We subjected the Google Pixel 7a to our rigorous SBMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in terms of battery life, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we’ll analyze how it performed in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key Specifications:
- Battery Capacity: 4385mAh
- 18W charger (not included)
- 6.1 inch OLED display, 1080 x 2400, 90Hz
- Google Tensor G2 (5 nm)
- ROM / RAM combination tested: 128GB + 8GB
Pros
- Decent battery life while gaming
- Low discharge currents when playing games or streaming videos
- Low consumption of the wired charger itself
Against
- Low battery life overall
- Very low battery life during calls and music streaming
- More than 2 hours to fully charge in wired mode and 3 hours in wireless mode
- Low autonomy recovered after a 5-minute recharge
- Inaccurate battery gauge with 16.8% showing as 20%
The Google Pixel 7a’s battery struggled to keep up in our battery tests, resulting in a low overall score that was only slightly higher than its predecessor, the Pixel 6a. While the Pixel 7a’s updated Tensor chip but slightly smaller battery didn’t help the device’s battery life, its efficiency score was a big improvement over the 6a, leading to a better overall score.
When used moderately, the Google Pixel 7a provided just over 2 days of battery life, which is below average in our database. The device showed very high power consumption during calls and music streaming, but the battery life during video and game streaming was decent.
With a very small 18W wired charger, the battery charging time was quite long, taking 2 hours and 8 minutes to top up the battery. Wireless charging, a first for this model, took 3 hours and 19 minutes to fully charge the battery, making it one of the longest wireless charging times in our database. Also, a 5-minute quick charge provided an average runtime gain of 2 hours and 27 minutes, which is very low compared to other phones.
Charging efficiency was somewhat balanced with decent wired but poor wireless. The residual consumption of the wired charger itself, whether the fully charged device was still plugged in or not, was low. But the residual power consumption was a bit high for the wireless holder when the device was still on the holder. The discharge currents were above average for most activities, except for streaming video and gaming, which were low, indicating that the device is not fully optimized.
Even comparing the Google Pixel 7a to other devices in the high-end segment ($400 – $599), its performance remained poor and below average in terms of battery life. Also in terms of charging and efficiency, the Pixel 7a ranks among the last devices in this segment.
Trial summary
Learn about SBMARK battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, SBMARK engineers conduct a series of objective tests over a one-week period both indoors and outdoors. (See our introduction and how we test articles for more details on our smartphone’s battery protocol.)
The following section compiles the key elements of our extensive testing and analysis performed in the SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
| Drums | Battery charger | wireless | Screen | Processor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Pixel 7a | 4385mAh | 18W (not included) |
– | OLEDs 1080×2400 |
Google Tensor G2 |
| Google Pixel 6a | 4410mAh | 18W (not included) |
– | OLEDs 1080×2400 |
Google Tensor |
| Samsung Galaxy A54 5G | 5000mAh | 25W (not included) |
– | AMOLED 1080×2400 |
Exyno 1380 |
How the Autonomy score is composed
The Battery Life Score is composed of three performance sub-scores: Home/Office, On the Go, and Calibrated Use Cases. Each subscore includes results from a full range of tests to measure range in all kinds of real-life scenarios.
76 hours
Light use
Active: 2h30/day
55 hours
Moderate use
Active: 4h/day
35 hours
Intensive use
Active: 7h/day
Home office
A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a series of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, streaming video, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16 hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device runs out.
In movement
108
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
Using a smartphone on the go has a negative impact on range due to additional “hidden” demands, such as continuous signaling associated with cellular network selection. SBMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a series of precisely defined activities following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, the subway…) for each device
Calibrated
96
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and to ours bots repeatedly perform actions related to a specific use case (like gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting with an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have used at least 5% battery power.
Reload
98
Realme GTNeo 3
Realme GTNeo 3
How the recharge score is composed
Charging is fully part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where range is at its lowest, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The SBMARK Battery Charging Score consists of two subscores, (1) Full Charge and (2) Fast Boost.
Charge complete
97
Black Shark 5Pro
Black Shark 5Pro
The full charge tests evaluate the reliability of the battery charge indicator; measure how long and how much energy it takes for the battery to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the user interface, and to an actual full charge.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
Quick push
100
Realme GTNeo 3
Realme GTNeo 3
With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), the Quick Boost tests measure how much charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The graph here compares the average range gain with a 5-minute quick charge.
Efficiency
100
Oppo Reno6 5G
Oppo Reno6 5G
How the efficiency score is composed
The SBMARK Energy Efficiency Score consists of two subscores, charge rate and discharge rate, which combine both data obtained during a typical robot-based usage scenario, calibrated testing and charge rating, taking into consideration battery capacity of the device. SBMARK calculates the product’s annual energy consumption, shown in the graph below, which is representative of overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.
Charge Up
125
Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
The secondary charge score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, relating to the amount of energy required to recharge the battery compared to the energy the battery can supply; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the remaining consumption when the phone is fully charged and still connected to the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The graph below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %.
Discharge
90
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
The sub-discharge score evaluates how quickly a battery discharges during a test, which is independent of battery capacity. It is the ratio between the capacity of a battery and its autonomy. A small capacity battery may have the same run time as a large capacity battery, indicating that the device is well optimized, with a low discharge rate.
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