The alternatives: Other mid-price monsters Screen CPU Cameras Battery Dimensions

There’s no shortage of sensibly priced smartphone competition… but the Pixel 7a’s closest rivals come from Samsung and Apple

Samsung Galaxy A54

from £449 / go.stuff.tv/a54

What’s the story?

With similar styling, a virtually identical UI and some capable cameras, the A54 is purpose-built to appeal to Galaxy S23 fans who can’t stomach paying flagship money for a phone. Last year’s A53 was hampered by underpowered internals, but this latest generation puts that right.

Is it any good?

The frame is plastic and its screen bezels are on the chunky side, but the A54 is otherwise stuffed with features – like IP67 water-resistance, an under-display fingerprint sensor and a punchy AMOLED display. You’ve got to look closely to tell it’s not a Galaxy S23. The 50MP main camera takes vibrant, dynamic photos, and the other snappers are decent enough for the price. Performance is much smoother than the outgoing A53, and the battery lasts all day too. It’s not hugely exciting, but it’s still sure to please Samsung fans.

KEY SPECS

Screen 6.4in 2340x1080 OLED CPU Exynos 1380 Cameras 50+12+5MP rear, 32MP front Battery 5000mah Dimensions 158x77x8.2mm, 202g

Stuff says ★★★★✩

Brings you most of Samsung’s smarts without S23 pricing

Apple iphone SE

from £449 / go.stuff.tv/iphonese

What’s the story?

The third-gen iphone SE is styled an awful lot like the now-six-year-old iphone 8, complete with chunky screen bezels and Touch ID sensor built into the home button. But inside it’s bang up to date, with an Apple A15 Bionic CPU, and it remains the most affordable model in Apple’s 2023 lineup.

Is it any good?

That 4.7in screen is a real throwback, making do with 720p resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate and LCD when the rest of the phone world has moved on to Full HD OLEDS. The single rear camera isn’t all that versatile, although Apple’s image processing still puts in a strong shift. Battery life is mediocre at best, but there’s no doubting performance: the iphone SE can munch through the best-looking games available on the App Store and has equally fast 5G speeds. Still, the tidy iphone 13 Mini isn’t much more expensive than this at £649.

KEY SPECS

4.7in 1334x750 LCD Apple A15 Bionic 12MP rear, 7MP front 2018mah 138x67x7.3mm, 144g

Stuff says ★★★★✩

The affordable IOS option is purely for fans of small screens