Tech Review: Google Pixel 7a – "Live Translate feels like an evolutionary step in communication"

Google Pixel 7a

The appeal of Google’s new smartphone is easy to understand. You get all the standout apps – Google Assistant, Voice Recorder, etc. – but it is Live Translate that feels like an evolutionary step in communication. Point the camera at a foreign sign or menu and the app translates in real time. The app works with voice as well as text: automatically translating phone calls, videos, podcasts and audio messages. Holidays in foreign climes will never be the same again (although professional translators have reason to be concerned).

Live Translate is stuffed into Google’s mid-range chalice, which retails at a reasonable €500. The phone is easy to hold and operate with one hand, its swipe mechanisms quickly flicking between apps and screen sizes. The 6.1” OLED screen, with its 90Hz refresh rate, keep things smooth. Colour and content are sharp – and unlike the previous Pixel 6a, this model has face unlock security as well as a traditional fingerprint scanner.

The camera set-up is noticeable for its lack of optical zoom or macro photo mode, but unless you’re paparazzi or interested in the mating rituals of insects, is either mode really necessary? Instead, the 64 megapixel main and 13MP ultrawide cameras do a decent job taking sharp pictures and video in all manner of settings, including low light.

With a battery that lasts 30 hours between charges, and wireless charging built into its recycled aluminium, the Pixel 7a is worth talking about – in every language.

9/10

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