After confirming its existence last week, Google has formally introduced the Pixel Fold, its first stab at a foldable phone. Like past foldables, the new Pixel has a vertical hinge that lets it unfurl like a book. When it's folded, you get a more traditional form factor with a 5.8-inch display. Open it up, and you get a wider 7.6-inch screen for multitasking or watching videos. Both OLED panels have 120Hz refresh rates, and the device runs on the same Tensor G2 chip found in last year's Pixel 7 line. Google is pushing the phone's thinness (12.1mm folded, 5.8mm when not), battery ("over 24 hours") and weight (10 oz) as particular selling points. It also claims that the near-gapless hinge is built to last over time.

We'll have to review the Pixel Fold before we can speak to that. For now, though, we've laid out how the Fold compares on paper to the most prominent book-style foldable on the market today: Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4. Yes, specs can't tell the whole story with a form factor like this, and both Samsung and OnePlus are expected to launch new foldables in the coming months. But if you want a sense of what the Pixel Fold's $1,800 starting price will get you, here's a quick rundown. The phone is available to pre-order now and will ship in June. For more impressions, check out our initial hands-on.

Google Pixel Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Google is ready to give Android tablets another go. Nearly five years after launching the ill-fated Pixel Slate, the company has fully taken the wraps off its latest large-screen device, the Pixel Tablet. Google had teased the device a couple of times over the past year, but now it's official: This is a 10.95-inch tablet that doubles as a Nest Hub-style smart display with an included speaker dock. That dock also charges the tablet, and the slate itself runs on the same Tensor G2 SoC you'd find in a Pixel 7 phone. 

The Pixel Tablet starts at $499 and is available to pre-order starting today, with shipping starting next month. We'll have a full review in the future, but for now, we've laid out how the device compares on the spec sheet to a couple popular alternatives in Apple's 10th-gen iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab A8. The $599 iPad Air and $630 Galaxy Tab S8 are notable options here, too, but since the Pixel Tablet is really two devices in one, we've stuck to sub-$500 options below. You can read our initial hands-on for more impressions.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Prior to today's I/O event, Google confirmed the leaks and rumors about the existence of its first foldable smartphone with a teaser video on YouTube. We now know the full specs and pre-order details for the $1,800 handheld. Starting now, you can pre-order the Google Pixel Fold through Google's store front, and units should begin shipping sometime in June. And when you pre-order, Google will thrown in a free Pixel Watch too. 

Like the 7-series Pixel phones, the Pixel Fold will feature Google's Tensor G2 SOC and come with 12GB of RAM and either 256 or 512GB of storage. The claimed battery life extends beyond 24-hours and supports both wireless charging or 30W fast charging. Google says it's the thinnest foldable phone on the market, measuring a half-inch thick when folded.

The exterior features an always-on, 5.8-inch OLED display with up to 1550 nits of brightness and 120Hz refresh rate. It's covered in the same Gorilla Glass Victus as the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro — but it's the interior screen that's getting most of the attention. The 7.6-inch, 120Hz folding display is facilitated by a custom, dual-axis steel hinge and foldable Ultra Thin Glass with a layer of protective plastic. There's just enough friction within the hinges to enable different views when propped up in tabletop mode.

The Pixel Fold has a total of five cameras: an 8MP inner camera, a 9.5MP selfie cam on the front screen, and three cameras across the rear bar, including a telephoto lens, an ultrawide lens and a 48MP camera with a half-inch sensor. The multiple screens and cameras will enable features like split screen productivity, tripod-free astrophotography and real-time translation during face-to-face conversations. 

We'll have full reviews of the foldable soon. In the meantime our senior reviews writer, Sam Rutherford was able to do a quick hands-on with the Pixel Fold and thinks it's a fitting rival for Samsung's foldables. You can get it in either black or white and pre-orders placed now should ship near the end of June.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Google's announced the Pixel 7a — and made it available for immediate purchase — during its annual I/O conference. Like other A-model Pixel phones, this is a budget version of what came before, namely the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. At $499, it's $100 cheaper than either of its siblings but manages to meet or exceed many of their specs. It has a similar design, uses the same Tensor G2 processing chip, and offers 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage like the base model Pixel 7. The 7a also matches the water resistance and display refresh rate of that phone, but has a larger battery and higher-res cameras. One key difference is the smaller screen, measuring 6.1 inches versus the Pixel 7's 6.3-inch display.  

