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

Camera Champions Face Off: iPhone 16 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra

When photo quality is a top consideration, the best phones from Apple and Samsung are amazing. But which is better? It’s time to find out.

When you’re looking for the best camera to carry in your pocket, you need to consider today’s top-tier phones. The imaging capabilities of the iPhone 16 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra are among the best money can buy. And with travel season ramping up, carrying a phone may be the most convenient camera. But for photo details how do these two mobile titans compare?

To find out, I shot hundreds of photos using both phones in a variety of conditions to see which phone takes the best-looking images. What’s «best» is often down to personal perspective so while I’ll be giving my personal take on each test as a professional photographer and giving my reasons why I prefer one over the other, you may well find that you prefer the other. So have a look through the range of examples here and see if you come to a different conclusion.

Read more: Best Camera Phone of 2025

All images shown have been taken using each phone’s default camera mode using default settings, unless otherwise stated. While images from the Galaxy S25 have been uploaded as taken, the iPhone’s images have had to be converted through Adobe Lightroom as our publishing platform doesn’t support Apple’s default HEIF image format. This process doesn’t affect the image in any way.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Starting out with an easy outdoor scene. Both phones have done a great job capturing an even exposure here and both images are packed with detail. It’s difficult to choose between them, but the iPhone has the edge for me as it’s achieved a slightly warmer image with more natural-looking tones. The S25 Ultra’s image looks too saturated, especially in the blue sky, which I find quite distracting.

It’s much the same story when we switch to the ultrawide lenses on both phones. I prefer the warmer tones in the iPhone’s shot, which makes the S25 Ultra’s look quite cold by comparison. I also prefer the lighter shadows on the iPhone’s image, making it an easy win for the iPhone here. Notably, both phones are doing a good job of compensating for the ultrawide lenses at the edges (a function turned on by default on both phones); the railing remains straight in each shot and not curving as you’d typically see using a lens this wide.

There’s almost no difference between these two outdoor scenes. The blossom looks crisp on both images, with excellent overall exposure. The iPhone’s image is again slightly warmer in tone but it’s negligible.

The Galaxy S25 takes an easy win with this image of bluebells. The colors are much more vibrant, especially in the greens on the blades of grass, which look quite washed out on the iPhone’s image. It actually looks like the S25’s camera lens is slightly polarized to reduce reflections and increase saturation, but I don’t know if that’s the case. Either way, Samsung takes the win here.

At 5x zoom things get worse for the iPhone. Despite the bluebells being reasonably far away, the phone seemed unable to achieve a sharp focus on the flowers. The S25 Ultra, meanwhile, managed to achieve a sharp image with richer colors.

I prefer the iPhone’s image here though. It’s brighter and the warmer colors on the bricks on the surrounding buildings look much more true to life.

The iPhone’s image is again brighter here and I prefer its colors too. The Galaxy S25 Ultra does have the edge in fine detail, though. You really need to zoom in to see it but the tiny lines on the building are slightly sharper on the S25.

The S25 Ultra does have a physical advantage over the iPhone with its 10x optical zoom lens, which allows it to zoom in even further while still maintaining a pin-sharp image.

You can still digitally zoom in with the iPhone to 10x, and the results aren’t bad. I prefer the colors of the S25 Ultra’s shot here, but the difference in detail isn’t that noticeable.

Zooming in close to see the fine details, the S25 Ultra’s optical zoom image definitely has a bit more clarity but the digital upscaling on the iPhone’s shot has done a great job here, as the difference isn’t immense.

iPhone 16 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Night modes compared

At first glance, the only real difference between the iPhone’s 5x shot and the S25 Ultra’s 5x shot is the color balance. And honestly, I don’t have a preference between the warmer tone of the iPhone or the more magenta bias of the S25.

However, when you zoom in close to the details, the iPhone has produced a sharper image here, with an odd sort of digital blurring around the lamp post in the S25 Ultra’s image. So sometimes the S25 Ultra’s zoom is sharper, other times it’s the iPhone’s. I’m glad they’re making this easy for me.

Again, the only real difference here is in the color balance and I don’t really know which I prefer. The exposure, noise levels and amount of detail are practically identical.

