The design of the Pixel 7a doesn’t seem to hold many surprises. OnLeaks has a fresh render for Google’s next mid-range phone, and it looks like a mini pixel 7. Usually, these renders are based on CAD information given to accessory manufacturers, so sizes and shapes are usually accurate, but things like colors and materials for interpretation.
If the rumors are true, this will be the fourth Google phone to retain the camera panel. The camera panel of the Pixel 6 and 6a had a clear glass or plastic cover around the camera lenses, while the Pixel 7 switched to an opaque solid aluminum camera panel. Google likes these phones to look the same, so it’s safe to say that the Pixel 7a will also get a solid camera bezel. Whether it is aluminum or some other material remains to be seen. The front is also predictable and looks exactly like the Pixel 6a, with a flat screen and what the report calls “thick bezels”.
Elsewhere in Pixel rumors, big updates are coming for the Pixel 7a. Android researcher Cuba Wojciechowski tracks the Pixel 7a (codenamed “Lynx”and “Pixel 22 Mid-range”) with the Android codebase, which reveals additions such as (slow) 5W wireless charging and the same Samsung GN1 main camera. as in the model. Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, as well as Sony IMX787 for the wide-angle sensor. The new sensors will be a big upgrade for the camera. Currently, the primary camera on the Pixel 6a is the venerable Sony IMX363, a sensor that Google has been using (with one minor tweak) since the Pixel 2. A new set of sensors would make sense given that the IMX363 has been around for about six years now.
You might be asking, “Won’t flagship cameras eat up the big Pixel sales?”and we’ll say that Google never cared about it. The Pixel 6a has the same SoC as the Pixel 6 and seems to really aim to be the third flagship after the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Launching a camera load like this would be in line with this strategy. Cannibalization may matter to companies with large established businesses, but Google may just want to get all the sales it can get at the moment.
Code Search Wojciechowski also says the Pixel 7a will feature a 90Hz 1080p Samsung display, which would also be a huge improvement over the 60Hz Pixel 6a. All of this at the 6a’s current price of $449 may seem like a lot, but the Pixel 7 has recently arrived in India, and if Google wants to be competitive there, that’s still not enough. In India, phones in this price range typically have 120Hz displays and flagship specs. However, in the US, this phone at Pixel 6a prices would be a killer deal.