We know it stacks up nicely against other current-model Pixels, but how does it compare to other budget-model phones? It's a little pricier than either the iPhone SE or the Galaxy A54 and falls between the two on battery capacity, screen size and number of cameras. The Pixel 7a beats both of its competitors on base-level memory and is also the only budget model to use the same processor as its top-end, flagship counterpart. Here are the specs for each phone side-by-side so you can see which one makes the most sense for you. 

Google Pixel 7a vs. Apple iPhone SE vs. Samsung Galaxy A54 

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Given how important smart home devices have become, it’s not a surprise that Google has a lot of updates to its Home app and how Android users can interact with those devices. The most significant update is to the aforementioned Google Home app for both Android and iOS — it has been completely redesigned and will be available tomorrow.

The app has been in preview since last fall, and Google says they’ve been iterating on it significantly based on user feedback. The new design incorporates a familiar five-tab view along the bottom of the screen: favorites, devices, activity, automation and settings. The favorites tab is the default view and lets you pin interactive tiles to the view for devices, actions and automations you use the most.

For example, it can automatically show you a view from a Nest camera, let you adjust specific lights or change the temperature in a specific room. It’ll also pop up media controls when you have an active video or audio stream playing on one of your devices. A bar at the top of the screen also shows “spaces” that are commonly used, like climate, WiFi control, cameras and lights. This makes it quick to jump right into adjusting those settings across your home.

Devices, as you might expect, shows everything you have connected, organized by room. The activity tab lets you see how things have changed with your devices, like your thermostat’s activity over time or camera events. It also contains an inbox that pulls together notifications in one place. Cameras specifically are getting a big improvement here, specifically in terms of performance. Google says cameras are 38 percent faster to show you a live feed in the new app, and accessing clips is 29 percent faster.

The automation tab is the default spot for for building routines that work across multiple devices, and you can schedule them there or active them on the fly. Finally, the settings tab was rebuilt to simplify and bring all controls you need into one place. Google called the old experience fragmented and said that centralizing these tools was a key part of the update.

Google also has some big news around support for the Matter smart home standard. Most significantly, the Google Home app for iOS now has Matter support, which means you can set up and manage Matter-compatible devices in app on your iPhone. Google says this will go live in the “coming weeks” and will require iOS 16.5. There are also new controllers in the Home app for more than 60 apps, which should make it easier to control more devices in the Home app itself.

Along with these app updates, the Google Home app is finally coming to Wear OS — you’ll be able to see your favorites on your wrist and scroll through your rooms to make adjustments as needed. You’ll also get camera notifications on your Wear OS watch with an animated preview of what just happened, so you can see that someone just delivered a package, for example. The Wear OS app will be available on May 15th.

The Home app is also getting updated to work better with tablets. It’s a smart time to do that, given the Pixel Tablet is arriving very soon. Naturally, it’ll take better advantage of a large screen and work in both landscape and portrait orientation. There’s also a new “home panel” that’ll come to both the Pixel Tablet and Pixel smartphones — this will let you do common actions like view a camera, adjust a thermostat or turn on your lights without even going into the Home app. And when the Pixel Tablet is docked, that Home panel will be accessible by anyone so they can adjust things in the house as needed.

Google also has some good news for people who own older Nest Cam devices. The first generation Nest Cam Indoor and the Nest Cam Outdoor will finally be able to be transitioned from the old Nest app to the new Home app. That’ll happen in July, and you’ll need to be using the public preview of the Home app. Google says the transfer takes about 10 minutes, and then all the data and feeds from those cameras will be available in the same app as the rest of your smart home devices.

