Google Pixel 7a preview: release date, specs, price & more – updated May 2, 2023

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The Google Pixel 7a is the company’s upcoming budget smartphone. The Pixel 6a is one of the easiest smartphones to recommend to people, not only because of what it offers features-wise, but its price too. The fact it offers great performance, good battery life, and really good camera performance, only helps things. Google’s ‘Pixel a’ series smartphones have been really good for years now, so we have high hopes for the upcoming Pixel 7a handset.

In this article, we’ll basically round up the info that surfaced thus far, to give you an idea as to what you may expect. You’ll find useful links throughout the article, pointing you to specific rumors and leaks. That being said, let’s get this party on the road, shall we?

This article will be regularly updated with new information on the Google Pixel 7a (this is a preview article) — both official teasers and credible leaks, rumors, and insider claims — as it becomes available in the run-up to the release of the upcoming Android smartphone. The last update was made on May 2.

When will the Google Pixel 7a be released?

The Google Pixel 6a arrived on May 11 last year. The Pixel 7a will likely launch in May this year, during Google I/O. Google announced that the event will kick off on May 10 in Mountain View. That’s where Google will host its keynote, and that’s when we may see this phone become official. So, almost exactly a year after the Pixel 6a arrived. Mark your calendars, and let’s see what Google has to offer! The phone is tipped to go on sale on May 10, the day it launches. Google won’t offer pre-orders first or anything of the sort.

What models are coming?

Once upon a time, Google released more than one ‘Pixel a’ series smartphone. That is no longer the case, however, We no longer get a smaller and a bigger brother in the series. The Pixel 6a was the sole ‘Pixel a’ smartphone that Google announced last year. The Pixel 7a will seemingly follow in its footsteps. Based on everything we’ve seen thus far, that will be the only ‘Pixel a’ phone Google will announce during the event.

How much will the Pixel 7a cost?

The Google Pixel 7a will be an affordable device, that’s for sure. Its predecessor was priced at $449 at launch last year. Since then, it has been discounted a number of times, and users could even grab it for as low as $299. The Pixel 7a is expected to cost a bit more than its predecessor. It’s tipped to cost $499. Truth be said, the Pixel 7a will likely see a number of discounts in the coming months, similar to its predecessor.

What will the Google Pixel 7a look like?

The Google Pixel 7a leaked out quite a few times thus far. That goes for both its renders and real-life images, even the phone’s retail box appeared, twice. On top of everything, the official marketing materials also leaked out. You can check out all of those at the end of this section, along with a hands-on video that appeared. Based on everything we’ve seen, the Pixel 7a will resemble the Pixel 7… a lot. It will essentially be a slightly smaller variant of the Pixel 7, design-wise. The phone will be made out of metal and glass, presumably. It’s possible Google will use plastic on the back, though, to keep the price down. A flat display will be included on the front, with a centered display camera hole.

On the back, the phone will be curved towards the sides, but the back side will be mostly flat. The camera visor is hard to mis. It will seemingly be slightly less protruded than the one on the Pixel 7. Well, at least it seems that way based on the leaked images. Two cameras will still be located there, and easily visible, thanks to the metallic cover that will be applied over the camera visor itself. As you may recall, the Pixel 6a had a two-tone design on the back, as its camera visor was black, and not covered by metal.

On the right side, the device will include all of its physical buttons. The power/lock button will sit above the volume up and down keys. A Type-C charging port will sit at the bottom of the device, along with its main speaker. The secondary speaker will be included under the earpiece grille. It is reported that the Pixel 7a will arrive in four color options. Google will, of course, have special names for those color options. They’ll be called Charcoal, Snow, Sea, and Coral variants. All four colors options have also appeared in renders, and we’ve included them all in one of the galleries below.

CAD-based renders:

Hands-on images:

Pixel 7a prototype:

The Pixel 7a prototype managed to end up on eBay with the images below.

Renders showing all color options:

Pixel 7a retail boxes & real-life images:

Marketing materials:

Video:

What specs will the Google Pixel 7a have?

What about the specs? Well, despite its rather affordable price tag, this will be a powerful phone. It will be fueled by the Google Tensor G2 SoC. That is the current flagship processor fueling the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro handsets. Google will also include 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM here, based on rumors, along with UFS 3.1 flash storage. We’re presuming 128GB will be included, but Google may offer us more than one variant.

A 6.1-inch fullHD+ AMOLED display is also rumored. That panel will allegedly offer a 90Hz refresh rate. So, it’s the same size as the Pixel 6a’s panel, but with a higher refresh rate. That display will be flat, by the way. Android 13 will come pre-installed on the phone, of course. A 4,400mAh battery is tipped. The phone will allegedly offer 5W wireless charging. We presume that 20W wired charging will also be included, but the phone will arrive without a charger in the box. Bluetooth 5.3 will be supported, as Bluetooth SIG confirmed.

A 64-megapixel main camera (Sony’s IMX787 sensor) is tipped to be used here. That would be a first for Google, and it would be an upgrade over the 12.2-megapixel unit that was included in the Pixel 6a. A 12-megapixel ultrawide camera (Sony’s IMX712 sensor) was also mentioned in rumors. The phone will also include an in-display fingerprint scanner of an optical variety, in case you were wondering. The Pixel 7a could also offer facial scanning, via its front-facing camera. It is worth noting that the phone did get certified by the FCC already.

Should you wait to buy the Google Pixel 7a?

Considering that the Pixel 6a is now (at the time of writing this article) $299, and it often drops to that price, that may seem quite tempting. If you really need a phone, and don’t have a lot of cash to spend, the Pixel 6a is a great choice. However, if you’re able to wait a bit longer, the Pixel 7a will be a notable improvement, it seems. Not only will it add a better display, and a newer SoC, but you’ll get a brand new camera sensor too. Add wireless charging on top of everything, and the Pixel 7a may seem like a great choice. If Google manages to keep the price below $500, the Pixel 7a will be appealing to some, though dangerously close to the Pixel 7 in terms of pricing.

2023-05-02 15:09:01