Things changed when I switched to the ultrawide lenses, though. The S25 Ultra’s shot is definitely brighter, capturing more detail in the cobblestones in the foreground and in the buildings in the distance. The iPhone’s image is much darker overall.

Just to confuse things further, the iPhone’s nighttime image with its ultrawide lens is noticeably brighter than the S25 Ultra’s in this example that I shot in the Arctic. I actually had to double-check the image metadata to make sure I hadn’t mixed these up, but I haven’t. The iPhone’s image has captured more light information here and produced more detail on the ice door to the right.

The iPhone’s nighttime image is again slightly brighter here but it’s also kept the bright highlights on the pub sign under control. On the S25 Ultra’s image, those highlights are almost lost to pure white but the lovely green and yellow tones have been retained in the iPhone’s image. The colors overall are noticeably warmer on the iPhone’s shot, however, which may not be to your taste. Here, I think they work well.

But in this example, the iPhone has produced a weirdly warm-looking image that I really don’t like. Those warm colors were not present at the time of capture and it doesn’t work for the scene, especially not with such strong orange tones in the sky. The S25 Ultra’s image is much more balanced overall and it’s a slightly sharper image too. It’s a very easy win for Samsung here.

Things don’t improve for the iPhone when using the ultra-wide lens. Its image is again plagued by overly warm tones, while the S25 Ultra’s shot is both more color-accurate and brighter.

iPhone 16 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Which takes better selfies?

While the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s selfie is slightly brighter, I don’t like what it’s done with the colors. My face has been made a weird shade of orange and my denim jacket is a much deeper blue than it really is. The skin tones on the iPhone’s shot are much more accurate, and its shot is sharper as well.

Both phones have a wider-angle mode for the selfie camera, although the iPhone’s seems to be a lot wider. That’s definitely worth keeping in mind if you frequently like to cram lots of friends into your group pics. You could probably squeeze at least one or two extra friends in if you used the iPhone, or have to decide who you like least and leave them out of frame if you used the S25 Ultra. Otherwise, the image differences are the same as before.

iPhone 16 Pro Vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Which camera is better?

I’ve written many of these comparison pieces on various generations of phones in my 14 years at CNET and I don’t remember having done one that’s felt this close. The problem is that neither phone excels consistently in one area; the iPhone 16 Pro’s ultra-wide shots aren’t as bright as the S25 Ultra’s, except on those occasions when they actually are, confusingly. I’ve taken many more images not included here that both support some of my conclusions and argue against them. Go figure.

But there are some takeaways I can give with confidence. Generally speaking, the iPhone’s colors are more natural than the S25 Ultra’s, which can sometimes look overly saturated. This has been the case with almost every Samsung phone since the company started putting cameras in them and it’s still the case today. Those looking for a more natural base image to apply your own filters and effects over will be better suited with the iPhone 16 Pro.

But that’s less the case at night, when the iPhone more consistently delivers warmer tones that look less natural than the S25 Ultra’s. So, if night photography is important to you, the S25 Ultra may be the better option. Overall, its night mode images from all lenses were brighter and sharper.

Sure, the S25 Ultra has the extended zoom range but you’d really need to know you’ll make the most of a 10x zoom to justify picking one over the other. Personally, I find the 5x zoom level a perfect sweet spot and here the phones are pretty much on par. And on those rare occasions you may want to push things further, the iPhone’s digital zoom can still deliver sharp results.

There are other things for photographers to consider too: Apple’s ProRaw is superb and while the company’s Photographic Styles can be good for adding a creative look to your images, Samsung’s new tool for mimicking the color grade from example photos you feed it works surprisingly well — I actually think I might get more use out of that overall. I haven’t even gone into video quality either, which is a whole other article, especially when you consider both phones shoot Log video, although only the iPhone uses ProRes.

Deciding between the phones based solely on the cameras is nigh on impossible. Which one you should get will instead come down to the bigger question of iOS versus Android; which platform you’re already using and which one will work best with other pieces of tech in your life. But for simple picture quality, you may as well toss a coin.

Technologies

Tariffs Explained: Latest on Trump’s Shifting Import Tax Plan, and What It Means

Technologies

Apple, I’m (Sky) Blue About Your iPhone 17 Air Color

Commentary: The rumored new hue of the iPhone 17 Air is more sky blah than sky blue.