As is often the case with Google, the timeline for all these updates varies — but the biggest change is easily coming to the Home app itself, and that’ll be available tomorrow. Get ready to mash that “update my apps” button.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Google officially announced the latest Pixel phone at its annual I/O event today — and you can buy one now with no pre-order necessary. The Google Pixel 7a starts at $499 and comes in four colors: charcoal, sea, snow, and coral. You can only get the vivid orangey hue from the Google store, but Amazon and Best Buy should both have the other colorways ready to ship in the next day or two. Like other A-model Pixel phones, the 7a is a more affordable version of its predecessor, in this case, the Pixel 7 which came out in October of last year. Both phones feature the same system-on-a-chip Tensor G2 processor Google developed specifically for Pixel devices, but the 7a shaves $100 off the MSRP. 

The phone wasn't the only hardware announcement at I/O today. We also learned you can pre-order the Pixel Fold and got more details on the Pixel Tablet. Here's what how to order the new phone and when you'll be able to get your hands on the tablet.

Google Pixel 7a

The Pixel 7a looks a lot like its pricier sibling, with the same squared-off design and aluminum camera bar across the back. The display is slightly smaller at 6.1-inches, but it too is a full HD OLED screen with an equally fast 90Hz refresh rate. Both the battery and cameras on the 7a are slightly bigger than the other two current Pixels, with a 13MP front camera and a 64MP main lens around back, next to a 13MP wide-angle camera with a 120-degree field of view. 

Google claims the battery will exceed 24 hours of moderate use and supports 18W fast charging and 7.5W wireless charging. Like the 7 and 7 Pro, you'll be able to unlock your Pixel 7a with face recognition or a fingerprint and the IP68 water-resistance rating can handle submersion up to three feet. Unlike the 7 and 7Pro, however, the 7a comes in just one memory and storage configuration: 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. Those are the same options as the base model 7. 

Google's latest Pixel phone matches — and even exceeds — many specs of the two 7-series models that came before it, while selling for $100 less. Our senior writer Sam Rutherford says the has "everything you need and more." You can read his full review here.   

Pixel Tablet

Google's new Pixel Tablet can also act as your home's smart display/hub. The $499 price tag includes a full-fledged slate plus a charging dock that doubles as a display stand with a built-in speaker. The Tablet uses the same Tensor G2 chip as Pixel 7 phones and comes with 8GB of RAM and either 128 or 256GB of storage space. The 10.95-inch, Quad-HD LED display has a 16:10 aspect ratio and up to 500 nits of brightness. The Android operating system should give you a fair amount of productivity support, with split screen capabilities and 50 Google apps optimized for the tablet. 

Google says the battery will last through 12 hours of video playback. When it's time to recharge, magnets in the tablet line up with pogo pins on the dock for 15W charging, no cables required. Like a smart display, the Pixel Tablet can manage your connected cameras, doorbells and other smart home devices and, when docked, can act as a digital photo frame. 

The tablet comes in three colors: cement, hazel and a US-exclusive rose. It's made from 30 percent recycled materials and features a matte, nano-ceramic coating which seems an intriguing alternative to the standard plastic or metal of most tablets. You can read more about the tablet here. It's available for pre-order from Google's storefront and should ship in June. 

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

I’ve been using some version of the Galaxy Z Fold as my daily driver for the last three years. So, I’ve been waiting a long time for someone to come along and give Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line a real challenge – especially in the U.S. where we can’t buy stuff like the Oppo Find N2. And after years of rumors, this summer that might finally happen when Google releases the Pixel Fold.

Google’s foldable phone features a different design than most. It has a wider 5.8-inch exterior screen with a 17.4:9 aspect ratio. This makes a huge difference, giving you a more usable screen on the outside allows the Pixel Fold to function like a more full-featured device before you ever open it up. In comparison, Galaxy Z Fold 4’s small cover screen feels like it's designed mainly for doing simple tasks like looking up directions or responding to texts. And in your hand, the Pixel Fold’s wider dimensions make it feel different too. It’s shaped more like a Passport than Samsung’s skinnier baton–like handset.

