At this point, Google has almost perfected the midrange smartphone formula. The Pixel 7a builds upon the success of its predecessor and does justice to the title of ‘flagship killer’ by implementing a plethora of welcome improvements, while retailing at a reasonable price tag. Luckily, the fact that the Pixel 7a is on the more affordable side, does not come at the expense of build quality. But just how sturdy is Google’s latest midranger? With summer practically here, should you be taking your Pixel 7a to the beach? Time to find out.
Pixel 7a: Is it Waterproof?
The Pixel 7a features IP67 certification, which essentially means the device is both water and dust resistant. The key work here is ‘resistant’ - the handset can survive total water immersion for a limited amount of time, but is not waterproof per se. More precisely, the Pixel 7a is guaranteed by the manufacturer to withstand submersion at a maximum depth of 1 meter for 30 minutes. A couple of things are worth noting. Firstly, the advertised level of protection is only applicable to brand-new Pixel 7a devices. With time, the smartphone will likely become more susceptible to damage from water and dust particles. Secondly, just because the Pixel 7a is water-resistant does not mean it can survive exposure to all types of liquids - contact with salt water can still be incredibly harmful, for example.
What does IP67 mean?
For reference, the ingress protection (IP) index seeks to assess the extent to which a device is protected from being accidentally damaged by liquids and/or external small particles, like dust and sand. A typical IP certification consists of 2 digits: the first represents the dust-resistance level, while the second - the water-resistance one. In the case of the Pixel 7a, the ‘6’ indicates complete protection from dust, while the ‘7’ stands for the aforementioned degree of water resistance (i.e. total submersion in up to 1 meters of water for 30 minutes).
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