Pixel 7a Review: Distinctive Design, Impressive 64 MP Camera, Tensor G2 Chip for Good Performance

At Google I/O 2023 event, Google unveiled Pixel 7a - a new member of the Pixel 7 Series. This phone brings notable upgrades compared to its predecessor, the Pixel 6a. So, what's new in Pixel 7a design? Is Pixel 7a's camera impressive? How's Pixel 7a's performance? How long does Pixel 7a's battery last? Let's review Pixel 7a to find out!

Note: This article references content and images from GSMArena and Tom's Guide.

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Pixel 7a Boasts an Eye-Catching Design, Carrying Many Characteristics of the Pixel 7 Lineup

The exterior of Pixel 7a embodies many characteristics of the Pixel 7 lineup, a fact highly praised by Tom's Guide. Specifically, the back of the Pixel 7a is made of glossy plastic with a rear camera cluster placed horizontally within a raised metal frame. Additionally, the color tone of this camera bar is darker than the back panel, serving to create a focal point for the device.

Compared to its predecessor, the Pixel 6a, the rear camera module of the Pixel 7a protrudes less and is made matte instead of glossy. This design helps the overall back of the Pixel 7a to be more uniform, harmonious, and resistant to scratches when placed on flat surfaces.

The Google Pixel 7a comes in 4 color options: Charcoal (Black), Sea (Blue), Snow (White), and Coral (Orange). Tom's Guide experienced the Black variant of the Pixel 7a and noted that, compared to brighter colors like Blue or White, the Black version leaves more fingerprints when in use.

The frame of the Pixel 7a is crafted from sturdy aluminum with a thickness of 9 mm. Compared to its predecessor, the Pixel 7a is slightly thicker (Pixel 6a is 8.9 mm thick), but the hand feel remains comfortable, as shared by GSMArena.

The front of the Pixel 7a is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 3 tempered glass, with a 6.1-inch Full HD+ OLED display. Compared to the Pixel 6a, the bezel around the Pixel 7a's screen is thicker, resulting in a 20:9 aspect ratio.

In contrast, the Pixel 7a's display has been upgraded to a 90 Hz refresh rate from 60 Hz in its predecessor. This not only makes the images displayed on the screen smoother and more seamless but also enhances the responsiveness of user touch interactions on the Pixel 7a's screen.

Pixel 7a's 64 MP camera delivers stunning image quality and impressive low-light performance

The Pixel 7a's main camera boasts a 64 MP resolution, with the sensor being 72% larger than its predecessor. According to GSMArena, the upgrade in the main camera resolution provides the Pixel 7a with better low-light photography capabilities. Additionally, the Pixel 7a is equipped with a 13 MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 13 MP selfie camera.

• Main camera: 64 MP resolution, f/1.89 aperture.
• Ultra-wide-angle camera: 13 MP resolution, f/2.2 aperture, 120-degree field of view.
• Selfie camera: 13 MP resolution, f/2.2 aperture.

With the camera specifications of the Pixel 7a upgraded, what is the image quality like from this phone? Let's find out below!

• Photos taken in sufficient lighting conditions

Photos taken with the main camera of the Pixel 7a in sufficient lighting conditions deliver good quality, as expected by the GSMArena reviewer. A significant advantage of the camera system in Pixel devices in general, and the Pixel 7a in particular, is its ability to reproduce true-to-life colors and vivid images. Moreover, the Pixel 7a's main camera also boasts accurate white balance and wide dynamic range.

Since the Pixel 7a lacks a telephoto camera, all zoomed-in photos are captured by the 64 MP main camera. Consequently, the quality of 2x zoom photos from the Pixel 7a is average, with moderate details.

According to GSMArena's review, the ultra-wide camera of the Pixel 7a surpasses the author's expectations in terms of image quality. The photos exhibit wide field of view, excellent sharpness, and detail. Moreover, images captured with the Pixel 7a's ultra-wide camera boast vibrant colors and good contrast.

For portrait shots, the Pixel 7a demonstrates decent subject detection and background blur. However, upon closer inspection, the level of detail in the photos is not particularly high. GSMArena's author is critical of the photo quality when capturing portraits at 2x zoom. This is because the Pixel 7a's portrait mode struggles to effectively blur the background when zoomed to 2x.

Turning to the front camera for selfies, photos taken from this camera look very natural overall. The colors throughout the image, and particularly the skin tones, are excellent, with beautiful dynamic range and good detail even when captured under harsh sunlight, as noted by the author.

• Photos taken in low-light conditions

As mentioned earlier, the Pixel 7a boasts a larger sensor size than its predecessor to deliver higher-quality night shots. True to GSMArena's prediction, photos taken in low-light conditions with the Pixel 7a's main camera are very impressive. Especially, the Night Sight mode of the device is automatically activated, so users only need to point and shoot to capture outstanding low-light photos.

Furthermore, both the automatic Night Sight mode and manual Night Sight mode provide high-detail images with vibrant colors. Moreover, the Pixel 7a also excels in automatic white balance, handling all types of artificial lighting effortlessly.

In case we turn off the Night Sight mode, the photos will appear much darker and the level of detail will not be very high. If a photo contains too many dark details, the overall image will become even darker and result in heavy noise.