On top of that, the Pixel Fold’s heft is somewhat deceptive. Weighing 10 ounces or 283 grams, it’s actually heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 4 (263 grams). However, because of its super slim design that measures less than 6mm thick when open (or 12.1mm when closed), it doesn’t feel nearly as dense. Then on the outside, Google created what it claims is the most durable hinge on any foldable yet. But to me the clever thing is that, by pushing all the moving parts as close to the outside of the device as possible, there’s less of a gap between the two halves of the phone, resulting in an almost completely flat device when closed.

As for its flexible main screen, we’re looking at a big 7.6-inch 2208 x 1840 OLED display with bright vivid colors. Now yes, there is a crease, and I can’t wait for the day when device makers can banish them for good. But at least on the Pixel Fold, it looks slightly less pronounced compared to some other devices. That said, the bigger differences are that Google’s foldable features slightly larger bezels and a wider landscape orientation by default, which is better for watching videos without rotating the phone. And instead of an under-display sensor like Samsung uses, Google has opted for a more traditional interior camera located in the top right corner.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Aside from its design, where things get really interesting is the Pixel Fold’s software and multitasking features. Even though I’ve only had a few minutes with it thus far, I love how snappy and responsive it feels. Switching from the front to the interior screen is super smooth, and I must admit the way Google syncs the movement of bird’s wings on the wallpaper with the position of the screen is a really nice touch. It even seems like Google has learned from Samsung a bit like with the inclusion of a disappearing taskbar that you can summon by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

Google also says more than 50 first-party apps have already been optimized to run on devices with large screens like the Pixel Fold. You can see this in apps like Youtube, which automatically switches to a special UI when the phone is bent in half. And while Samsung offers similar tweaks in apps on the Z Fold line, it’s really nice to see continued development for adaptive UIs as they are going to play a huge part in making the next generation of foldable devices really shine. Google even showed off a new Interpreter mode that uses both the inside and outside screen at the same time, which works with the phone’s speech recognition so that people can see two different languages get translated in real-time.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Moving on to photos, despite the challenge of finding room for camera sensors in a phone this thin, you still get essentially the same great experience that we saw on the Pixel 7 Pro – including that 5x telephoto zoom. That’s really nice to see compared to the Z Fold 4, which doesn’t have nearly as good sensors and lenses as the S22 Ultra. And just like Samsung, Google included some nifty modes that allow you to shoot photos when the phone is half open or use the rear camera and the front screen at the same to capture super detailed selfies. Sure, these use cases are a bit niche, but they’re really nice for taking group shots without needing to carry a little mobile tripod around.

Finally, rounding out the Pixel Fold’s specs are a list of very premium components. We’re talking a Tensor G2 chip, 12GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage and 120Hz refresh rates on both screens. You also get a side-mounted fingerprint sensor built into its power button, support for wireless charging and IPX8 water resistance, which remains a real rarity among foldable phones.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Unfortunately, the Pixel Fold also sports a very premium price of $1,799. I was really hoping to see the cost of big foldable phones come down a bit now that they’ve been around multiple generations, but considering that’s basically the same cost as a Galaxy Z Fold 4, it’s hard to be too mad. Long-term durability is another concern. It took Samsung several generations to create a foldable phone that can really survive daily use (and even now things aren’t perfect). And while I’m sure Google has learned a lot from Samsung’s mistakes, only time will tell how the first foldable Pixel will hold up.

In the end, one thing that really struck me is that, when I had a chance to talk to some of the Pixel Fold’s engineers, they told me that this phone represents Google’s best efforts to put its own spin on a big fancy foldable phone. And while I’ve only had a brief time to play around with it so far, I definitely get it. Between its wider screens and design, there’s no way you’re getting this confused with Galaxy Z Fold. But more than that, I like that Google didn’t cut corners with the Pixel Fold’s camera while also cramming more optimized UI layouts and features derived from Android 12L.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Now if you’ll allow me to throw one last comparison in the mix, in a lot of ways, I feel like the Pixel Fold is an even more refined version of what I wanted the Surface Duo to be. It’s got a similar shape thanks to its sleek design, but with an extra display on the outside and way better software. And as a longtime user of big foldable phones, I can’t wait to test this thing out for real sometime later this summer.

