(NEW) Google Pixel 7a

I've been using this phone for a full year now, so I feel I've used it enough to give a fair assessment. Bottom line: best phone I've ever owned. Other reviewers have adequately covered most of the good features of this phone, all of which I agree with. So I will only mention the aspects that are less than optimal. Fingerprint sensor - as others have mentioned, it is not very reliable. To try to improve the performance, I used the same finger (thumb) for more than one of the (I think) four fingerprints you are allowed to store in the phone. This seems to improve the chances of a successful fingerprint read. Technique is also a factor. I've had the best luck with a quick but firm tap on the sensor area. If you linger a bit, your finger is likely to move ever so slightly on the screen causing it not to be recognized. I've also found that when my fingers are cold the chances of a successful read are reduced. Modem - Cellular reception in fringe areas is probably a bit worse than other phones such as Samsung and could make the difference in usability in certain situations. Most of the time it's fine and I've found that the phone can perform surprisingly well even with a marginal signal level. Screen Brightness - could definitely be better. I leave mine fixed at 80% most of the time and in most indoor lighting situations it is entirely adequate. Outdoors however, I have to boost it up to 100% and in my opinion it is barely adequate. Wireless charging - is pretty slow, but since I charge overnight it hasn't been an issue for me. If I need it to charge faster I just plug it in. The phone has good battery life so charging once a day has worked out fine, even when I watch hours of TikToks. Lens Flare - although I am extremely pleased with the performance of the camera in most situations, especially low light or night time shots, if there is a very bright source of light in an otherwise dark scene, the lens flare is crazy excessive and looks like petals of a flower. I realize it's not a high-end phone, but geez, I think they could have done better even at this price point. Photo Processing - most of the time Google's photo processing for the camera turns out excellent results, especially in difficult lighting situations. One place it doesn't work well at all is fine detail when using the digital zoom. The photo processing (AI?) algorithms try to fill in detail where it is lacking (instead of leaving it to be fuzzy) and comes up with some pretty wild patterns. Not a fan of this aspect at all. I'd rather it be fuzzy. No 720p video - Sometimes I like to record 720p video because it takes up less memory, but the camera app doesn't have an option for that. As a work-around I used a 3rd party camera app, but I haven't found one that is as easy to use as the Google camera app. OK, so enough negative points. Here are some things that really impress me about the phone... Processing speed and overall responsiveness ... it is very snappy. Never keeps me waiting. Camera ... LOVE the camera. Great low-light performance too. Probably my main reason for picking a Google pixel phone. Size ... just the right size for my hand and fits in any pocket I slip it into. Screen - could be brighter, but otherwise has good color balance and is very crisp. Battery life - haven't run out of juice yet, even with fairly heavy use. Overall I am very pleased with this phone and would buy another one in a heartbeat if anything happened to it.