Technologies

Google Pixel 7A: 3 Months Later, It’s Still a Great Affordable Pick

The Pixel 7A still shines for its design and camera. But if you can wait, it’s worth seeing what the Pixel 8 has to offer.

When I reviewed the Pixel 7A back in May, I praised it for its sleek design, great cameras and resemblance to the pricier Pixel 7. Revisiting the phone three months later has only reinforced those impressions — along with reiterating other pros and cons about the device.

Google has a strong track record for updating the software on its Pixel phones years after their release with new features and functionality, which keeps its devices feeling fresh. And the same should hold true for the Pixel 7A. But since we’re likely just a couple of months away from Google announcing its Pixel 8 lineup, the big question is whether it’s worth buying the Pixel 7A now or whether you should wait for the Pixel 8.

Read more: Pixel 8: All the Major Rumors About Google’s Next Phone

While we don’t know what to expect from Google’s next-generation phone, the answer will largely depend on the Pixel 8’s price, and whether it comes with any compelling new features. Google typically announces its next Pixel line in October, and may drastically markdown the Pixel 7 series in the lead up which could make it a better buy than the 7A.

I generally recommend waiting until Google holds its next major product launch before making a purchasing decision. But if you need a new Android phone now and are eyeballing the Pixel 7A, rest assured that you’ll get a great camera and useful software features in a package that feels just right: Not too big and not too small.

Screen is just the right size, but too dim

The Pixel 7A’s 6.1-inch size feels like the perfect balance between portability and spaciousness. It’s big enough to comfortably read news stories, make video calls and scroll through social media, but doesn’t feel like a burden when I hold it.

Samsung does a better job at cramming a giant screen into a compact design. Take the Galaxy S23 as an example which has the same-sized screen but feels smaller to hold — although at $800 it’s significantly more expensive than the Pixel 7A.

While I appreciate the Pixel 7A’s size, the screen looks too dim outdoors. When I used the Pixel 7A outside, even on an overcast day, I had to boost the screen’s brightness all the way up to comfortably view it. The $449 Galaxy A54 5G has a 6.4-inch display that can get brighter than the Pixel 7A’s, but it’s worth noting that my colleague Andrew Lanxon found the Samsung phone compared less favorably to Google’s Pixel phones in most other respects.

Three months later, I still enjoy the Pixel 7A’s sharp design. I’ve courageously been using it without a case, and the «snow» white model has stayed surprisingly clean. After years of experimenting with the Pixel’s design language, I think Google finally found the right look for its phones. Google introduced the Pixel’s current aesthetic, which is sleek and minimalist but draws attention to the camera, with the Pixel 6, and I hope it sticks with this direction.

Battery life is OK

The Pixel 7A’s battery life is adequate but not noteworthy, although it’s about on par with the more expensive Galaxy S23 series. On a full charge, the Pixel 7A was able to get me through a full day with some breathing room in the evening. On a typical work day, which for me involves taking my phone off its charger at around 8 or 8:30 a.m. and going to bed between 11 and 11:30 p.m., the Pixel 7A had 46 to 56% of its battery left by the time I turned out the lights.

That’s enough to make me feel at ease if I was going out after work and didn’t have time to plug in my phone at my desk. But like most phones, you wouldn’t want to forget to charge it overnight.

The Pixel 7A also performed better than the entire Galaxy S23 lineup on CNET’s three-hour battery test, which involves streaming the same video on YouTube continuously and measuring the battery level at each hour. The Pixel 7A had 85% of its battery left after the third hour, while the Galaxy S23 had 81%, the S23 Plus had 84% and the S23 Ultra had 82%.

That may sound impressive for a phone that’s so much cheaper than Samsung’s flagship lineup. But there are a few important caveats to consider. Samsung’s phones have brighter displays with higher refresh rates compared to the Pixel 7A.

Google’s phone also performed slightly worse than the Galaxy S23 Plus and Ultra, and about the same as the Galaxy S23, on a separate battery test meant to simulate real-world usage. After this 45-minute test, which involves playing games, streaming video, browsing social media and making a video call for 10 minutes, the Pixel 7A had 92% of its battery left. The Galaxy S23 had 91%, while the Plus model had 95% and the Ultra had 94%.

All told, the Pixel 7A has about average battery life, which more or less lines up with my findings when I reviewed it in May.

The camera takes great photos for the price

The Pixel 7A’s 64-megapixel main camera takes sharp and colorful photos, as I noted in my original review. There’s also a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera for capturing shots from a broader field of view.

It doesn’t compare to the camera you’d get on a high-end phone like the Pixel 7 Pro or Galaxy S23 Ultra, and it shouldn’t since those phones are significantly more expensive. But the Pixel 7A’s photos still included an impressive amount of detail and contrast. In the photo below, you can even spot grains of salt on the shishito peppers.