Pre-orders for the Pixel Fold go live today on May 10th with official sales slated to begin sometime in June.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

When Google’s vice president of Nest products Rishi Chandra told me about the company’s vision for ambient computing in 2019, he talked about a hypothetical smart display that was basically a tablet attached to a speaker dock. You would be able to lift the screen off its base, take it with you to another room and place it on another station there. Today, at Google I/O, that hypothetical device is launching for real as the Pixel Tablet, and I was able to get some hands-on time with it in April.

Though it was initially teased last I/O, the Pixel Tablet is actually ready for purchase this year. Come May 10th, you’ll be able to pre-order it for $499, and that includes the speaker base. Google won’t be selling the tablet on its own, though you can buy additional docks for $120 each so you can have stations in multiple rooms.

Clearly, the company doesn’t want you to think of this as a $370 tablet. This is more of a hybrid device, better considered as a smart display with a detachable screen. So don’t think of it as a successor to the discontinued Pixel Slate — Google said it was done with making its own tablets (or, more specifically, focusing on laptops) and it is… even if it is confusingly calling this thing the Pixel Tablet.

In spite of its name, the Pixel Tablet will likely spend most of its time in your home as a smart display. With an 11-inch screen, rounded-rectangle shape and a mesh fabric covering the speaker base, the Pixel Tablet looks incredibly similar to the Nest Hub Max. You can get it in either Hazel (gray), Porcelain (white) or Rose if you’re in the US, and the latter two have white bezels while the first has black borders. The device has a nano-ceramic coating that Google said was “inspired by the feel of porcelain,” lending it a “textured feel unlike any other tablet.” It’s hard to describe how this felt — I liked the matte finish but it’s not like my fingers were sent into spasms of euphoria when I touched the device.

What I did find impressive was how little it weighed. I picked it up to use while it was still attached to the speaker, and didn’t feel any strain at all. Granted, I only held it that way for a few minutes, and it would probably start to feel heavy if I held it long enough. But then again, you’re not really supposed to hold the screen with the speaker connected.

On its own, the tablet is a fairly straightforward Android 13 slate. It offers the same multitasking features as most devices running the latest version of Android L for larger displays, though Google has optimized 50 of its own apps for the Pixel Tablet. It also worked with developers to optimize apps like Spotify, Minecraft, Disney+ and more for the larger screen. For instance, Gmail and WhatsApp offer two-column layouts, and when I dragged a slider to expand the width of the former to take up more than half the screen, it went from a single column to a two-column view. Speaking of WhatsApp, you can now make video calls from the app on the Pixel Tablet, making it the first slate to support this.

You can also do things like drag and drop photos between apps while in split screen mode. A row of icons appears at the bottom of the screen when you drag your finger slightly from the bottom and pause. From here, you can launch your favorite and recently used apps.

Photo by: Sam Rutherford / Engadget

The Pixel Tablet is also the first tablet to be powered by the company’s own Tensor G2 processor, which enables AI features like voice typing, Magic Eraser and Photo Unblur. This is also the first tablet on which you can make WhatsApp video calls, by the way. Of course, you don’t have to be using the screen on its own to make use of these tools — the software works the same way whether the tablet is docked or disconnected.

Thankfully, the magnets holding the two parts together are strong enough to keep the display from sliding despite the angle it’s propped up at. It’s also possible to remove the screen with one hand, as a Google rep showed me at the demo, but it required some finesse in my experience. The dock isn’t heavy enough that you can simply peel the tablet off from the top — you’d need to use your hand as a lever along the bottom edge to separate the two. With practice, I could see this action becoming easier to do.

When the screen is attached to the base, a few things happen. The onboard speakers are deactivated and any media you’re playing will automatically stream through the dock’s more-capable system. From what I heard, the base speakers sound similar to those on the Nest Hub Max, which is to say the music was clear and had a nice amount of bass. I haven’t heard enough to judge the audio quality for sure, but it was definitely an upgrade from the tablet’s tinny output.

