Pixel 7a Review

My thoughts on the Pixel 7a from a standard user…

My Samsung Fold 4 has a beautiful bright pink line and two circles of dead pixels across the screen. Since I live in the middle of nowhere, I had to mail my phone to the Samsung Service Centre. Unfortunately, that meant being phone-less for at least a week, which, professionally, is a non-starter.

I went to Best Buy and picked up a Pixel 7a to hold me over and serve as our backup phone. My last Pixel was the 5, and I loved that device. Small, clean, and it just worked. Given my travel schedule, it was SLOW and forced me to carry both a tablet and a phone.

Pros of the Pixel 7a:

• Clean Android Experience
• Small-ish phones compared to most on the market today.
• Voice typing is AMAZING. Scarily so honestly
• The call screening feature has saved me so much time and uncertainty about who called. My contact info is very public, and I get at least 5-10 spam calls daily. Zero. Zero since I started using the phone
• The fingerprint reader is VASTLY superior to the one of the Pixel 5
• WIRELESS CHARGING! IP67 Water Rating!
• It was 499 Dollars with a 50-dollar Best Buy gift card. Incredible.
• The photos are excellent, as always.

Cons of the Pixel 7a:

• I miss my foldable tablet. Watching media on the device is annoying compared to the experience on the Fold.
• The battery life could be better, and it runs VERY hot.
• Android Auto is a mess on this phone with my F-150 Lightning.
• The clean Android experience is pleasant, but Samsung has some excellent additions that I have become accustomed to.
• The phone slows down at times, doing what I consider basic things.
• Multi-tasking is HORRIBLE. I forgot just how bad it is. I don’t believe any Android device is much better (or iOS, for that matter), but it isn’t good compared to having a Fold.
• The Fold 4 isn’t the fastest charging device, but it has an excellent battery life which levels it out. The Pixel 7a’s slow charging speed and poor battery life multiply the issue.
• The processing and editing features on the Pixel 7a for photos aren’t as complex or powerful as the Samsung ecosystem. I often take a picture, hit auto-fix, and let Samsung do its magic.

You can get a Samsung Fold 4 for around 1000 Dollars right now. For that price, you can get 2 Pixel 7a (in case you want two), albeit less capable devices. My Fold 4 had the dreaded screen issue, which makes me wonder how long the device will stand the test of time, but while it is more fragile, it is a competent tool. The Pixel 7a will stand the test of time and be in our backup phone slot for many years.

If you are looking for a cheap mid-range phone, I can’t imagine you want to buy anything else.