It doesn’t feel particularly cheap though, and it’s a reasonable spot to save on materials. The frame is still aluminum, but the rear is made of plastic. The subtleties continue with the display’s cover, which is Gorilla Glass 3 rather than the Gorilla Glass Victus found on the Pixel 7, 7 Pro, and plenty of other top-tier smartphones. The bezels on the Pixel 7a aren’t ultra-slim, but they’re not glaring eyesores either. That said, it’s been more than bright enough for everyday use. It’s still an OLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate, but Google is keeping quiet about its peak brightness, because it’s presumably not hitting the same heights as the Pixel 7’s 1,400 nits. It goes for a cozy 6.1-inch display instead of 6.3 inches, but it packs the same 1080 x 2040 resolution as the Pixel 7, which actually gives it an increased pixel density. To start, the Pixel 7a is just a little smaller, which makes it terribly comfortable in just one hand.

There’s very little about the Pixel 7a to indicate that it’s not just a Pixel 7. While the visor on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro sticks out from the back of the phone, the Pixel 7a’s visor protrudes less. The Pixel 6a has a particularly ugly visor up close, so it’s refreshing to see the Pixel 7a steer clear of that error. Like the rest of the Pixel 7 line, that visor has received a design improvement that rids it of unsightly seams. It’s boasting the same camera visor on the rear that’s perhaps the Pixel’s most iconic feature.

The Google Pixel 7a is unmistakably a modern Pixel.

Googel play store .com