It looks like Pixel 7a will fix my biggest gripe with the Pixel 6a

There have already been a slew of leaks that have surfaced for the Pixel 7a, but details about the screen were assumed with the first round of rumors. To get you caught up, those earlier leaks suggest a flagship-like A-series phone from Google on the way with the same Tensor G2 SoC inside that the Pixel 7 uses alongside premium additions like wireless charging and an improved camera setup. Likely downgrades will probably include the same 6GB of RAM we saw with the Pixel 6a, but that is only an assumption at this point.

In the midst of all of those leaks, there were also a few hints around the screen and the possible upgrade to a higher-refresh display this time around. Though only hinted at initially, leaker Kuba Wojciechowski over on Twitter is now saying that a 90Hz display for the Pixel 7a is basically confirmed at this point.

The biggest upgrade over the Pixel 6a

This confirmation does a couple things in my head: it elevates the Pixel 7a to a better-than-midrange status and it will likely create a bit of cannibalization with the Pixel 7 upon launch. If you’ve held the Pixel 6a, despite its plastic build, you’d not really know that this wasn’t a flagship phone. It looks great, feels great in the hand, and overall is a fantastic phone from Google. While a tad small for me (but not for most, I gather), the Pixel 6a is a solid device at an attractive price that has only one real issue that makes me dislike using it: the 60Hz screen.

While some of you may argue that this isn’t a big deal, coming from phone after phone with either 90Hz or 120Hz screens, the change was jarring to me. And for some odd reason, it almost felt like the Pixel 6a’s 60Hz was a forced reduction in frame rate, making it feel that much more jittery in use. I thought I’d get used to it, but I simply never did. The introduction of 90Hz to the Pixel 7a will change this drastically and I feel like Google could leave the entire Pixel 6a experience in place apart from this one change and still ship a knockout phone with Pixel 7a.

However, it definitely looks like the upgrades will be many with the Pixel 7a, making it a bit unclear how Google plans to sell this phone alongside the $599 Pixel 7. There’s speculation about the cameras being upgraded, but this is in comparison to the Pixel 6a, not the Pixel 7. Still, if the difference in the Pixel 7a and Pixel 7 is 2GB less RAM, a different (but not necessarily worse) camera setup, and a bit smaller form factor, things could get awkward.

The Pixel 7 retails for $599 right now, but by May or June when the Pixel 7a likely arrives, there’s a good chance the Pixel 7 will be on sale at a lot of retailers. If the Pixel 7a launches at the same $449, you could have two eerily-similar phones available from Google for nearly the same price at certain times. And I’m not confident that Google can keep the price down to $449 with these upgrades, either, making the situation that much more confusing when it does inevitably come.

While I’d normally wager a big company like Google has this sorted and figured out already, I’m not 100% confident about that. Because, well…Google. If the price for the Pixel 7a is too low, they’ll never sell another Pixel 7. If it is too high, wouldn’t people just buy the Pixel 7 instead? Either way, it’ll get sorted one way or another, and from the looks of it, it will happen with a pretty sweet looking Pixel 7a hitting the market in mid-2023. One thing is for certain: this will be interesting.