Another feature that becomes available when the display is connected to the dock is Hub Mode. You’ll see your selected photos on the lock screen, just like you do on Nest Hubs, as well as a home button on the bottom left. Tapping this brings up a control panel for your compatible connected home appliances like thermostats, lights, locks and camera feeds.

Photo by: Sam Rutherford / Engadget

In this mode, anyone who can physically touch the Pixel Tablet can access this dashboard, so if you have a friend visiting, they can also turn on the lights without having to unlock your device. This only works when the tablet is docked. They’ll also be able to set timers or play music and ask Google for answers. But don’t worry — they can’t do things that require your personal info, like see your calendar events, for example. That would require unlocking the tablet, and I appreciate that there’s a fingerprint sensor on the power button at the top to make this more convenient.

During the hands-on event in New York, I used the demo unit to turn off a lamp in a San Francisco office and was able to watch it happen via the camera feed that was also onscreen.

When the tablet is docked, you’ll also be able to use it as an additional screen and Chromecast to it. Google said this is the first tablet with Chromecast built in, but to be clear, the feature is only available when the device is docked and in Hub Mode, not as a standalone slate. It’s a nice touch regardless, and great for places like your bedroom if you don’t have space for a TV. I’m definitely planning on leaving a Pixel Tablet dock by my bed so I can stream Netflix in the background when trying to fall asleep.

I also like the idea of using the Pixel Tablet as a dedicated device for my video conferences. The slate itself has two 8-megapixel cameras — one on the rear and one in front. Google has designed Meet to keep the user centered in the frame even if you’re moving around. The company says the Pixel Tablet “has the best Google Meet app video calls of any tablet,” which is a claim I’ll have to put to the test in the real world.

Photo by: Sam Rutherford / Engadget

Using the Tensor G2 processor, the system will automatically adjust brightness to make sure you’re well lit. This was pretty funny to watch during our demo when the camera hunted for a person to keep in frame when I left its view. It discovered my colleague Sam about a foot away, even though he wasn’t facing the Tablet, and zoomed in on him. When both of us looked at the camera, the framing changed to accommodate us.

I’m not a fan of the low camera angle when the screen is docked, but the good news is you can still use Meet when the tablet is detached. Google also makes a case that you can buy for $79. It comes with a kickstand that doubles as a handle when unfolded all the way, so you can prop the device up on the go or hang it on a hook if you wish. I can see myself propping the tablet up on a higher surface or hanging it on a kitchen cabinet if I were to take a call from my parents while cooking dinner. What's nice is that because of the way the case is designed, you can easily snap the screen back onto the dock even with the case on, since the kickstand fits nicely around the base and the pogo pins can still make contact.

It’s worth noting that when the screen is detached, the speaker base is basically useless. You can’t cast to it, and because it doesn’t have a microphone onboard, it won’t hear your commands. It doesn’t have a battery onboard either, so this isn’t a portable system you can take to the beach or on a road trip (though I can’t imagine why you would).

Photo by: Sam Rutherford / Engadget

The tablet battery will last for 12 hours of video streaming, according to Google, so you should at least be able enjoy an entire season of You on a longhaul flight.

But remember. This isn’t meant to be a tablet first. Most other Android slates you’ll probably pick up about a few times a month, only to be annoyed to find it’s dead and need charging. Or you’ll take it with you on a trip to watch shows on the train or if you don’t like inflight entertainment options. With the Pixel Tablet, you’ll at least not have to worry about keeping it charged.

I’ve liked the idea of a smart display with a detachable screen since Chandra first mentioned it to me and, at first blush at least, the concept seems solid. I’ll have to wait till I can test out a unit in my own home to know how practical this idea is, but so far I’m intrigued.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Google’s A-series phones have been some of the best deals on the market dating back to the original Pixel 3a. And while the cost of recent devices has crept up a bit, they’ve also become more well-rounded. But with the Pixel 7a, it feels like Google has nailed the balance between price and performance. We’re talking a Tensor G2 chip, a 90Hz display, wireless charging and a higher-res rear cam–all starting at just $499. And when you factor in its design, the Pixel 7a delivers everything I like about the regular Pixel 7 for $100 less. So if you’re the kind of person who just wants a solid phone for a great price, the Pixel 7a has everything you need.

