quality 64MP camera?
00:14 Check.
00:15 Smooth 90Hz display?
00:17 Yep.
00:18 Wireless charging?
00:19 That's here too.
00:20 That's a pretty good deal for $500.
00:21 Plus, you get the same powerful Tensor G2 chip as the regular Pixel 7, the same face
00:27 unlock capability and much longer battery life than the previous Pixel 6a.
00:31 Still, the Pixel 7a costs $50 more than Samsung's Galaxy A54 and the Pixel 6a.
00:37 So is it worth the extra $50, and is it the best mid-range phone you can buy?
00:41 Let's go take a look.
00:47 The Pixel 7a looks just like the Pixel 7, which is great because I like the prominent
00:51 metal camera bar on the back.
00:53 Yes, the rest of the back is plastic instead of glass.
00:57 But this handset looks and feels premium.
00:59 There's also a sturdy metal frame, plus Gorilla Glass 3 protecting the front from scratches
01:04 and drops.
01:05 You have your choice of four colors with the Pixel 7a, including charcoal, snow, sea, and
01:09 coral.
01:10 We tested the sea model, and it's a nice pale blue.
01:13 I like coral the most, but it's exclusive to Google.com and Google Stores.
01:17 I do like how the aluminum sides are color matched, but the rear panel does pick up fingerprints,
01:22 so you might want to throw this thing in a case.
01:28 One of the most notable Pixel 7a upgrades is the jump from 60Hz to 90Hz for the display,
01:33 so you now get smoother scrolling and more fluid animations on the 6.1" Full HD OLED
01:38 panel.
01:39 The Pixel 7a's screen is solid overall.
01:41 When watching the Barbie movie trailer, the colors really popped, from the bright pink
01:45 Corvette to Ryan Gosling's super blonde hair.
01:48 And our lab results were pretty impressive too.
01:50 With the Pixel 7a reaching over 1,000 nits of brightness when displaying HDR content.
01:56 Google's phone registered 79% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is good but trails the
02:01 90% from the Galaxy A54.
02:03 And the color accuracy score of 0.11 for the Pixel 7a is also not quite as good as the
02:09 Samsung.
02:16 Pixel 7a packs a strong trio of cameras for your 499, including a 64MP main camera, a
02:22 13MP ultra-wide shooter, and a 13MP front camera.
02:26 That front camera comes in handy for face unlock, which is the fastest way to unlock
02:30 this handset if you're willing to live with something less secure than the in-display
02:34 fingerprint sensor.
02:36 As for the photo quality, I'd say this is easily one of the best camera phone values
02:39 around.
02:40 Let's take a look at some images side by side between the Pixel 7a and the Galaxy A54.
02:45 They're both under $500 and they both promise to be the best camera phone for the money.
02:50 On the left hand side and the right hand side you can see that we have this close up shot
02:53 at 2x digital zoom when it comes to this waffle.
02:56 And I would say that the Pixel looks a little bit more delicious because if you look at
03:00 the highlights in the chocolate sauce in particular, it's just a little bit sharper as we zoom
03:05 in.
03:06 So take a look on the left, take a look on the right, and you can see that it's just
03:11 a little bit sharper on the right hand side.
03:13 And the same thing goes with the right side of the waffle itself.
03:16 Next up we have a photo of a lily taken in Bryant Park.
03:20 And I would say this because the flower itself is a little bit more vibrant.
03:24 So it really depends on what you're looking for.
03:26 The brighter overall exposure or the flower that pops a little bit more.
03:30 You make out a little bit more detail on the left.
03:32 There's a little bit more contrast between the dark and the light areas.
03:36 And then the center of the flower is a little bit more in focus.
03:41 And again, because the color is a little bit more saturated on the right hand side, I think
03:45 this one pops a little bit more.
03:46 So I would say it's almost a draw.
03:48 All right, next up, we have a low light shot.
03:51 And I think in this case, it's a pretty clear winner.
03:54 As you can see on the right hand side, we have the Pixel 7a.
03:57 It's just a brighter overall image.
03:59 And this in this case is this is this room with no lights on except for the window open
04:04 in the background.
04:05 And you can see that you can make out more details in that Godzilla figure on the left
04:08 hand side.
04:10 And also a little bit more detail in the camera on the right.
04:12 The Homer in the middle is nice and shiny on both.
04:15 But I think the colors in the pixel image are a little bit more accurate.
04:18 Let's move on to this photo that we took in Bryant Park.
04:21 And I would say right off the bat, Samsung seems to win because it has the brighter,
04:25 more inviting image period.
04:27 It's a brighter exposure.
04:28 You could say it's almost overexposed.
04:29 But I think this is the one that more people would probably share.
04:32 On the right hand side, though, especially as you start to zoom in, it's a little bit
04:35 crisper, especially in the water.
04:37 So check this out.
04:38 So you could see right here, the individual water droplets are almost easy to make out
04:42 on the left hand side.
04:44 As we start to zoom in, it's a little bit more jumbled together.
04:47 And next up, we have a portrait shot of me.
04:50 And I think if I had to choose a shot of myself, I might pick the one on the left at first.
