A for affordable? The latest Pixel 7a price leak is more bad news

We’ve already heard that the Google Pixel 7a could be more expensive than its predecessor in the US, and now it looks like a price hike is also on the cards for the UK. Who said the ‘a’ series handsets were supposed to be Google’s more affordable Pixels?

A new rumor, via reliable Pixel-leaker Roland Quandt on Twitter, claims the Pixel 7a will cost £449, which would be a significant step up from the Pixel 6a, which cost £399 at launch (it still costs that at the Google store, although you can find it for less elsewhere).

Google has typically pitched its Pixel A-Series phones as affordable offerings; however, while the Pixel 7a will be more affordable than the £599 Pixel 7 (if this rumor is accurate), that price would still be stretching the definition of ‘affordable’.

In the US, the Pixel 7a is rumoured to see a similar price hike, from the $399 of the Pixel 6a to $449, just shy of the $499 of the Pixel 7.

The Google Pixel 7a’s specs have been leaked extensively, and supposedly include a new metal and glass body, as opposed to polycarbonate of the 6a and the others before it, a 64MP main camera – which would be the biggest sensor we’ve seen in a Pixel phone so far – 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage, 20W ‘fast’ wired charging (alongside wireless charging), and four colour options.

 The end of affordable? 

The Pixel A-Series has long stood for affordability, but that may be coming to an end along with the line itself. Google could be considering either turning the A-Series biennial or (as some have speculated) be ending the line entirely.

As the mainline Pixel becomes geared to being a value version of the Pro Pixel rather than simply a smaller model, and a new super-expensive Pixel Fold peeks over the horizon for those fans, it makes a lot of sense that Google would work on consolidation.

It’s also worth noting that – assuming these leaks are accurate – while the Pixel 7a wouldn’t be the priciest Pixel, it would be the priciest cheap Pixel we’ve ever seen. The Pixel 3a XL was £429, for example, but it was a larger and more capable model of the £399 Pixel 3a, while the Pixel 4a 5G was an expensive £499, but it was rumoured to originally be a Pixel 5 XL (which never materialized), not to mention the fact it shares more in common with the Pixel 5 than it did with the £329 Pixel 4a.

Google may have a good reason for raising the price floor. Inexpensive devices – deservedly or not – are often perceived as ‘cheap’. Google has been trying to position its Pixel line as an iPhone competitor for years, and it’s easier to do so if your phones aren’t seen as bargain-bin models.