A photo of shishito peppers taken on the Pixel 7A.

And in the photo below, the shadows visible in the flower petals really makes the image pop.

A photo of a vase of flowers taken on the Pixel 7A

Still, the Pixel 7A struggled with sharpness and clarity when photographing groups of people in a dim indoor setting. Take a look at the photo below, which was taken in Barcade in New York. The glowing neon sign and Ninja Turtles logo on the screen of an arcade cabinet are impressively sharp, but all the people in the scene look blurry.

A photo taken inside the bar Barcade taken on the Pixel 7A.

Software updates bring new features

I’ve come to appreciate Google’s tendency to release new features for its Pixel phones over time. Google calls these updates Feature Drops, and the Pixel 7A (along with Google’s other phones) received one in June, about a month after its launch. The update brought new cinematic and emoji-themed wallpapers, the ability to use safety features through the Google Assistant, real-time location sharing with emergency contacts, and a new timer feature for the camera app that lets you start a countdown by raising your palm. The Recorder app also received some updates, including support for exporting transcripts to Google Drive and the ability to create speaker-labeled video clips.

Thankfully, I haven’t had to use any of the safety features, although it’s nice to see Google expanding those capabilities. The new cinematic wallpaper option, which applies an effect to your photos that emphasizes the subject in the foreground, is fun to play around with. However, I noticed it sometimes crops in on subjects too closely. It turned a selfie of my husband and I in Seoul into a close-up photo of just his face.

These features aren’t as impactful as what you might expect from a full Android update, or even Samsung’s One UI upgrades for its Galaxy phones. But it shows that Google is thinking about how to keep its phones feeling fresh and relevant over time. I’m hoping to see even more in this regard as Google’s in-house Tensor processors grow more advanced.

When Google announced its Tensor chip in 2021 with the Pixel 6 series, it talked about how the processor would improve features that rely on machine learning. That includes tasks such as photo editing and voice-powered features like language translation and dictation. Continuing to add new features like this over time would be another way for Google to make good on that pledge.

Is it worth buying the Pixel 7A right now?

That answer depends on a few things. First, it might be worth waiting to see what Google has in store for the Pixel 8. That answer all depends on the Pixel 8. Google usually announces new Pixel phones in the fall, and the new model will likely have a new Tensor processor, some camera upgrades and a larger screen than the Pixel 7A.

However, the gap between Google’s A-series phones and standard flagships is getting slimmer, as the Pixel 7A proved. It feels like Google is targeting the same audience with its Pixel 7A and its standard non-Pro Pixels: Shoppers who want an affordable Android phone with a great camera. If the Pixel 8 ends up being an iterative update to the Pixel 7, the cheaper Pixel 7A could end up being the better choice.

If you need a phone right now, the Pixel 7 is also currently on sale for $449 making it roughly the same price as the Pixel 7A which is discounted to $444. The Pixel 7 has a larger screen and a more advanced camera (although truthfully I couldn’t see much of a difference between photos taken on the Pixel 7 and 7A). There’s a chance Google could be clearing out inventory of the Pixel 7 in advance of the Pixel 8, but we’ll have to wait to know for sure.

Technologies

Headphone and Speaker Memorial Day Sales 2025: Save Up to $150 on Audio Gear From Top Brands Like Bose, Apple and More

Technologies

Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Breakneck Expansion Releases Are Stressing Me Out

Collectors who want to complete a master set are finding that it’s just too hard to keep up with the game.

Pokemon TCG Pocket’s next Alola-themed set is releasing on May 29. Extradimensional Crisis is a sister expansion to the recent Celestial Guardians set — and it’s introducing the wacky and weird Ultra Beasts to the game.

Every Pokemon from another dimension now has a special Ultra Beast tag displayed just under its health point total. And certain Pokemon abilities and Trainer cards from the new set will only work on cards with this tag. While there are always new cards that shake up the metagame, this expansion looks ike it will largely introduce cards that play well with others in the set.

Extradimensional Crisis is one of TCG Pocket’s smaller base set expansions. These companion sets are often released a month or so after a big expansion. Mythical Island released after the massive Genetic Apex launch set, and Triumphant Light was the supplement to Space-Time Showdown.

Normally, I’d love to rip into packs in order to hunt more than 100 new base set cards being added to the game. Buzzwole, Nihilego and Guzzlord are some of my favorite monsters from the seventh-gen Pokemon games and the art for their cards is gorgeous.

This time around, I’m just not able to get as excited about the new drop.