Design

From the outside, the 7a looks like a carbon copy of the standard Pixel 7. It’s got a familiar two-tone design with IP67 water resistance and an almost identical camera bar. But if you peer a little closer you’ll notice a couple differences like a slightly smaller 6.1-inch OLED screen (versus 6.3 for the regular Pixel 7) and a very slightly thicker and slightly lighter body. And even though the 7a features what Google calls thermal-formed polycarbonate (a fancy way of saying “nice plastic”) on its back, it pretty much feels the same too. In fact, I had to tap a coin on the back of the phone to make sure, because up until then I thought both phones used the same material.

Performance

Meanwhile in front, the 7a still gets a lovely full HD (2400 x 1080) OLED display with an in-screen fingerprint sensor, except now it features a 90Hz refresh rate. Granted, that’s not quite as fast as you get on the Pixel 7 Pro or other flagships, but coming from the 60Hz panel on last year’s phone, it’s a very welcome upgrade. And when you combine that with a Tensor G2 chip, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, you end up with a really smooth user experience. Text just glides down the screen when you’re scrolling through websites. And while its smaller display means the 7a probably isn’t going to be a mobile gamers first choice for handsets, I still had a blast playing titles ranging from more demanding fare like Honkai: Star Rail to casual stuff like Marvel Snap.

Cameras

As for photography, the two big changes are that the Pixel 7a features a new high-res 64-MP main cam in back, while the 13-MP selfie camera can record videos in 4K. In the past, the Pixel A-line has crushed basically every other phone in its price range. So this time to give the 7a more of a challenge I compared it to both the Pixel 7 Pro and the S23 Ultra. And while the 7a doesn’t have some of the more advanced features like a dedicated zoom, when it comes to pure photo quality this $499 phone more than holds its own.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

For example, in a daytime shot of a flower Pixel 7a did a way better job of preserving details and highlights compared to a similar shot by the S23 Ultra. And in a pic of a dandelion, the Pixel 7a captured every fluffy seed. You don’t get a dedicated telephoto lens, but Google’s Super Res can produce some quality long-range images. Though, as you can see when compared to the S23 Ultra, it’s still not as good as having a dedicated telephoto lens. Also, even though I don’t love taking selfies, I gotta say pics look sharp there too.

In low light, Google’s Night Sight mode remains among the best in the business, though the Pixel 7a’s 64-MP camera does add a little more noise to photos than I expected. In a nighttime shot of a mural, despite the Pixel 7a’s pic looking a touch underexposed, it has a better white balance compared to the S23 Ultra while still preserving a lot of details. It’s only when you zoom in that you notice a bit of extra graininess. And in another picture taken at a local community garden, the 7a produced a pic that’s really close to what I got from phones twice its price.

Battery life

Another highlight is that the combination of a relatively small screen and a decent-sized 4,385 mAh battery results in great longevity. On our local video rundown test, the Pixel 7a lasted 17 hours and 41 minutes which, unsurprisingly, is really close to what we got from last year’s Pixel 7 (17:54) and an hour longer than the Pixel 7 Pro’s time of 16:42. However, for those who need a really long-lasting device, bigger phones like the OnePlus 11 and S23 Ultra are still the better choice, with both phones lasting over 19 hours on our tests.

I also really appreciate the addition of Qi wireless support, even if charging speeds cap out at 7.5 watts. When I’m charging the phone overnight or trying to keep the phone topped up during the day, the convenience of slapping a phone on a wireless pad can’t be beat. Besides, if you need some juice in a jiffy, there’s still the option of wired charging at 18 watts, which isn’t blazing, but it’s good enough.

