Home Phone comparison Google Pixel 7a and Google Pixel 3 - Which is better?

Google Pixel 7a vs Google Pixel 3

68 out 100
Google Pixel 7a
VS
44 out 100
Google Pixel 3
Google Pixel 7a
Google Pixel 3

Compared 2 smartphones : Google Pixel 7a Manufactured in May, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetGoogle Tensor G2, vs Google Pixel 3, Manufactured in November, 2018 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 845. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Google Pixel 7a
  • Larger display: 6.1in
  • Higher refresh rate: 90Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 4385mAh vs 2915mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
Reasons to choose Google Pixel 3
  • Higher pixel density: 439ppi
  • Lighter design: 148g vs 193.5g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options 8/128 GB - 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB

Review

Key Specs Google Pixel 7a and Google Pixel 3
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Google Pixel 7a
vs
Google Pixel 3

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.1 in 5.5 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2160 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 18:9
Pixel density 429 ppi 439 ppi
Refresh rate 90 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 700 nits 420 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10
Screen-to-body ratio 81.1 % 78.7 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Google Pixel 7a
1067 nits
Google Pixel 3
395 nits
sRGB gamut98.4 %99.6 %
PWM (Flicker)218 Hz245 Hz
Response time2 ms4.4 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Google Pixel 7a], [Google Pixel 3]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 152 mm (5.98 in) 145.6 mm (5.73 in)
Width 72.9 mm (2.87 in) 68.2 mm (2.69 in)
Thickness 9 mm (0.35 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 193.5 g (6.83 oz) 148 g (5.22 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Blue
- Orange		 - White
- Black
- Pink
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Google Pixel 7a
81.1 %
Google Pixel 3
78.7 %

Performance

Testing Google Pixel 7a and Google Pixel 3 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Google Tensor G2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Max Frequency 2850 MHz 2500 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.35 (Cortex-A78)
- 2/2.85 (Cortex-X1)		 - 4/1.8 (Kryo 385 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 4/2.8 (Kryo 385 Gold (Cortex-A75))
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Next-gen Tensor Processing Unit Hexagon 685
Graphics Mali-G710 MP7 Adreno 630
GPU Cores 672 512
GPU Frequency 850 MHz 710 MHz
FLOPS 1142.4 GFLOPS 727 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Google Pixel 7a
1443
Google Pixel 3
734
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Google Pixel 7a
3493
Google Pixel 3
1882
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1443734
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)34931882
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Google Pixel 7a]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Google Pixel 7a
930436
Google Pixel 3
405358
CPU255576122440
GPU325623105572
Memory14984391809
UX19939485537
NanoReview Score930436405358
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Google Pixel 7a
6343
Google Pixel 3
1647
Max Surface Temp.50.8 °C39.8 °C
Stability65 %93 %
Graphics Test37 fps9 fps
Graphics Score63431647
Sources: 3DMark [Google Pixel 7a], [Google Pixel 3]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Google Pixel 7a
10609
Google Pixel 3
8745
Writing score150489549
Web score75006855
Video editing63626398
Data manipulation105046440
NanoReview Score106098745

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 64 GB
- 128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 2.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 15) Android 9.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12)
OS Size n/a 12 GB
UI Skin Stock Android Stock Android

Battery

Volume 4385 mAh 2915 mAh
Max Charging Power 18 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (20% in 36 min) Yes Quick Charge 4 (50% in 40 min)
Full Charge Time 1:57 h 2:00 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Google Pixel 7a
19:16
Google Pixel 3
15:14
Web Browsing08:24 h05:20 h
Video Playback13:40 h09:37 h
Games05:06 h03:31 h
Standby Mode76 h78 h

Main camera

Matrix 64 MP 122 MP
Photo resolution 9000x7000 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 13 MP		 Standard: 12.2 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix64 MP122 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.8
Focal length26 mm28 mm
SensorSony IMX787Sony IMX363
Sensor size1/1.731/2.55
Pixel size0.8 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix13 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
SensorSony IMX712n/a
Sensor size1/3.06n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Google Pixel 7a
138
Google Pixel 3
103
Video quality
Google Pixel 7a
133
Google Pixel 3
98
Overall camera score
Google Pixel 7a
133
Google Pixel 3
101
Bokeh70n/a
Preview69n/a
Zoom105n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Google Pixel 7a], [Google Pixel 3]

Front camera

Matrix 13 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture n/a f/1.8
Focal length n/a 28 mm
Sensor n/a Sony IMX355
Sensor size n/a 1/3.2
Pixel size n/a 1.4 μm
Autofocus n/a Phase autofocus
Stabilization n/a Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Google Pixel 7a
136
Google Pixel 3
124
Video quality
Google Pixel 7a
146
Google Pixel 3
121

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE category2016
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Google Pixel 7a
90.4 dB
Google Pixel 3
84.9 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced May, 2023 yr October, 2018 yr
Release Date May, 2023 yr November, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 499 800
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Google Pixel 7a the clear winner in this comparison.

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