Google Pixel 7a vs Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Google Pixel 7a

Google

8.4

Best mid-range phone of 2023 — flagship cameras at $499

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Google

8.4

Best big Android, weak Tensor

Google Pixel 7a

What Reviewers Agree On

Same Tensor G2 chip as the Pixel 7 + 8GB RAM — no performance compromise vs the flagship
First A-series Pixel with wireless charging (7.5W Qi) and a 90Hz display
64MP main + 13MP ultrawide cameras — meaningful upgrade over the 7a's 12MP predecessor, near-flagship quality
Pixel AI features (Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Real Tone, Live Translate) trickle down at $499
6.1" compact OLED in aluminum frame at 193g — pocketable and well-built
$499 starting was a $50 increase over Pixel 6a — strong value vs $599 Pixel 7

Pros & Cons

Google Pixel 7a

Pros

Same Tensor G2 chip as the Pixel 7 + 8GB RAM — no performance compromise vs the flagship
First A-series Pixel with wireless charging (7.5W Qi) and a 90Hz display
64MP main + 13MP ultrawide cameras — meaningful upgrade over the 7a's 12MP predecessor, near-flagship quality
Pixel AI features (Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Real Tone, Live Translate) trickle down at $499
6.1" compact OLED in aluminum frame at 193g — pocketable and well-built

Detailed Comparison

Cameras

Google Pixel 7a

64MP main (new) + 13MP ultrawide camera duo with Tensor G2 processing — best cameras at this price point in 2023. Pixel AI features (Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Real Tone) trickle down at $499.

Cameras: 64MP main (f/1.89, OIS), 13MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 13MP selfie — meaningful upgrade over Pixel 6a's 12MP main.
Pixel AI features (Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Real Tone, Night Sight, Live Translate) all included — flagship Pixel software at $499.
Camera quality near-identical to Pixel 7 in daylight; Pixel 7's larger sensor wins slightly in low light.
No telephoto — Super Res Zoom (digital upscaling on 64MP sensor) substitutes; works up to 8x but quality drops past 2-3x.

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Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

What Reviewers Agree On

It's the best big Android phone — a premium redesign with one of the year's best-looking, best-built bodies.
The 6.8-inch LTPO Super Actua display (3,000-nit peak, up from 2,400) is class-leading and excellent outdoors.
The 50MP main plus 48MP ultrawide and 48MP 5x telephoto take excellent photos, backed by the best AI/Gemini suite on any phone.
16GB of RAM, seven years of updates and a year of Gemini Advanced make it a strong long-term, AI-forward buy.
The big 5,060mAh battery with the new 45W charging is a meaningful step up over the Pixel 8 Pro.

Deal Breakers

The Tensor G4 trails Snapdragon rivals badly in benchmarks and modem performance, with the worst battery efficiency among premium flagships.
Camera hardware was barely updated year-over-year, and it lost a head-to-head camera shootout to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
It now costs the same as the competition ($1,099), and some units shipped with a zoom viewfinder tilt bug and post-Android-16 connectivity drops.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Pros

It's the best big Android phone — a premium redesign with one of the year's best-looking, best-built bodies.
The 6.8-inch LTPO Super Actua display (3,000-nit peak, up from 2,400) is class-leading and excellent outdoors.
The 50MP main plus 48MP ultrawide and 48MP 5x telephoto take excellent photos, backed by the best AI/Gemini suite on any phone.
16GB of RAM, seven years of updates and a year of Gemini Advanced make it a strong long-term, AI-forward buy.
The big 5,060mAh battery with the new 45W charging is a meaningful step up over the Pixel 8 Pro.

Cons

The Tensor G4 trails Snapdragon rivals badly in benchmarks and modem performance, with the worst battery efficiency among premium flagships.
Camera hardware was barely updated year-over-year, and it lost a head-to-head camera shootout to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
It now costs the same as the competition ($1,099), and some units shipped with a zoom viewfinder tilt bug and post-Android-16 connectivity drops.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

A 50MP wide, 48MP ultrawide and 48MP 5x telephoto plus a 42MP selfie. Excellent computational photos, but the hardware was barely updated and it lost a shootout to the iPhone.

It takes incredible photos, as expected from a premium phone — a class camera system.
Camera spec: 50MP wide, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto and a 42MP front camera.
In an iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Pixel 9 Pro XL shootout, the iPhone won — its images looked brighter and it preserved highlights better.
Reviewers were surprisingly critical of camera and especially video quality for a Pixel, and noted the camera hardware wasn't noticeably updated this year.
Some units shipped with a viewfinder bug where the image tilts significantly to one side when using zoom.
Magic Editor can auto-reframe, suggest the best crop and expand an image — the AI photo tools remain a Pixel standout.

Battery & Charging

Google Pixel 7a

4,385mAh battery + Tensor G2 inefficiency = mediocre all-day life. 18W wired charging is slow. FIRST A-series Pixel to support wireless charging (7.5W Qi).

4,385mAh battery — small for a 2023 phone with a power-hungry Tensor G2 chip.
Real-world: ~5 hours of SOT typical, all-day for moderate use but often needing a top-up by evening — most-flagged Pixel 7a complaint.
18W wired charging — slow by 2023 standards. 0-50% in ~30 min, full in ~1h30m.
FIRST A-series Pixel with wireless charging — 7.5W Qi. Not flagship-fast but a meaningful feature add at $499.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

A 5,060mAh battery with new 45W charging — improved over the Pixel 8 Pro, but Tensor inefficiency means the worst endurance among premium flagships.

A 5,060mAh battery with 45W wired (37W actual, ~70% in 30 min advertised), 23W wireless via Pixel Stand and Battery Share.
Google introduced a new 45W Power Delivery brick; measured 67% at the half-hour mark with a Samsung 45W charger.
Still the worst battery life of the premium phones due to the weak Tensor processor.
Owner battery is ~26–30 hours on normal use, where a OnePlus easily gets ~48 hours.
Despite the small year-over-year capacity bump (5,060 vs 5,050mAh), one owner found it has significantly more battery life than a Pixel 7 Pro.

Value & Verdict

Google Pixel 7a

$499 launch (now $250-400 used) — best mid-range Android of 2023, often called a better buy than the $599 Pixel 7. Apple Intelligence-style AI features at half the iPhone price.

Launched at $499 (128GB base) — $50 over Pixel 6a, $100 below Pixel 7. Strong value despite the price hike.
Now $250-400 used in 2026 with ~6 months of OS updates left — strong short-term value but limited support runway.
vs Pixel 7 ($599): many reviewers prefer the 7a — smaller, cheaper, near-identical cameras. The Pixel 7's 90Hz vs 7a's 90Hz, similar everything.
vs Samsung Galaxy A54 ($449): Pixel wins on cameras and software; A54 wins on battery (5000mAh), display brightness and microSD.
Engadget: 'the best mid-range phone of 2023' — flagship Pixel cameras + AI for half the iPhone Pro price.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

At $1,099 it's 'the best big Android phone,' but it now costs the same as the competition while trailing on raw performance and battery.

Android Police's verdict: the Pixel 9 Pro XL is 'the best big Android phone.'
Google's latest Pro is 'one of the most all-round excellent phones ever made.'
Choice is great — the 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL give the best displays and cameras Google offers in two sizes at various price points.
A 2025 revisit found it more frustrating than expected — much to still love, but parts haven't held up as well as remembered.
After 3 months an iPhone switcher rates it among the best premium phones owned, on par with the iPhone Pro Max.