It's been six months since I bought the Google Pixel 7a,
and while my initial impression of this phone was great, that slightly changed in October 2023
once I got my hands on the Pixel 8. This makes recommending the 7a somewhat more difficult,
so let's go through the best things about this phone, the downsides, and then my ultimate
recommendation on whether you should get the 7a or if you should just get the Pixel 8 at this point.
The first thing I like about the 7a is its build quality. It feels even more premium
compared to the 6a, and it feels exactly like a Pixel 7 and looks like one too. Unlike a series
Pixels of the past, this one comes with a 90 Hz display option, which you can enable in
display settings. It's also the first A-series Pixel to support wireless charging. Finally,
there's also a new camera system across the device, 8 gigs of RAM versus 6 on the 6a,
and the 7a brings Face Unlock to an A-series Pixel for the first time.
The Pixel 7a adds a lot more to the A-series Pixel experience than I was expecting,
and they even made noticeable improvements with the camera system this year as well. The Pixel
7a has a 64-megapixel quad PD wide camera compared to the 12-megapixel dual PD wide camera on the 6a,
a 13-megapixel ultrawide compared to the 12-megapixel ultrawide camera on the 6a (which
honestly, I can't really tell a difference between the ultrawides), and even though the selfie camera
did get a bump up from 8 to 13 megapixels here too, I haven't noticed a huge difference from
the 6a. Where I have noticed differences between the 7a camera system and the 6a is with better
HDR processing in certain situations with the sky not blowing out. Coloring in video for the
7a seems to have been improved, which is probably thanks to the Tensor G2 found in the 7a. The 2x
zoom on the 7a is also noticeably better thanks to the higher megapixel count of its larger sensor.
Overall, performance has been snappy on this phone, and as for battery life,
it's been able to last me all day with moderate use. It comes with great Pixel-specific features
like Pixel Call Assist, a feature suite that includes Call Screen,
where the Assistant will pick up phone calls for you and screen them; Hold for Me,
where the Assistant will stay on hold and alert you when someone comes back on the line;
and Direct My Call, which shows you a visual menu of options that you can choose when you're on the
phone. Then there's Clear Calling, where the phone will remove background noise from your
audio and make your voice clear. Overall, it's worked really well in my experience.
This is generally how the microphone sounds on the Pixel 7a. Just talking into it using
the recorder app. But now, let's look at Clear Calling. What I'm going to do is I'm going to
play some background noise on the computer. I'll have Clear Calling turned off first,
and then I'll turn it on so you can hear the difference.
So, I am outside in a very busy city. There's a lot of traffic noise, and people are very,
very angry. This is what it sounds like with Clear Calling off. I have
no idea if you can hear this all right. So, I am outside right now in New York
City. It is very loud. I have Clear Calling on. This is what it sounds
like. Can you hear a difference in Clear Calling? Let me know down in the comments.
With the phone, you also get other great Pixel features like the fast on-device Google Assistant,
Real Tone, VPN by Google One, At a Glance, and more. The Pixel 7a is truly the best A-series
phone Google has ever made, and it starts at $499. But now that the Pixel 8 is out,
I'm not really sure if this is really as good of a deal as I thought it was going to be.
Before I get to what advantages the Pixel 8 has over the 7a, no matter which one of these
phones you choose, if you want a good case, you're going to like this video's sponsor.
Bellroy! I've been using Bellroy products for years now because of their quality design and
materials. Bellroy is a design-obsessed Australian carry brand focused on making products for how we
move throughout the world. They've solved common problems like fat wallets and flimsy bags,
and they're constantly pursuing better material practices. For example, their awesome Tech Kit
that I've been using is made out of this great recycled woven fabric, and it can fit all types
of tech accessories. The Tech Kit zips out flat for easy access and has this great magnetic slip
pocket perfect for a power bank. On top of that, you'll find these elastic cable organizers, and I
love that its mesh pockets have a bit of stretch to them, perfect for storing different types
of accessories. Once you've got all your tech in there, you'll find it zips up smoothly and doesn't
take up too much room in my Classic Backpack, which Bellroy also makes. For a limited time,
you can get 10% off not only a new Tech Kit but any product on Bellroy's site. Any purchase made
using our link helps support 6 months later. So, what are you waiting for? Get 10% off your order
today by using that link in the description below. Thanks to Bellroy for sponsoring today's video.
