Amazon includes a $50 gift card when you order the Google Pixel 7a

Google’s excellent Pixel 7a just hit the market for an already solid price of $499, but you can now save more thanks to a deal at Amazon. If you order now, you get a free $50 Amazon gift card that can be used for other purchases, effectively bringing the price down to $449 if you plan to order other things from Amazon. 

The Pixel 7a not only received praise in our Engadget review, but instantly became the best midrange Android smartphone in our latest roundup. Google has nailed the balance between price and performance, offering the same Tensor G2 chip as the Pixel 7, along with a 90Hz display, wireless charging and a higher-resolution rear camera. 

The two big changes over the Pixel 6a are a new high-res 64-MP main cam in back, along with a front 13-MP selfie camera can record videos in 4K. The Pixel 7a beats other smartphone cameras in its price range so handily for photography and video that it actually needs to be compared to flagship devices like the Pixel 7 Pro and Samsung’s S23 Ultra. 

The extra resolution goes a long way to eliminating any concerns about the lack of a telephoto, as you can zoom in four times and still get a 16-megapixel image. And Google’s Night Sight mode remains the best in the business, even though it does add a little more noise than we expected. 

In sum, the Pixel 7a delivers 95 percent of what you get from the regular Pixel 7, but for $100 less. The deal gives you a $50 Amazon card on top of that, which could be spent on accessories like a protective case. More importantly, you get a rare thing — a deal on a Google Pixel phone that just entered the market.