I can’t help but feel blue about the latest rumor that Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 17 Air will take flight in a subtle, light-hued color called sky blue.

Sky blue isn’t a new color for Apple. It’s the featured shade of the current M4 MacBook Air, a shimmer of cerulean so subtle as to almost be missed. It’s silver left too close to an aquarium; silver that secretly likes to think it’s blue but doesn’t want everyone else to notice.

Do Apple employees get to go outside and see a real blue sky? It’s actually vivid, you can check for yourself. Perhaps the muted sky blue color reflects a Bay Area late winter/early spring frequent layer of clouds like we typically see here in Seattle.

«Who cares?» you might find yourself saying. «Everyone gets a case anyway.» I hear you and everyone else who’s told me that. But design-focused Apple is as obsessive about colors as they are about making their devices thinner. And I wonder if their heads are in the clouds about which hues adorn their pro products.

Making the case for a caseless color iPhone

I’m more invested in this conversation than most — I’m one of those freaks who doesn’t wrap my phone in a case. I find cases bulky and superfluous, and I like to be able to see Apple’s design work. Also, true story, I’ve broken my iPhone screen only twice: First when it was in a «bumper» that Apple sent free in response to the iPhone 4 you’re-holding-it-wrong Antennagate fiasco, and second when trying to take long exposure starry night photos using what I didn’t realize was a broken tripod mount. My one-week-old iPhone 13 Pro slipped sideways and landed screen-first on a pointy rock. A case wouldn’t have saved it.

My current model is an iPhone 16 Pro in black titanium — which I know seems like avoiding color entirely — but previously I’ve gone for colors like blue titanium and deep purple. I wanted to like deep purple the most but it came across as, in the words of Patrick Holland in his iPhone 14 Pro review, «a drab shade of gray or like Grimace purple,» depending on the light.

Pros can be bold, too

Maybe the issue is too many soft blues. Since the iPhone Pro age began with the iPhone 11 Pro, we’ve seen variations like blue titanium (iPhone 15 Pro), sierra blue (iPhone 13 Pro) and pacific blue (iPhone 12 Pro).

Pacific blue is the boldest of the bunch, if by bold you mean dark enough to discern from silver, but it’s also close enough to that year’s graphite color that seeing blue depends on the surrounding lighting. By comparison, the blue (just «blue») color of the iPhone 12 was unmistakably bright blue.

In fact, the non-Pro lines have embraced vibrant colors. It’s as if Apple is equating «pro» with «sophisticated,» as in «A real pro would never brandish something this garish.» I see this in the camera world all the time: If it’s not all-black, it’s not a «serious» camera.

And yet I know lots of pros who are not sophisticated — proudly so. People choose colors to express themselves, so forcing that idea of professionalism through color feels needlessly restrictive. A bright pink iPhone 16 might make you smile every time you pick it up but then frown because it doesn’t have a telephoto camera.

Color is also important because it can sway a purchase decision. «I would buy a sky blue iPhone yesterday,» my colleague Gael Cooper texted after the first rumor popped online. When each new generation of iPhones arrive, less technically different than the one before, a color you fall in love with can push you into trading in your perfectly-capable model for a new one.

And lest you think Apple should just stick with black and white for its professional phones: Do you mean black, jet black, space black, midnight black, black titanium, graphite or space gray? At least the lighter end of the spectrum has stuck to just white, white titanium and silver over the years.

Apple never got ahead by being beige

I’m sure Apple has reams of studies and customer feedback that support which colors make it to production each year. Like I said, Apple’s designers are obsessive (in a good way). And I must remind myself that a sky blue iPhone 17 Air is a rumored color on a rumored product so all the usual caveats apply.

But we’re talking about Apple here. The scrappy startup that spent more than any other company on business cards at the time because each one included the old six-color Apple logo. The company that not only shaped the first iMac like a tipped-over gumdrop, that not only made the case partially see-through but then made that cover brilliant Bondi blue.

Embrace the iPhone colors, Apple.

If that makes you nervous, don’t worry: Most people will put a case on it anyway.