Pokemon TCG Pocket is releasing expansions too quickly for me

I’ve played Pokemon TCG Pocket every day since launch. With few exceptions, I’ve opened both of my free daily packs — even if I have to stay up past my usual bedtime to do so. Ripping these suckers open has become a part of my daily routine, and I’ve been largely content to do so (even when I pull five common base set dupes).

But these expansions are getting a little out of hand now. For most games, having too much content is a good problem to have, but struggling to keep up with a collectible game saps the fun. Extradimensional Crisis will be the seventh set released in the game over the course of eight months. Despite my diligence, I’ve only completed a single base set — Shining Revelry — and I’ve never completed a master set with all of the full art cards and shiny Pokemon.

To be clear, I don’t expect to be able to keep up with every expansion in the game. I don’t even want to collect all of the secret cards — I just want to put together the base sets. I’m a fully free-to-play TCG Pocket gamer, and developer DeNA Games needs to make money to keep the app running. New releases grease peoples’ palms and keep the money flowing.

Even still, these releases have been dropping at such breakneck speeds that I don’t feel like I can return to past sets to finish collecting the cards I’m missing. It’s disheartening to complete the majority of an expansion and then leave it behind with so many gaps.

This sentiment seems to be shared among at least some parts of the Pokemon TCG Pocket community. It’s probably not a great sign when a contingent of the top comments on the YouTube video of your next big reveal are asking you to stop revealing things.

«Crisis? [The only] crisis is the one I’m having with so few hourglasses,» said one commenter.

Another person put things more plainly: «Honestly, I’d prefer if they’d slow the rollout of the expansions a little bit. Let the sets take hold for a few months and then drop bigger, higher quality sets.»

The joking hides real frustration, as many free players haven’t been able to complete the game’s full base sets. I’m not asking for these releases to be spaced out too far apart, but a single month between expansions is starting to feel untenable. Double the downtime between sets and let people breathe — and maybe I’ll finally be able to finish up Genetic Apex.

Technologies

Tariffs, Schmariffs! An iPhone 17 Price Hike Is Overdue, Regardless of Trump’s Threats

Commentary: Follow the math, not the tariffs and politics.

US President Donald Trump wants Apple to manufacture the iPhone, its best-selling product, in the US. And on Friday, he threatened to place a 25% tariff on the phone if the company doesn’t make that happen.

«I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,» Trump posted on Truth Social. «If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US.»

Adding uncertainty to his ultimatum, Trump later said the tariff wouldn’t apply to just the iPhone but also to any smartphone made outside the US.

«It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product,» Trump told reporters in the White House on Friday. «Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair.»

Despite tariffs and politics, the price of the iPhone hasn’t changed. But the launch of the rumored iPhone 17 will likely come with a higher price no matter what Trump says or does. Apple is considering a price increase and could attribute the rise to new and updated features instead of tariffs, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Since what Trump touted as «Liberation Day,» the iPhone and how tariffs might affect its price have been main focal points when it comes to this administration’s policies and pronouncements. Apple is the third-largest company in the US, and most of its products are manufactured in China. Clearly, the iPhone’s ubiquity has made it a symbol for the ongoing uncertainty of the US economy and politics.

But whether or not Apple gets taxed with tariffs, the iPhone hasn’t had a price hike in five years and is due for one. Historically, that’s the longest stretch of time the company has gone without an increase since the five years between the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 7, which ended with the iPhone 8 launching at a higher cost. We can learn a lot by looking at how the company has handled earlier price hikes (and a one-time drop) and what that means for the iPhone 17 (it’ll likely cost more).

In terms of my methodology, I grouped iPhone models into a few categories: the standard, the flagships and the behemoths. The standard includes models like the original iPhone, the iPhone 8, the iPhone XR and the iPhone 16. The flagships include variants like the iPhone X, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro. And the behemoths designation is for phones like the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone XS Max and iPhone 16 Pro Max. There are other versions that Apple sold, like the iPhone 5C, the SE series, the iPhone Mini line and the current iPhone Plus line, that don’t factor into this analysis. Also, I use the US starting price for each iPhone before any carrier discounts are applied.

Standard iPhone prices

Since its debut in 2007, the standard iPhone has had four price increases and one correction. Many folks might remember paying $199 for the original iPhone, but in reality, the phone cost $499 off-contract. In 2008, Apple raised the price $100 with the launch of the iPhone 3G, to $599, where it would stay for four years. Then in 2012, the iPhone 5 was introduced with a taller, 4-inch screen and a higher, $649 price tag.

