Google has launched the new Pixel 7a in more countries around the world, and in some places it’s a better choice than the Pixel 7. Not everywhere, however, the older model has dropped to a similar price point in some places.
In the US, there is a Mother’s Day gift, as well as the old budget flagships from Samsung and OnePlus. In India, the price of the iQOO 11 is starting to drop, but the gaming phone has had some unexpected competition as the PS5 has also become cheaper.
Use the links below to jump to your region:
United States of America
For Mother’s Day, Samsung is offering a free memory upgrade on the Galaxy S23 so your mom doesn’t have to tell people you got her the 128GB model. Plus, you can trade in an old phone for up to $750 in credit.
The new Pixel 7a is $500 on the Google Store with a few freebies: a free pair of Pixel Buds A-Series or Buds Pro for $100, plus a free case. You can also check out this deal from Best Buy, which combines a $50 discount (so the 7a is $450) and a $50 gift card. You might also want to check out the Pixel 7 pricing: the we’ve seen starting at $450, but the price is higher right now.
Google also announced a new Pixel tablet this week. This 11-inch slate has an IPS LCD (2,560 x 1,600 px) and enough battery power to stream video for 12 hours. It’s powered by the same Tensor G2 chip as Pixel phones. The tablet comes bundled with the Charging Speaker Dock, which does what it says on the box (it has a 43.5mm speaker inside). This turns the tablet into a smart display when not in use.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the most capable phones on the market, but that doesn’t mean the S22 Ultra is obsolete. You can pick up a 128GB drive for $750 or the 256GB one for $900 and get a similar experience to the 2023 model while saving a few hundred dollars.
Whether the OnePlus 11 is better than the 10 Pro is up for debate. But considering that the previous model dropped to $450 for an 8/128GB unit (and $550 for a 12/256GB), the OnePlus 11’s $700 price tag (128GB) is starting to look pretty steep. Check out our review for our thoughts on the 11 vs. 10 Pro debate.
The new Motorola Edge+ (2023) looks pretty cool, but not everyone needs an $800 flagship. Last year’s Moto Edge (2022) isn’t a flagship, but it’s a 5G phone for $350 with a 6.6-inch 144Hz AMOLED display, a Dimensity 1050 chipset with 256GB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery with 30W wired and 15W wireless charging.
The Moto G Power 5G launched last month, so it’s newer and $70 cheaper. However, we’re not sure if it’s worth the downgrade. For example, you get a 120Hz IPS LCD, the 50MP main camera has a smaller sensor (0.64µm vs 1.0µm pixels) and no OIS, there’s no ultra-wide module and no battery The 5,000mAh battery only supports 15W wired charging. You still get 256GB of storage, and that too has a microSD slot.
Finally a pair of headphones. Which do you prefer: TWS over-ear or in-ear? If you answered the former, check out the Bose QuietComfort 45. If you chose the latter, here are the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II. Typical for the series, these focus on an ergonomic fit and active noise cancellation.
Germany
The Google Pixel 7a is out now and may have made the Pixel 7 obsolete, though the 7 is still the better phone with a few perks here and there – check out our hands-on Pixel 7a review for more details. That said, the Pixel 7’s price is pretty close to that of the 7a, just $40 more, so it might make even more sense to pick up the older model.
If you decide to use the Pixel 7a, you might want to get a protective case, here’s the official design from Google.
Google also announced a new Pixel tablet this week. This 11-inch slate has an IPS LCD (2,560 x 1,600 px) and enough battery power to stream video for 12 hours. It’s powered by the same Tensor G2 chip as Pixel phones. The tablet comes bundled with the Charging Speaker Dock, which does what it says on the box (it has a 43.5mm speaker inside). This turns the tablet into a smart display when not in use.
Motorola recently launched the Edge 40, but it’s quite expensive (€600 for 8/256GB). You can pick up the older Motorola Edge 30 Fusion (8/128GB) for much less and you’ll get a better chipset (Snapdragon 888+ vs. Dimensity 8020), same screen and cameras, almost the same battery (the Fusion lacks charging wireless). It’s not that pretty, and Motorola will stop its software updates sooner, but the Fusion offers more bang for your buck.
Alternatively, you can grab the Realme GT2 Pro, which goes up to Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It has a larger 6.7″ 120Hz AMOLED display with QHD+ resolution and a 50+50MP camera (the ultra wide angle camera has an impressive field of view angle of 150°), as well as a larger 5,000 mAh battery with 65 W cable-only charging.
The vanilla Realme GT2 is also around and costs €80 less. Down to the Snapdragon 888, the 6.62-inch 120Hz AMOLED display also has FHD+ resolution. You lose the awesome ultra wide angle, instead you get an 8MP unit with a 119° lens. The battery is the same.
Going down to the €200 range, the Motorola Moto G23 features a 6.5” 90Hz IPS LCD with HD+ resolution only. The phone is powered by the Helio G85 and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging. It has a 50MP main camera and a 5MP ultra-wide-angle camera, as well as a 16MP selfie cam.
The Realme C55 costs €20 less, but offers a better screen – 6.72” 90Hz IPS LCD with FHD+ resolution – a similar Helio G88 chipset, a 64MP camera (not ultra wide angle, even just 8MP selfies) , the 5,000mAh/33W battery is the same.
If you prefer Motorola and have resigned yourself to having an HD+ display, you can also take a look at the Moto G13. It costs €47 less and the differences to note are less RAM (4GB versus 8GB), 8MP selfie camera (versus 16MP) and slower charging for the 5,000mAh battery.
