SpecEagle review · Google

Pixel 7a review: The mid-range Pixel that nearly matched the flagship.

SpecEagle Editorial·May 2023·$499
Overall
81/100
Class rank
#2 of 3
Tier
Mid-range
Buy?
At the right price
The verdict, up front

The mid-ranger that brought flagship cameras to $499.

The Pixel 7a delivered flagship chip and camera quality at a mid-range price, even adding wireless charging. The 90 Hz screen and slow charging are the main cost-savings.

01Display

80/100

80/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2023.

TypeOLED, 90 Hz
Size6.1 inches
Resolution2,400 × 1,080 px (429 ppi)
Peak brightness~1,000 nits
ProtectionGorilla Glass 3

02Camera

86/100

86/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2023.

Main64 MP, f/1.89, OIS
Ultrawide13 MP, f/2.2
Selfie13 MP, f/2.2
Video4K @ 60 fps

03Performance

78/100

78/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2023.

ChipsetGoogle Tensor G2 (5 nm)
CPU8 cores
GPUMali-G710 MP7
RAM8 GB
Storage128 GB

04Battery

80/100

80/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2023.

Capacity4,385 mAh
Wired18 W
Wireless7.5 W Qi

05Build

84/100

84/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2023.

06Value

88/100

88/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2023.

What works
  • Flagship-grade camera processing at $499.
  • Tensor G2 — same chip as the Pixel 7 flagship.
  • Wireless charging, rare in this price class.
  • Clean Pixel software.
What doesn't
  • 90 Hz display where rivals offer 120 Hz.
  • Older Gorilla Glass 3 front.
  • 18 W charging is slow.
  • 3-year OS window.

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 3-phone cohort of mid-range devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .