items 2: articleHeading: Google Pixel 7a Honest Review
articleLink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJlHH53JMHs
articleSummary: Reviewer discusses the display and its limitations.
articleTitle: Youtube
articleType: web_article
favicon: https://i.flash.tech/a/plain/s3://flash-creatives/images/icons/youtube_favicon.png
snippets: Now, the one I got here is the charcoal color way and one thing I really like about this is that this camera bar up here definitely matches the pixel 7 and 7 Pro you do have yourself a flash right there and this back is a plastic material so if you do care about having glass in the back you don't get that here but you do get yourself a wireless charging capability which is pretty surprising for a plastic phone, The bezels on this device have definitely made me second guess this device a little bit because they do look a little bit thick but at the same time I thought about and I'm like you know what it doesn't really matter because of the price of this phone but keep in mind there are phones out there that probably have a little bit more premium looking designs at this price point the pixel still stands on its own as its own unique look which I do really like I like the fact that you're getting a very unique looking phone you know that definitely screams it's a Google device and it definitely stands out, Now, for the display, this has a 6.1 in OLED panel that is good, but not really game-changing., It's 1080p 90 Hz and can hit around 1,000 nits of peak brightness with auto brightness turned on., For the price, I think that's okay., But here in Florida or other very sunny climates, this is not going to be very usable, but I wouldn't say it's completely unusable., And for the refresh rate, I always prefer 120 Hz in a dynamic LTPO display, but 90 Hz is still a big step up from the 60 Hz that we had on the Pixel 6a., I sincerely haven't noticed a significant difference between this and my Google Pixel 9a that I have also been using., Fortunately, the display does look sharp, colors are very punchy, and it has HDR10 and HDR10 plus certifications, which means Netflix and YouTube HDR content still looks great., And for the bezels, yeah, they're a little bit chunky, but we have the same problem on the 8a, the 9a, and probably most of the A series phones from Google in the next few years., But after using it for just like an hour, you completely stop noticing them., Remember, this is a budget device., You save hundreds of dollars for a great phone, and thicker bezels are definitely not a dealbreaker in my opinion., Now, for the battery, the Pixel 7a has a 4,385 mAh battery., In my testing, I'm seeing about four to six hours of screen on time in a typical day., And look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it., The battery life is not good, even for a cheap phone., But also keep in mind that if you replace the battery with a fresh one, you will probably see between 6 and 7 hours of screen on time., For comparison's sake, I get more than 11 hours of screen on time on my 9A, and the price isn't that different., I would definitely just get a 9A if battery is your priority., Also, one thing I talk about a lot on my channel is the charging speed., This one charges at 18 watts wired and 7.5 watts wireless., That means it will take you about 2 hours to go from 0 to 100% and worse, it only hits around 36% in the first 30 minutes., For my needs, this is an absolute deal breakaker., Because of the poor battery life, I cannot make it through a day., So, I need to charge it and I can't juice it up quickly., If this could last like 8 hours or more of screen on time, at that point, I could just charge it overnight with slow charging with 18 watts., If you're a light user looking for a cheap phone, this still could be an option., But for me personally, for the battery life and the charging speed alone, I cannot use this as my primary device in 2025., But enough with the bad because we have some good to talk about and that's the camera., Here's where Google earns our trust once again., The Pixel 7a punches way above its weight., You've got a 64 megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization, a 13 megapixel ultrawide, and a 13 megapixel selfie cam., In the results, you get classic Google excellence., Daylight shots are sharp, colorful, and mostly true to life., Dynamic range is amazing., And while it doesn't boost shadows too aggressively, it leans into the contrasty cinematic look that I like, even though it's not 100% true to what I see in real life every single time, but it doesn't go too far to the point where the photos start looking cartoony., The ultrawide is solid, too., No autofocus, unfortunately, but it has great consistency with the main camera., Night sight is here, and it's still awesome., You can pull off detailed, vibrant shots, even in low light with minimal noise., It's insane to me that pixel cameras are still amazing even if you're getting an older budget a series., For portrait mode, eh a little hit or miss., Edge detection is fine at one times, but the two times option produces some weird artifacts and soft faces., Selfies are okay, not the sharpest, but they look fine enough to share., Video, you get 4K 60 on the main cam, 4K 30 on the others., It's decent, but not flagship tier., Of course, it costs a lot less., Stabilization is solid, and footage looks clean in daylight., and low light takes a hit in the detail, but that's to be expected., Now, what about the performance?, Well, the Tensor G2 is just fine., Does it get hot? Yes., The Tensor G2 was never a performance powerhouse like the Snapdragon competitors, but for daily tasks using a phone for overall productivity, it provides more than enough., It really depends on what you want out of a phone., Do you want to game and take long videos for a ton of time? I stay with the Galaxy Ultra series., Do you want to use your phone for work, like answering phone calls, sending texts and emails, and then after work playing some emulators and Xbox Game Pass, or watching some YouTube or other content for long periods of time?, This phone does that with no issues., Now, you only get 8 GB of RAM, but with a fast UFS 3.1 storage, multitasking doesn't feel sluggish., And the great news is that Android 16 works so well on the Pixel 7a., It's just not going to be as powerful as something like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra that came out in the same year., Keep in mind though that this phone released at a price of $500 and the S23 Ultra was $1,200., So with that perspective, this phone gives you a ton of value in the performance category for the price., Now getting into the wonderful Pixel software, you get one of the cleanest Android experiences on the market., The software is just simply incredibly fast and extremely fluid., Everything works flawlessly and I haven't experienced any glitches so far., Also, you're going to get 5 years of software and security support from the time of the original release date of this phone., This was released in May of 2023, so expect support up until May of 2028., For the price, that's still a few years of support as the time of filming of this video, which is still definitely worth considering in my opinion., And of course, you get the classic Google Pixel features such as call screen, hold for me and direct my call, now playing for identifying background music, magic eraser and face unblur, Google's exclusive recorder app with live transcriptions, and even more., So, regardless if you're on a strict budget to get a cheaper phone, you're still going to get a ton of life and exclusive features by picking up the Google Pixel 7a., So, do I recommend you pick one up in 2025?, The Pixel 7a is like that underrated athlete who doesn't really make headlines, but always gets the job done., It has clean software, excellent cameras, Pixel exclusive features, and software support all wrapped up in a $150 to $200 package on the used market., That's a massive win., But if your focus is battery life and high performance, skip this phone and find a Pixel 9a., Still, for anyone looking for a dependable, smart, camera first Android phone on a budget, the Pixel 7a is absolutely worth considering., What do you think?, Does the Pixel 7a still hold its own in 2025, or is there a better mid-range or budget phone out there?, Drop your comments and thoughts down below, and let me know if I should try another phone that is better., I will buy it and I will review it.
type: ARTICLE