Apparently Gen Z is burning out on social media and buying flip phones to disconnect. You too can get the keyboard dialing experience with the Nokia 2660 Flip remake.
UK
The Google Pixel 7a launched this week at a price of £450. The Google Store will give you £100 off Pixel Buds, meaning the Series A is free, while the Pixel Buds Pro are down to £80.
Amazon mostly matches this deal with a free pair of A-Series Pixel Buds (you can’t go with the Buds Pro, however). Either way, the older Pixel 7 costs £530 right now, which is quite a premium considering the 7a is almost as good.
You might want to grab a case for Pixel 7a as well, here’s the official design from Google.
Google also announced a new Pixel tablet this week. This 11-inch slate has an IPS LCD (2,560 x 1,600 px) and enough battery power to stream video for 12 hours. It’s powered by the same Tensor G2 chip as Pixel phones. The tablet comes bundled with the Charging Speaker Dock, which does what it says on the box (it has a 43.5mm speaker inside). This turns the tablet into a smart display when not in use.
The Realme GT2 Pro offers Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 performance at £550. It also has a QHD+ (120Hz AMOLED) display and a fantastic 50MP 150° ultra-wide-angle camera, as well as a fast-charging 5,000mAh battery (wired only). 65W).
It’s expensive, though. The vanilla Realme GT2 is £190 cheaper, but you lose the QHD+ (was FHD+) display, ultra-wide camera, chipset – you get the Snapdragon 888 instead.
The Galaxy A34 is easily better than the Galaxy M33, but it costs £350. And the differences may not be worth the £100, depending on whether you prefer AMOLED (A34) or LCD (M33). The A34 also has a slight edge in the camera department with OIS for the main module and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera (up from 5MP). Both are 5G phones with microSD slots, and the M33 also has a 3.5mm jack.
Alternatively, you can get the Poco X5 for £30 more than the M33. This one has a 120Hz AMOLED display and an 8MP ultrawide (still no OIS on the main cam, though), and the 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging is slightly quicker to charge. The microSD slot and 3.5mm jack are still on board.
If you don’t think you’ll benefit from the extra bandwidth and lower latency of 5G, the Redmi Note 4G is a cheaper way to get a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED, 50+8MP camera (still no OIS ), a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging, plus a microSD slot and 3.5mm jack to boot.
And if you want something even cheaper, the Redmi 12C packs a large 6.7in display, although if you have good eyesight, the HD+ resolution might not be ideal. However, you do get a 50MP camera (not ultra-wide) and a 5,000mAh battery (10W charging) for a relatively low price.
One last thing: if you put a Samsung Galaxy SmartTag in your keys or backpack, you’ll have a much better chance of finding them if you leave them somewhere without realizing it.
India
The iQOO 11 was the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phone in India and it came with a price tag of ₹60,000 for an 8/256GB unit. The price has dropped to ₹55,000 now. This phone packs a massive 6.78 inch LTPO4 AMOLED display with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and has a QHD+ resolution to boot. It has a 5,000mAh battery that can last long gaming sessions, and on a 120W charge it only needs a 25-minute break before it’s ready to continue. The camera setup isn’t great, but it’s not bad either: 50MP 1/1.57″ main module with OIS, 13MP 2x vertical camera and 8MP ultra wide angle.
There’s also the iQOO 9T, which is ₹10,000 cheaper, but isn’t nearly as impressive. The display is the same size, but it’s a 120Hz FHD+ panel. Also, the chipset drops to Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and you only get 128GB of storage instead of 256GB. The camera and battery are quite similar.
The OnePlus 10 Pro also has a QHD+ LTPO display, a 6.7″ 120Hz AMOLED. Though powered by the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, it carries cameras with Hasselblad pedigree: 48MP 1/1.43″ main (with OIS), 50 MP 150° ultra wide angle and 8 MP 3.3x telephoto module. The 5,000mAh battery is slower to charge via cable (at 80W it takes 32 minutes to get to 100%, so it’s not all that slow) and it also supports 50W wireless charging. However, it costs more than the iQOOs.
The Tecno Spark 10 5G is as the name suggests a 5G phone, thanks to the Dimensity 6020 chipset running Android 13. It’s quite affordable and you get some nice features like a 50MP main camera (not ultra wide) and 256GB of storage (plus a microSD slot), the 5,000mAh battery with 18W charging isn’t bad either. It’s not a perfect phone mind you, our least favorite feature is the 6.6″ 90Hz IPS LCD, which is only HD+ resolution.
In the under ₹10,000 department is the Tecno Spark 8 Pro. It has a massive 6.8-inch IPS LCD and has FHD+ resolution to boot. The Helio G85 chipset is quite powerful in this price range, although the Android 11 operating system is quite old. On the plus side, there’s a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging.
iQOO phones are great choices for Android gaming, but you could get a console for that kind of money as the PlayStation 5 (disc version) is down to ₹50,000. If you’re not sure what games you might like, try the PlayStaion Plus service – it gives you access to a huge selection of titles (with new ones added every month). The Essential plan costs ₹3,000 per year, Extra costs ₹5,000 per year, and the Deluxe subscription costs ₹5,750 per year.
The PS5 natively supports online gaming, of course, but you could pick up a second DualSense controller and play local multiplayer as well.
Plus, there’s the Sony INZONE H7 headset. It’s wireless, but comes with a USB dongle that allows for a low latency connection. The headset also supports Bluetooth, so you can pair it with both your PS5 and your phone at the same time. The microphone is there for voice chat when needed and can be titled, which automatically mutes it.
Start a new Thread