Google Pixel 7a phone: is it really the best?
The Google Pixel 7a is the brand new smartphone from the American company. Announced at Google I/O 2023, it will cost €509. Not bad if we take into account the price of the Pixel 7 (released at €649) or the Pixel 7 Pro (€899). But the smart consumer who knows the range well is entitled to wonder if it is not better to opt for a Pixel 6a that can be found new at 409 € on the Google online store or even at €322 at Rakuten.
In this article we will try to help you get answers to some of your questions. Let’s start with the screen…
Few differences…
The Pixel 7a features a 6.1-inch (15.5 cm) Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) flat OLED display protected by Gorilla Glass 3. Little change from its predecessor. The only change concerns the refresh rate which goes from 60Hz to 90Hz on the Pixel 7a. Note also that the Pixel 7a panel is also brighter. On the performance side, the Pixel 7a embeds the new Google Tensor G2 SoC. The same as the 7 and 7 Pro while the Pixel 6a is a generation behind. In reality, it doesn’t change much, even if the RAM is increased from 6 GB to 8 GB. In regular, everyday tasks, you will notice the difference in refresh rate more than the difference in power.
Regarding autonomy, the Pixel 7a is equipped with a 4385 mAh battery against a 4410 mAh battery for the Pixel 6a. In fact, the difference is tiny and it’s the same for fast charging: 21 Watts for the 7a and 18 Watts for the Pixel 6a. We are far from the best on the market since it will take more than 110 minutes to fill the battery while it now only takes 20 minutes for the fastest. Wireless charging is included for the 7a while it was absent for the previous model, but it’s so slow (7.5 Watts!) that it will only serve you at night. Note that neither the 6a nor the 7a are sold with their charging block…
And for the picture?
The Pixel 7a has a main lens of 64 megapixels (f / 1.9, 26 mm equivalent) and another ultra wide-angle module of 13 MP (f / 2.2, 120 °) while the Pixel 6a has a duo 12.2MP / 12MP. The material is obviously not the same, but what about the quality of the shots? During the day, the rendering is very similar. This goes for both the main camera and the accompanying one: good color balance, good sharpness, good use of HDR, but the Pixel 7a tends to brighten dark areas a little more. The differences, however, are subtle. In low light, on the other hand, the differences are more noticeable. Both phones do a great job, albeit with different color profiles. The Pixel 6a tends to deliver cooler images while the Pixel 7a leans warmer. In short, unless you are very straddling the photo, the two fight in the same category.
Slightly overweight…
Finally, we note slight updates such as Bluetooth which goes from 5.2 to 5.3 and the presence of facial recognition on the 7a, but nothing revolutionary… Note also the slight weight gain for the 7a while the latter does not is not bulkier (193 grams against 178 g)… So does it mean going to 7a? If you have a Google Pixel 6a, the answer is no, especially since the latter is guaranteed to benefit from Android 14 and security updates for 5 years. If you’re hesitating between the two when your budget is tight, the Pixel 6a is perfect!
