Design
All three phones speak the trademark Google Pixel design language with the distinct camera band at the back. Unless you have a keen eye to spot the subtle differences, the three phones are almost identical in appearance. When placed next to each other, you realize that the Pixel 7a has a slightly slimmer camera band compared to the other two, and also the thickest bezels around the display. The weight and hand-feel are pretty much similar for all three phones, and they are relatively compact for today’s standards.
In terms of sturdiness, they all have aluminum frames, and the Pixel 7 and 8 have IP68 rated ingress protection and a glass back with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus scratch resistance. The Pixel 7a has a slightly lower IP67 dust and water resistance, which is perfectly acceptable, but has a plastic back panel instead of glass, which makes it prone to scratches.
Display
All three phones sport Full HD+ OLED displays with 2400 x 1080 resolution but with slightly different screen sizes. The Pixel 7 has the largest 6.3-inch display, while the Pixel 8’s measures 6.2-inch, both with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. The Pixel 7a has the smallest 6.1-inch screen with Gorilla Glass 3 protection but noticeably thicker bezels. The latest Pixel has by far the narrowest bezels, making it feel a lot more compact than the other two. The Pixel 8 also boasts of 120Hz refresh rate, while the Pixel 7 series phones are stuck at 90Hz. Obviously, a higher refresh rate is great to have for smoother visuals, but 90Hz isn’t a deal breaker given the price difference.
Processing power and features
The Pixel 7 series phones are powered by Google’s last-gen Tensor G2 SoC, while they have fitted the Pixel 8 with their latest Tensor G3. All phones have 8GB RAM and 128GB UFS 3.1 internal storage; you do get a 256GB variant of the Pixel 8 in India. While the Tensor G2 is still a perfectly capable chip, the G3 offers 15 per cent extra muscle in productivity tasks and a solid 30 per cent bump in gaming performance as per synthetic benchmarks. Neither chips are in the same league as Qualcomm’s previous flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in terms of raw performance, but you won’t find them deficient in most day-to-day tasks even in the near future. For mobile gamers, you can play most of the newer games out there comfortably, but you may have to lower the graphics settings in some cases for better frame rates.
Camera performance
All three Pixel devices have excellent main cameras with optical image stabilization (OIS) and competent ultra-wide cameras. While the Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 use 50MP sensors, the 7a is graced with a 64MP unit. The performance is similar across the board with the main cameras capturing some vibrant images with great detail and contrast in proper as well as low lighting. Yes, the images captured using Pixel 8 are slightly more refined but not drastically different. All these phones deliver impressive results in portrait photography too.
The ultra-wide camera performance is pretty decent across the board, but the one on Pixel 8 is more versatile due to the presence of auto-focus. It doubles up as a capable macro camera; a functionality missing in the other two phones. Neither phones have dedicated telephoto cameras, as a result, you only get digital zoom here. While 2X zoom is quite good, results are decent enough up to 5X. Beyond that, images are too soft and low in detail.
Battery life and charging
The battery capacities of these phones range between 4355 mAh to 4575 mAh, and the battery backup is quite similar with each phone lasting a full day of moderate use. That’s acceptable, but what isn’t acceptable is the time taken to charge their batteries fully. Pixel phones are among the slowest charging phones in the segment and do not offer a real fast charging solution like those offered by Chinese phone manufacturers like OnePlus, Oppo, or Vivo.
Which one should you buy?
It is time to answer the very question that was the driving force behind this article. Before we do that, let’s take a look at their current pricing with and without discounts. At the moment, the Google Pixel 8 is priced at Rs 69,999, the Pixel 7 at Rs 46,999, and Pixel 7a at Rs 37,999.
While the Pixel 8 is easily the best of the three, it doesn’t justify the astronomical premium it demands. Between the Pixel 7 and 7a, the differences are even fewer and not worth the 9K price difference. More so, there is no difference in their core performance or camera quality, and hence, as things stand, the Pixel 7a offers the best value for money as long as you can tolerate its long charging times.
Having said that, the price of the Pixel 7 fluctuates more than the stock market and is often spotted under 40K. In such a scenario, for a Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 price difference, the Pixel 7 would be a marginally better buy for its larger screen, scratch-resistant glass back, and savings of 30 minutes every full charging cycle.