04:55 If I was just thinking about like the again, like the brighter overall image.
05:00 But then when you start to think about the image quality and like the detail in my jacket,
05:05 both jackets a little bit chilly outside.
05:07 I would just I would have to give the nod to the pixel.
05:09 And you can also say that the colors a little bit richer and more vibrant.
05:13 So it's a dimmer image, but I kind of like the skin tone is more natural, too.
05:17 So I would say the Samsung A54 is just a little bit too blown out.
05:23 And I think pixel gets a little bit of an edge just because it gets all the little details
05:27 right.
05:28 Okay, so are you ready for more me?
05:31 I took a selfie with both the pixel 7a and the galaxy A54.
05:37 And granted the sun was coming in and out.
05:39 But I would say the Samsung shot is a little bit more washed out, especially in my face.
05:43 I think the skin tone is more natural on the right hand side, which is the pixel.
05:48 And then if you start looking at my jacket and the threading there, you can make out
05:52 a lot more detail over the Samsung.
05:56 Here's a round where there's no competition at all.
05:58 And that's because the pixel 7a does not have a macro mode and it does not have a macro
06:04 lens, whereas the galaxy A54 does.
06:07 So you can see in this close up shot of the flower, you can make out a lot more detail
06:11 in the pedals on the left hand side.
06:13 And on the right, this is the closest that we could get.
06:16 So what about zoom?
06:17 I think the pixel 7a comes into this round with a disadvantage because it only goes up
06:21 to 8x zoom, whereas the Samsung galaxy A54 goes up to 10x.
06:26 And you can see the difference in this photo.
06:28 Now granted, the sun was shining for the pixel shot, but it still doesn't give you as much
06:33 detail as Samsung does.
06:35 And that's because it just goes in a little bit further.
06:37 So in this particular case, I think Samsung wins because it just gives you a longer, more
06:42 powerful zoom and it shows in the results.
06:46 In terms of video, the pixel 7a delivers with the ability to shoot 4K at 60 frames per second.
06:51 This footage captured at dusk of a pool looks bright, colorful and clear with plenty of
06:54 detail in the rippling water as I push in.
06:58 There's a bit of lens flare though, as I get closer to the sun.
07:03 The pixel 7a's video stabilization works pretty well as you can see in this clip.
07:07 On the other hand, I was really impressed with the slow motion footage of this fountain.
07:12 Because this is a pixel, you get access to all of Google's AI goodness, including magic
07:16 eraser for removing unwanted things from your photos and photo and blur for sharpening your
07:20 pics.
07:25 One of the big benefits of the pixel 7a is that it packs the same Tensor G2 chip as the
07:30 flagship pixel 7 and pixel 7 Pro.
07:32 The result is strong performance, whether you're racing around the track at a game
07:36 like Asphalt 9 or zipping between multiple open apps.
07:40 On Geekbench, which measures overall performance, the pixel 7a handily beats the Exynos 1380
07:45 chip inside the Galaxy A54.
07:47 However, the iPhone SE's A15 Bionic is still the champ when it comes to sheer horsepower.
07:53 We also timed how long it takes to transcode a 4K video to 1080p in Adobe Premiere Rush,
07:58 and the pixel 7a took 56 seconds, again beating out the Galaxy A54 but losing out to the iPhone's
08:04 blistering under 30 second time.
08:07 The pixel 7a has fairly strong graphics for the price too, reaching 41 frames per second
08:12 in a 3DMark Wildlife Unlimited test.
08:15 Samsung's phone was way behind at 17fps, while the iPhone SE scored 50 frames per second.
08:23 One of the major downsides of Google devices has always been battery life.
08:30 The Pixel 6a was pretty underwhelming when compared to the competition, but the times
08:34 are changing.
08:35 The Pixel 7a boasts much longer battery life than its predecessor with its 4385 mAh battery,
08:41 even though that's smaller than the Pixel 6a's battery.
08:44 A lot of the credit goes to the more efficient Tensor G2 chip.
08:47 On the Tom's Guide battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over 5G at 150 nits
08:52 of screen brightness, the Pixel 7a lasted a very good 10 hours and 5 minutes over T-Mobile's
08:57 network in 60Hz mode.
08:59 That's way better than the 6.5 hours the Pixel 6a turned in, though it's not as epic as the
09:04 nearly 12 hours the Galaxy A54 managed with the same settings.
09:09 The iPhone SE endured for only a little over 9 hours.
09:18 Overall the Pixel 7a is so good I wouldn't bother getting the regular Pixel 7 for $100
09:22 more.
09:23 Sure, the Pixel 7 has a slightly bigger screen, more premium glass back, and a bigger main
09:28 camera sensor, but I'd argue that the Pixel 7a is a better value and one of the best Android
09:33 phones for the money, period.
09:35 Be sure to check out our full Pixel 7a review at Tom's Guide and follow us here on YouTube,
09:40 TikTok, and Instagram.
09:42 I'm Mark Spunower and be sure to subscribe as we'll be getting our hands on the new Pixel
09:46 Fold soon, and we can't wait.
09:48 [Music]