Fast-forward to 2017, the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and the iPhone 8 debuted at a cost of $699, a $50 increase. Every year between 2017 and 2019, the price for the standard iPhone changed. In 2018, the iPhone XR launched at $749. The following year, the iPhone 11 came out, and the price dropped back to $699. And what makes that drop interesting is that the iPhone 11 was the first standard Apple phone with two rear cameras: a wide-angle and ultrawide. Up till then, all other standard iPhone models had only a single rear camera. From 2007 to 2019, when Apple increased prices it was in $50 increments, except between the first and second iPhone models.

Then 2020 happened. It was a wild year for the iPhone, and everyone, because of the pandemic. But Apple managed to launch the iPhone 12, which cost $829, marking the largest increase for the standard iPhone: $130. Subsequent models all had the same price: The iPhone 13, 14, 15 and 16 all cost $829.

If Apple follows its previous pattern, then the standard iPhone is due for a price increase. The last raise was in 2020, five years ago, and Apple has never gone six years without a price hike on the standard model. But will the company slowly raise the price over a few years like it did between the iPhone 7, 8 and XR? Or will it go all in like it did with the iPhone 12?

The standard iPhone is Apple’s most popular, and it’s safe to expect that the iPhone 17 will cost more (and would’ve even if Trump hadn’t been elected). Now we just need to wonder how much tariffs and politics might drive the price up even more.

The flagship: iPhone Pro model prices

Apple hasn’t always had an iPhone Pro variant, but it did starting in 2017 with the launch of the iPhone X, which had a starting price of $999. The phone debuted next to the $699 iPhone 8, making the 8’s $50 increase seem like nothing.

But here’s where things get interesting. Apple has never raised the price on the iPhone Pro model. The iPhone X, XS, 11 Pro, 12 Pro, 13 Pro, 14 Pro, 15 Pro and 16 Pro all cost $999. That’s eight years without a price increase!

What’s even more shocking is when you correct for inflation: the 2017 iPhone X’s $999 price would be $1,298 in 2025, according to the Consumer Price Index Inflation calculator. The iPhone Pro is overdue for a price hike, and expect the iPhone 17 Pro to cost more.

The behemoths: iPhone Plus, Max and Pro Max prices

Since 2014, Apple has sold a «big» version of the iPhone. Some of these were nothing more than a larger version of the standard iPhone with a bigger screen and battery as well as some minor differences, like the iPhone 6 Plus having optical image stabilization on its camera while the iPhone 6 didn’t. But beginning with the iPhone 7 Plus, the larger version started having «pro» features, like a second rear camera and portrait mode.

In terms of pricing, the iPhone 6 Plus debuted at $749, which was $100 more than the iPhone 6. And that $749 price stuck around for the iPhone 6S Plus and 7 Plus. In 2017, Apple had three iPhone models: the $699 iPhone 8, the $749 iPhone 8 Plus (a $50 increase from the 7 Plus) and the $999 iPhone X.

In 2018, Apple launched the $1,099 iPhone XS Max, which I consider the true successor to the initial iPhone Plus line. That means the big iPhone got a $350 increase in a single year, the largest Apple has ever made. I admit some people might not think the XS Max is a follow-up to the Plus and would deem it an entirely new iPhone variant. But this is my commentary.

Like the iPhone Pro, the Max and Pro Max would have the same price for years. In 2023, Apple raised the barrier of entry for the Pro Max model and didn’t offer a $1,099 version of the iPhone 15 Pro Max with 128GB of storage. Instead, you had to pay $1,199 for the 256GB variant, which technically cost the same as the iPhone 14 Pro Max with 256GB of storage.

The iPhone 17 and 17 Pro’s prices

Even without tariffs, it’s safe to assume that the iPhone 17 lineup’s prices will be higher for some models. But when you factor in everything that’s happened this year, it’s hard to gauge just how much the price will go up and whether that’ll affect just one or two models, or apply across the entire iPhone 17 line.

Earlier this year, Apple raised the price on its most affordable model. Though it lacks the SE branding of the previous low-cost iPhone, the iPhone 16E came with a $599 price tag, $170 more than the $429 iPhone SE (2022).

Apple doesn’t talk about unreleased products or their prices. But we do have an unusual-for-Apple clue as to how these tariffs could affect the company.

«Assuming the current global tariff rates, policies, and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter and no new tariffs are added, we estimate the impact to add $900 million to our costs,» Apple CEO Tim Cook said during a May 1, 2025, quarterly earnings call.

Obviously, that $900 million number wasn’t just for the iPhone, but for all Apple products. And that was three weeks before Trump threatened another tariff aimed purely at the iPhone. But $900 million is a lot for any company to swallow, and eventually that added cost will need to be made up for — unfortunately, that usually means higher prices (even if Apple is pressured by Trump to attribute the increase to «new designs and features.»)

If there’s one thing for certain, we’ll know exactly what those prices will be when Apple launches the next generation of iPhone models at its September event.

Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.