Game-changing Pixel 7a means no need to spend more than $450 for a phone ever again!

Although it turned out to be a great phone (following several software updates), I still regret spending $900 on my Pixel 6 Pro, especially because I could get it for half the price right now! Anyway, that's why there's a category of phones called "mid-range".

In all fairness, it's rather tricky to define which phone qualifies as "mid-range", but the general consensus is that they shouldn't cost more than $500 while simultaneously managing to give you the best features and value possible.

The mid-range category is also often made up of "flagship-killer" phones, which take the value proposition to a slightly higher level, trying to compete with proper flagships - priced at proper flagship prices ($700-1,200). Some recent examples of very good-excellent mid-range devices include Google's Pixel 6a, Apple's iPhone SE (2022), and the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G. But as it turns out, those 2022 phones won't hold a candle to what's to come in 2023!

One particular contender for mid-range phone of the year 2023 (and arguably just "phone of the year") is now expected to be the Google Pixel 7a! But what's more interesting is that the $450-500 mid-ranger might also turn out to be the only Android phone you might want to buy regardless of price!

Could Google make Samsung and Apple's $1,000 flagship phones look more overpriced than ever? Or even shoot itself in the foot and make the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro look irrelevant thanks to the Pixel 7a, which (rumor has it) is supposed to lack "nothing" that more expensive, flagship phones have?

$450-500 Pixel 7a to offer practically the same features as $1,200 Android flagships and iPhones for a fraction of the price

Although Google, Samsung, and Apple (and, of course, other phone-makers) have been making killer mid-range phones for a while now, they've always been missing something - whether it's the software polish or some hardware features that many would appreciate...

For example, Apple's iPhone SE has carried the company's old design since 2016, while Samsung's Galaxy "A" series of mid-range phones have been lacking a flagship-grade processor that allows the phones to stay fast in the long run (or often even in the short term).

In fact, Google's own Pixel 6a - the company's current mid-range contender also lacks a few hardware features found on more expensive phones, such as wireless charging, larger/newer camera sensors, and most notably, a smoother 90-120Hz display.