Similarly, with the main camera of the Pixel 7a, when zoomed in 2x in low-light conditions, the photos still maintain similar quality as when taken at 1x with manual Night Sight mode and automatic Night Sight mode. Additionally, the phone's camera exhibits high color saturation and good white balance.

When shooting at 2x zoom without Night Sight mode, photos taken with the Pixel 7a's camera become darker and details like shadows of objects in the photo become blurred. However, compared to photos taken at 1x, the difference is not significant.

Similarly, the ultra-wide camera of the Pixel 7a performs well in low-light conditions, especially when using Night Sight. The photos produced have excellent color contrast. However, bright details in the photo (such as lights, signs, etc.) may be slightly overexposed, but overall, the color reproduction is excellent, with good white balance and high detail.

Without using Night Sight, the ultra-wide camera of the Pixel 7a only delivers average photo quality, with the overall image being dark, heavy noise, and low detail.

Pixel 7a delivers strong performance with Tensor G2 chip and 8 GB of RAM

Before diving into details, let's quickly highlight the specifications of Pixel 7a for easy understanding!

• Display: 6.71-inch size, AMOLED panel, Full HD+ resolution (2,400 x 1,080 pixels), 90 Hz refresh rate.
• CPU: Google Tensor G2.
• RAM: 8 GB.
• Internal Storage: 128 GB, 256 GB.
• Rear Camera: 64 MP + 13 MP.
• Front Camera: 12.2 MP.
• Battery: 4,300 mAh.
• Operating System: Android 13.

Pixel 7a is powered by the Tensor G2 chip (8 cores) similar to devices in the Pixel 7 series. Not only that, Pixel 7a also features 8 GB of RAM to ensure smooth multitasking performance. To provide readers with a clearer understanding of the power of Pixel 7a, GSMArena has conducted some benchmark tests for the device. Let's explore the details below!

First up is the GeekBench 5 test, where the Tensor G2 chip paired with Pixel 7a seems to have synergized well, delivering excellent results in both single-core and multi-core tests. The single-core score achieved by Pixel 7a is on par with Pixel 7. In the multi-core test, Pixel 7a scores slightly lower.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, Pixel 7a also performs very well, showing only a slight difference compared to Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. However, when compared to competitors in the same price range, the AnTuTu score achieved by Pixel 7a is much higher.

However, in graphics-intensive tests, the results achieved by Pixel 7a are not very impressive. This is partly due to the graphics processing capabilities of the Tensor G2 not being highly rated, especially when the device has to endure heavy tasks continuously for a long time. You can check the results in the CPU Throttling and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test below.

In the CPU Throttling test, Pixel 7a achieves a stable level of 66%, which is average. After running at peak performance initially, this figure starts to decline and stabilizes around 63% - 66%. For the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test, Pixel 7a achieves a stable level of 68.9% after 20 runs, which is not very impressive. Additionally, the gap between the Best Loop Score and the Lowest Loop Score is up to 2,053 points (6,601 - 4,548 = 2,053).

Overall, the Tensor G2 on Pixel 7a can handle basic tasks well, with processing speed not far behind Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. However, the performance of Pixel 7a in heavy tasks such as high-graphic gaming or video editing is not very good, leading to lagging or rapid increase in temperature. This is confirmed by the author of Tom's Guide, who experienced overheating issues when using Pixel 7a for prolonged gaming sessions.

Pixel 7a with a 4,385 mAh battery provides up to 76 hours of standby time

Pixel 7a is powered by a 4,385 mAh battery. While this capacity is 25 mAh less than the predecessor Pixel 6a, it is 30 mAh more than the Pixel 7. So, how long can the 4,385 mAh battery of Pixel 7a last?

In the battery test conducted by GSMArena, Pixel 7a doesn't deliver outstanding results. The device offers a standby time of 76 hours and average usage times for tasks such as calling, video playback, or web browsing on this phone.

Pixel 7a offers specific usage times for various tasks as follows:

• Web browsing: Continuous operation for 14 hours 56 minutes.
• Video playback: Continuous operation for 18 hours 12 minutes.
• Phone calls: Continuous operation for 21 hours 27 minutes.

Additionally, Pixel 7a is supported by fast charging with a power of 18W. In a power charging test, GSMArena measured the actual power of Pixel 7a at 18.7W when using the genuine 30W charger from Google.

In GSMArena's charging speed test, Pixel 7a delivers similar results to other smartphones with the same 18W fast charging. Looking at the results, we can see that Pixel 7a achieves 36% battery in the first 30 minutes of charging, and it will take us 1 hour 57 minutes to fully charge the device.

However, according to GSMArena's assessment, they had to spend an additional 20 minutes trickle charging before Pixel 7a signaled 'fully charged'.

How much does Pixel 7a cost?

Pixel 7a is priced at 499 USD (approximately 11.71 million VND) in the international market. Overall, Pixel 7a is a device with many advantages such as attractive design, beautiful photo-taking capabilities, and good performance.

Above are the evaluations of the Google Pixel 7a. If you have any other comments about the Google Pixel 7a, please leave them in the comments below for me and everyone to know! Thank you for your interest and following my article.

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