Wrap-up

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

I’ve always appreciated that Google has never tried to do too much with its Pixel A phones. The Pixel 7a is a simple device that packs a nice screen that’s now even better thanks to a 90Hz refresh rate, solid performance and cameras that can hang with rivals twice its price. And now for 2023, you get handy upgrades like support for wireless charging, not to mention all the great existing Pixel-specific features like Hold For Me, Clear Calling and my personal favorite–the Pixel Recorder app. If you’re someone who needs to record conversations or interviews on the regular, I’d argue that app on its own is worth the price of a 7a.

My two minor complaints are that while the 7a’s speakers are generally fine, they sound a bit shallow. And, if you’re someone who cares about mmWave 5G, you’ll have to shell out an extra $50 to get support for that (and that model is only available from Verizon). As a whole, the 7a is kind of a shock because it delivers 95% of what you get from the standard Pixel 7, but for $100 cheaper. Usually, device makers don’t cannibalize their own devices like this. But Google didn’t shy away and the result is a big win for consumers. Would I like to have a dedicated zoom lens or a larger screen? Sure, but that’s [kind of] why the Pixel 7 Pro exists.

Google wasn’t kidding when it said last year that the Pixel Tablet was “months away.” In fact, it was a whole year away, but we’re finally getting full details today. The $499 tablet is built around an 11-inch screen, with Google’s Tensor G2 chip inside. The chip and screen aren’t exactly a big surprise, but Google is doing something a little unusual with the Pixel Tablet: it comes with a speaker dock that turns it into a Nest Hub Max with a better screen.

Rather than outfit the Pixel Tablet with accessories like a stylus and keyboard, as others like Samsung, OnePlus and of course Apple have done with their tablets, Google is pitching the Pixel Tablet as a device for entertainment and to control your home.

When the Pixel Tablet is attached to the speaker dock, the software runs in a Hub Mode to make it easy to access controls for all your smart home devices. Naturally, it also serves as a digital photo frame and can play back tunes and videos with audio through the built-in speaker. I haven’t heard that speaker yet, but Google says it’ll deliver “room-filling music.” Given that Google is including it at no extra charge, it doesn’t have to deliver too much to be worth it. The tablet itself also has four built-in speakers.

From a specs perspective, the Pixel Tablet features an 11-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution. There’s no word on the refresh rate, but that’s a nice size and resolution for a tablet in this price range. In addition to the Tensor G2 chip, the Pixel Tablet also has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (you can bump that up to 256GB if you’re so inclined). Credit here to Google for starting things off with 128GB of storage, rather than the stingy 64GB Apple includes on most of its base iPads.

Google

Given that Google is positioning the Pixel Tablet as a hub of sorts, it naturally has a front-facing camera for video calls. Unsurprisingly, it’s nothing too special, an 8-megapixel shooter with an f/2.0 aperture and fixed focus. But it can shoot and transmit video at 1080p at 30 fps, so it should be decent enough for video cals. The back camera has identical specs. As for the battery, Google says it will last for 12 hours of video streaming, but that’s another thing we’ll need to test in person to verify.

In addition to the speaker dock (which Google is selling separately, as well, for people who want to place them around the home), Google is also selling a basic case that comes with a built-in metal ring stand that lets you place the tablet at a variety of angles. You can also dock the tablet without removing the case. And partner Speck is making a handful of other cases as well.

Google

Of course, the real key to making Android work on a tablet is having good apps, and that’s long been a struggle that continues to this day. Google says that there are “more than 50 Google apps” optimized for the Pixel Tablet and that it can run them in split-screen for multitasking.

I just reviewed the OnePlus Pad and can confirm that Google’s own apps work well on tablets at this point, but the problem really is in the third-party ecosystem. Google points out that it is working with developer partners to optimize their apps and cites Spotify, Minecraft and Disney+ as a few cases that take advantage of the large screen.

The Pixel Tablet goes up for pre-order today and starts at $499. It’s available in three colors: A gray-ish “Hazel” with a black screen bezel, a white-ish “Porcelain” with a white bezel and a pink-ish “Rose” with a white bezel. For more on the device, check out our hands-on with Google’s first tablet in years.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.