PSA: Don’t accidentally spend $499 on the Pixel 7a

Summary

• Google has seven phones available, including the 8a and 7a, both priced at $499.
• The 8a outshines the 7a in features and updates, making the older model obsolete.
• Don’t buy an older Pixel phone – wait for discounts on the 7a and consider the better value of the 8a.

The Pixel 8a is now available for preorder, but it’s not the only a-series Pixel phone you can buy today. Last year’s Google midranger, the Pixel 7a, is still available for purchase, too — for the same $499 as the 8a. Quick reminder: if you’re trying to buy a Pixel phone, make sure you’ve got the right one in your cart.

Google sells a lot of phones

As of today, you can buy seven different Google phones

The new Pixel 8a joins Google’s growing selection of phone offerings, taking its place as the seventh Pixel smartphone currently on offer alongside the 8 Pro, 8, Fold, 7 Pro, 7, and, most puzzlingly, 7a. While it’s impressive the new Pixel 8a is offered at the same MSRP as last year’s 7a, it’s a little bit of a weird look to offer two generations in the same product line, concurrently, at the same sticker price — especially when the newer model makes the outgoing one obsolete.

And the 8a does outshine the 7a in pretty much every way. It’s got a newer chipset in Tensor G3, a better, Actua-branded display, and considerably longer update support with the same seven-year promise Google makes for its latest flagship phones. Compare that to the three years of Android updates and five years of security patches pledged to the 7a.

I don’t think most people reading this would mistake the older 7a for the new 8a just because they’re the same price — but less savvy shoppers might, and I think that puts a pretty fine point on a growing issue with Google’s Pixel portfolio.

There’s no reason to buy an old Pixel

You can still buy the Pixel 7 or 7a, but you shouldn’t

I expect the Pixel 7a will be discounted once the 8a hits retail on May 14 — either with a permanent price cut, or a sale price meant to clear old stock. Some configurations are already out of stock. Even if the 7a is discounted, though, the breadth of phones on offer from Google at various price points is strange.

Google will still sell you a Pixel 7, for example, at its original MSRP of $599. That would almost make sense in a world without a $500 Pixel 8a, but the Pixel 8 itself has been available for as low as $499, and up until a few days ago, was discounted to $549 — facts that kind of makes any lesser Pixel seem like a questionable value. The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro are even worse off when it comes to updates than the 7a, too, with the same three-year/five-year update commitment, ending months earlier.

Again, I know this isn’t an issue for enthusiasts. But for average shoppers just looking to get a good price on a new phone, people who don’t follow release cycles and track sale prices, it could be overwhelming. Hopefully Google reexamines its tack when it comes to dealing with old stock before this fall, when we’re expecting fourmore Pixel phones to join the lineup. Some aggressive price cuts on the 7 series — 7a included — would be a good start.