Why would you consider getting the Pixel 7? Well, for one thing, you’re getting stock Android, it’s not anywhere near a $1,000 price tag, and it has a similar display size to the Pixel 5a 5G. It does bring Google’s brand new design language, and it does feel more premium than the Pixel 5a 5G. We’ll first list their specifications, and will then move to a number of other categories, including design, display, performance, battery, cameras, and audio.
Specs
Google Pixel 7 vs Google Pixel 5a 5G: Design
These two phones look considerably different. The Pixel 5a 5G features Google’s older design language, while the Pixel 7 represents a brand new one. The Pixel 7 is made out of metal and glass, while the Pixel 5a 5G utilizes aluminum all around, but it has an interesting coating on top of it. Just to be clear, both phones are quite slippery, the coating on top of the Pixel 5a 5G’s body is not particularly grippy. The Pixel 7 is slightly more squarish than its sibling. The Pixel 7 is slightly taller and thicker, while it’s also slightly narrower than the Pixel 5a 5G. The difference is really not that noticeable. What is noticeable is the added heft on the Pixel 7, as it weighs 197 grams compared to 183 grams of the Pixel 5a 5G. Both phones have fairly thin bezels, and flat displays. They also include a single display camera hole, though in a different spot. The Pixel 7’s is centered at the top, while the Pixel 5a 5G’s sits in the top-left corner. Now, when we flip the two phones over, the difference is considerable. The Pixel 7 has a camera visor that is covered by aluminum this time around. It goes from one side to the other, and it essentially molds into the phone’s frame. The Pixel 5a 5G has a more regular-looking camera island in the top-left corner. It also includes a fingerprint scanner on the back, while the Pixel 7 has an under-display one. The Pixel 7 and Pixel 5a 5G offer water and dust resistance, IP68 and IP67 certifications, respectively. Both devices are well-built, but the Pixel 7 does feel more premium in the hand. It’s all a matter of preference, though, of course.
Google Pixel 7 vs Google Pixel 5a 5G: Display
The displays on these two devices may be similar in terms of size, but they’re quite different overall. The Pixel 7 includes a 6.3-inch fullHD+ (2400 x 1080) AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It supports HDR10+ content, and gets up to 1,400 nits of peak brightness. This panel is flat, and it has a 20:9 aspect ratio. The display is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus, by the way.
The Pixel 5a 5G, on the other hand, has a 6.34-inch fullHD+ (2400 x 1080) OLED display. This panel does support HDR content, but it has a 60Hz refresh rate. It is also flat, and it’s protected by the Gorilla Glass 3. We’re looking at a 20:9 aspect ratio here as well. Those of you who used higher refresh rate displays will notice the difference between the two, and also the display protection is considerably better on the Pixel 7. Both displays do look very nice, though. The viewing angles are good, and they’re more than sharp enough. The colors are vivid, and the touch response is also great. The Pixel 7 does have the refresh rate advantage, it also has better protection, and on top of that, it gets considerably brighter than the Pixel 5a 5G’s panel.
Google Pixel 7 vs Google Pixel 5a 5G: Performance
When it comes to performance-related hardware, there are quite a few differences here. The Pixel 7 is fueled by the Google Tensor G2, the company’s second-gen chip. It also includes 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 flash storage. The Pixel 5a 5G comes with the Snapdragon 765G SoC, Qualcomm’s mid-range chip which is not exactly the newest at this point. 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM is included here as well, as is UFS 2.1 flash storage. The Pixel 7 has a considerably faster and newer SoC, not to mention that it comes with faster RAM and flash storage. Is that noticeable in day-to-day performance? Well, the Pixel 5a 5G still performs really well, but yes, the Pixel 7 is better in terms of performance. It is buttery smooth in everyday use, and it is noticeable side-by-side, very much so. If you do not compare the Pixel 5a 5G directly with a phone like the Pixel 7, though, it still performs really well. The Pixel 5a 5G can handle games just fine, though it can’t exactly shine with the most graphically-intensive titles. The Pixel 7 definitely does offer more in that regard, as we didn’t really stumble upon any gaming-related problems with it. Both phones do get fairly warm under stress, but nothing that should worry you. It doesn’t exactly affect performance or anything like that. All in all, the Pixel 7 is better performance-wise, no doubt about that.
Google Pixel 7 vs Google Pixel 5a 5G: Battery
The Pixel 7 includes a 4,355mAh battery, while the Pixel 5a 5G has a 4,680mAh battery on the inside. Battery capacities rarely tell the whole story. So, is the battery life any good on these phones? Not only is it good, it’s great. We were able to get over 7-8 hours of screen-on-time with the Pixel 7. We crossed the 8-hour mark a number of times, but getting well over 7 hours is not a problem at all. The Pixel 5a 5G goes even further than that, though. Getting over 9 hours of screen-on-time with the phone is not out of the question. In fact, we were able to hit over 10 hours during our usage. Your mileage may vary, of course. It all depends on your usage, location, signal, and so on. There are so many factors in there. For most people who have good reception, though, both of these phones will offer excellent battery life. Do note that gaming and similar, demanding usage types could affect battery life considerably. The Pixel 7 supports 21W wired, 21W wireless, and reverse wireless charging. The Google Pixel 5a 5G supports only 18W wired charging. The Pixel 5a 5G does have the advantage of including a charger in the box, though. The Pixel 7 comes without one, though a Type-C to Type-C cable is included.
Google Pixel 7 vs Google Pixel 5a 5G: Cameras
The Google Pixel 7 features a 50-megapixel main camera, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit. The Pixel 5a 5G, on the flip side, has a 12.2-megapixel main unit, and a 16-megapixel ultrawide camera. How do they compare in terms of pictures? Well, both phones have a similar style thanks to Google’s camera software. Both tend to provide contrasty, and really nice-looking images. It’s actually rather easy to spot a Pixel image when comparing it to other images.ž
You’d be surprised how well the 12.2-megapixel camera holds up to a much newer 50-megapixel one. Most people wouldn’t even notice the difference. Well, in low light, things are a bit easier to tell apart, as the Pixel 7 does pick up more details from the shadows. During the day, though, the output is very similar. Both phones shine in high dynamic range situations, and ultrawide cameras are also good. The Pixel 5a 5G’s offers a wider FoV, but the Pixel 7’s offers slightly better performance overall. When it comes to the front-facing camera, the Pixel 7 is the clear winner, and the same goes for the video. Google actually improved video recording on the Pixel 7 quite a bit, especially in low light. The difference is quite apparent in comparison, even though the Pixel 5a 5G is not particularly bad in that regard.
Audio
If you’re one to use an audio jack on your phones, the Pixel 5a 5G is the only choice here. The Pixel 7 does not include a 3.5mm headphone jack. What they both include, however, are stereo speakers. Those speakers are good on both phones, but they’re better and sharper on the Pixel 7. The soundstage also seems to be a bit wider, though the difference is not that big. The Pixel 7 comes with Bluetooth 5.2 support, while the Pixel 5a 5G offers Bluetooth 5.0. If you really want a wired connection on the Pixel 7, you’ll have to resort to a Type-C port, of course.