The Pixel 8 starts at $699, $200 more than the 7a,
but you'll likely find it on sale for closer to $549. And for that price,
you do get some really good upgrades that would tempt me to just recommend the 8 for most people.
The biggest upgrade you get with the 8 for me isn't the better camera system or Tensor G3;
it's the screen. Google Pixel phones, for as long as I've been covering them,
have often had screens that had these color shifts and refractions from the non-flex
OLED panels that they used, and that tech makes the display just not look great. But this year,
Google gave the Pixel 8 a much better screen. It no longer looks like a cheap OLED panel, the weird
color refractions are gone, and it has a 120Hz refresh rate, though it's not an LTPO display.
Now, I would pay the price difference between the 7a and the 8 just for the
display quality alone. But if you're not as big of a display quality stickler as I am,
there are other reasons to get the 8 besides just its display, like video quality. So far,
I've found it to be noticeably better with less noise compared to the 7a,
and there's no wide-angle video on the 7a, which the 8 does have.
For photos, though, whether they're captured with the main wide-angle or selfie cameras,
they're so close in quality it's hard to tell which phone took which photo. There are,
however, some new camera features that you'll miss out on by going with the 7a over the 8,
like Best Take, which will let you magically Photoshop in different
versions of people's faces from different takes, finally making those pesky family
photos where at least one person has their eyes closed a thing of the past.
Next is Audio Magic Eraser, which uses machine learning and AI to identify and remove background
sounds from a video, like wind noise or people talking. The Pixel 8 also gets you Macro Focus for
taking great close-up shots, Magic Editor, which is an evolution of the Magic Eraser and allows
you to select objects in your photos, move and resize them, as well as remove them. And overall,
it does a pretty great job. Just look at how well it did removing an object from
the table and filling in the checkered pattern of the tablecloth in this photo.
You also get Ultra HDR as well as astrophotography, and the Pixel 8
has features like better quality front glass, a slightly higher water resistance rating at IP68
versus the IP67 rating of the 7a, and because the Pixel 8 has Tensor G3, you'll get some
features tied to that chip, like having the Google Assistant read aloud web pages, translate them,
and you can even switch languages that you're using when conversing with the Assistant.
Plus, this year, Google announced that the Pixel 8 will get seven years of Android software version
updates versus just the three you get with the Pixel 7a. So, if you're looking to buy
a less expensive smartphone but keep it as long as possible, even though the 7a costs less than
the Pixel 8 upfront, the Pixel 8 should last you longer with its more years of software updates.
The last thing I'll mention about the 8 is that overall, the build quality is slightly nicer.
You get a glass back, though it's not a matte material like the Pro. It feels slightly smaller
with its more rounded edges, and overall, I think it's just a nicer phone to hold in your hand.
So, given everything you get with the Pixel 8 versus the 7a, this is going to be the rare
year where I just don't give a blanket recommendation for the A-series Pixel. I
do think it's worth upgrading to the Pixel 8 this year over the 7a in most circumstances.
So, let me know what you think. Did I get it right, or did I get it wrong?
Let me know down in the comments. And I've left purchase links for both of
these phones in the description as well. We're expecting some steep discounts on
these phones for the holidays, and I'll make sure to post that in our monthly newsletter.
Consider giving this video a thumbs up if you liked it and found it helpful.
And subscribe for more and to see more videos on Google Pixel
and Android devices. You can get to those by clicking on the videos above.
For 6 months later, I'm Josh Teder. Thanks for watching.