Since the Pixel 5, Google has managed to make a name for itself, then finally a name with its smartphones after several years of trial and error. But the recipe ended up taking time and, the more the models spend, the more success there is in the appointment. This is due to both the photographic quality of its numbered Pixel range and its lighter versions in price and functions, the Pixel a. But far from devaluing them for all that, Google even offers them a little more to shoot mechanics this year.
During its Google I/O keynote, the search giant took advantage of the Android 14 announcement to present the Pixel 7a, a few months after the launch of its older brothers, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. similar all round with a metal strip on the back to embed the photographic module. The touch of elegance is having combined its reflections with the available colors. The Pixel 7a plays the funniest card with availability in black, white, but also sky blue and coral.
A premium design
Like its siblings, the Pixel 7a has an extremely premium design with a glossy plastic back that does catch fingerprints a bit. Matte metallic contours also ensure the high-end look that lasts. And to accentuate everything, Google specifies that the glass, aluminum and plastic used are partly recycled.
The newcomer sits perfectly in the hand with its 6.1-inch AMOLED screen. In fact, it is much less massive than the Pixel 7 Pro (6.7 inches) and slightly more compact than the Pixel 7 (6.3 inches) with which it shares the same screen resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels). Important news: the Pixel 7a shows the same image refresh rate as the Pixel 7 (90 Hz) this year and lets the Pixel 7 Pro offer more fluidity at 120 Hz, just to justify the difference in price between the entry Pixel and the high-end one.
The quality of the Pixel 7a’s panel, protected by Gorilla Glass 3 to limit scratches, is excellent and quite bright, with good color rendering. There’s a punch at the top center to house the 13MP selfie camera (up from 8MP before), better than its peers locked in at 10.8MP. And it is that, for the first time, the Pixel 7a offers facial recognition to unlock the device in addition to the fingerprint sensor on the screen (and not below, as in other models). It’s quite efficient and fast, but it’s a less secure and accurate 2D recognition system than the iPhone’s TrueDepth system.
The smartphone also shows an IP67 certification for resistance to dust and submersion up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. It only offers a single configuration with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of non-expandable storage, with Google relying on its services storage as an add-on that you can optionally extend by signing up for higher monthly plans.
The photo, Pixel quality guarantee
The camera also becomes a clear point of improvement for the Pixel 7a compared to its predecessor. Now there is a main sensor increased to 64 Mpx associated with an ultra-wide angle that goes from 12 to 13 Mpx.
And the smartphone features up to 8x Super Res digital zoom to make portraits taken from afar a little more beautiful without losing quality. You’ll also take advantage of long exposure to bring more texture, movement, and relief to your shots. It’s also useful for low-light or night photography that’s moving up the range.
Obviously we always find the assistance of the artificial intelligence of the integrated processor (now the Tensor G2 as for Pixel 7 and 7 Pro) for computational photography and that does not necessarily please everyone, the “corrector” device itself what it can take due to lighting defects, blur added in portraits (but softer than before). Google’s assets are present: the magic eraser to erase unsightly elements of the photo, the Anti-blur to catch up on a slight bug. On the other hand, there is still no movement mode to follow an animal or a person without creating blur.
The Pixel 7a can now shoot in 4K at 30 frames per second and prove that it’s not just a high-quality photophone as there’s nothing to complain about in your shots.
Autonomy: doing better and a little better
Among the novelties, there is also the arrival of compatibility with Qi wireless charging (only 7.5 W). After spending a few days with the Pixel 7a, we noticed that it’s not lightning fast in terms of charging speeds (18W). It will take a good hour and a half to get to 100%.
Level of autonomy, does not stand out either. It even took a few days to get its bearings, quickly discharging on its own without any uses before it figured out our uses and learned to resist some more. All in all, it lasts a day for standard use. But its Ultra Battery Saver mode is a nice perk: it lets you choose when to use it and set essential apps to use normally even when the mode is on. A little more resistance and the board would have been perfect.
Our opinion:
In general, the Pixel 7a is a perfect combo in its price segment around 500 euros. Although the novelties are interesting (better camera, better screen, wireless charging, etc.) and can somewhat justify a substantial increase of 50 euros compared to the Pixel 6a, it is a shame not to have kept it under the symbolic bar where indisputably, it would have resisted high. against the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G, or even possibly would have beaten it hands down.
But Google’s small 5G smartphone has serious advantages in photography by resuming the qualities of home photophones in a small format. At this point, it is undeniable with the strength of computational photography, extremely interesting photo editing functions, but also for everyday life (translator, live transcription of recordings or even voice messages, etc.), the power of the processor Tensor G2 to make a batch. Google hits hard by offering the near-perfect recipe for a premium smartphone masquerading as a mid-range.
Pixel 7a price and availability
The Pixel 7a will be available in Charcoal Black, Snow White, Ocean Blue and Coral Orange (exclusive) at a price of 509 euros in the Google Store. It is in pre-order at Fnac-Darty, Boulanger Auchan, Carrefour, Cdiscount, Amazon and the main operators and will soon be on sale.
Source: BFM TV
