Google Pixel 7a spec leak suggests a massive upgrade over the Pixel 6a

We’re now very close to the Google Pixel 7a’s expected launch at Google IO 2023 on May 10, but ahead of that an almost complete specs list for the handset has supposedly leaked, and it suggests this could be extremely similar to the standard Pixel 7.

According to leaker Yogesh Brar, speaking to 91Mobiles, the Pixel 7a has a 6.1-inch FHD+ OLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, a Tensor G2 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a 64MP main camera with optical image stabilization, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 10.8MP front-facing camera.

The Google Pixel 7a also apparently has a 4,400mAh battery that will supposedly last for up to 72 hours between charges, and when you do charge it you can apparently do so at 20W. Wireless charging is also mentioned, but no speed is given, though previous leaks have put that at just 5W.

Finally, it’s unsurprisingly said to run Android 13, and will apparently cost $499 (roughly £400 / AU$755).

These specs are largely things that we’ve heard before, albeit not all in one place, and we’ve heard that price before too. We’d still take all of this with a pinch of salt, but the source has a solid track record, and leaks tend to be quite accurate this close to launch.

If this is accurate then the Pixel 7a will be quite an upgrade on the Google Pixel 6a, with a higher refresh rate, a more powerful chipset, more megapixels in its main and selfie cameras, more RAM, marginally faster charging, and the addition of wireless charging.

More megapixels and a bigger battery

It would also, intriguingly, possibly be a better phone that the standard Pixel 7 in some ways. It would have more megapixels in its main camera for one – though we suspect the sensor in the Pixel 7a will be lower-end.

It would also have a slightly bigger battery, albeit with the same quoted 72 hours of longevity as the Pixel 7. In many other ways the Google Pixel 7a would match the Pixel 7 if these specs are right, including its chipset, RAM, resolution, refresh rate, ultra-wide and selfie cameras, and wired charging speeds.

Where the Google Pixel 7 would have the edge is in screen size, as it has a slightly larger 6.3-inch display, along with wireless charging speeds and storage, as while there’s a 128GB model available you can also get the Pixel 7 with 256GB of storage.

Still, overall these sound like extremely similar phones, and while the official US price of the Google Pixel 7 is $599, it can currently be found from around $530 on Amazon, so there might only be a $30 price difference between these two phones in reality – with similarly small differences likely in other regions.

Which one will come out on top in that case remains to be seen, but it does beg the question of whether we really need them both. Still, there are other Google devices to look forward to, with the Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold also probably coming soon.