[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I would say that the Pixel 7a is close to the perfect phone for 80-90% of android users. I usually buy a phone every two years. The cost dramatically drops from when they're first launched, but this 7a changed that for sure. (Also having 128gb of storage stock is perfect for most users, more is better obviously, but being a midrange phone, this is a good amount)
Opening apps and navigating feels snappier, it must be because Google is able to bake in more streamlining due to them developing the chips as well as the OS. I had a bunch of little glitches here and there with my last phone, which was on Android 13 as well, but this 7a has very little in the way of quirks so far! The screen is a little dimmer than I'm used to, so I find myself running it between 80-100% brightness during sunny days. The Android assistant seems to work much better on this vs my old phone. The voice recognition seems to be more accurate, and catches me saying “hey Google” from my pocket, vs my old phone that pretty much had to be quite close to my face without and never seemed to work in my pocket. The greatest strength for Google phones is in the camera by far! This phone can snap moving pictures, and in the rare case that the phone doesn't keep up to her moving, the unblur feature can clean up the picture enough to be fine for sharing with family or on social media. First thing, set up was a breeze with just signing in with my google account and installing all my apps and settings seamlessly. The easiest transfer of apps and files I've ever had with a new phone. The phone is beautiful and feels good in hand. Not too big to overwhelm your hand holding for awhile but large enough with the 6.1 display to comfortably view any photo, video or app. The screen is also made with scratch proof gorilla glass which seems pretty durable from me testing with light scratching. There are a ton more features that I am having fun exploring and learning with Google assistant. The box comes with the standard universal USB-C charger and USB-C to USB doggle. Battery life is great with the features of Adaptative Battery and Extreme Battery Saver if you are going to be away from a charging option for an extended period.