He Pixel 7a It’s one of the best affordable smartphones available today, both on paper and in real life (you can read our in-depth review here), but how well does it hold up?
The JerryRigEverything channel has made a name for itself in the YouTube tech community for its videos that push devices to the physical limits of their endurance. With the Pixel 7a, Google seems to have made a pretty tough phone, despite the use of plastic in the construction.
The phone features metal side rails, detachable metal buttons and a metal SIM tray, all properly sealed to maintain the device’s IP67 water resistance.
The Pixel 7a’s screen survives for 25 seconds under a lighter flame, and the OLED panel also fully recovers. Your camera’s viewfinder is still metal, and it scratches easily. The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass protection, so you shouldn’t have a problem sharing a pocket with keys and coins, but sand and other harder substances can leave their mark.
The plastic back panel also gives way to razor scratches. So, you’d better buy a protective case for your Pixel 7a.
Nelson suggests we avoid associating plastic with low-cost or cheap items, noting that toys and tools built to last also use plastic.
Google has also made an interesting design decision by separating the metal camera hood from the metal frame of the new phone. Although it looks like a structural weak point, the phone stands up to Nelson’s powerful bending tests admirably well, showing no signs of permanent deformation. So maybe a thin case would suffice, because Google’s design doesn’t need help with structural rigidity.
Google clearly learned valuable lessons from the design of the Pixel 7 Pro, and has made the Pixel 7a almost twice as rigid for just over half the price of the Pro model. The Pixel 7a is on its way to becoming one of the best phones around. market economics.
