Google Pixel 6a overview

Greatest Costs Right now: Google Pixel 6a

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Telephones aren’t as small as they was once however the Google Pixel 6a is about as compact an Android cellphone as you will get as of late. This is without doubt one of the finest issues about it, together with its glorious efficiency, digicam, and its reasonably priced value.

The Pixel 6a is Google’s cheaper model of its October 2021 Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional telephones. The 6a retains a few of these units’ dearer options however ditches others to drive the worth proper right down to a really palatable $449/£399/€459.

A couple of corners have been minimize and there are different mid-range telephones on the market that provide increased specs, however having used the Pixel 6a day by day as my major cellphone, I feel it’s top-of-the-line telephones you should buy for the cash – and the Pixel most individuals can purchase as an alternative of the Pixel 6 or 6 Professional.

Design & Construct

• Two-tone color choices
• Plastic again simply scratches
• Stable premium really feel
• IP67

When you don’t just like the look of the unique Pixel 6 then you’re out of luck with the 6a, which appears like somebody clicked and dragged the highest nook of it down in Photoshop and shrunk the entire thing a bit.

If it’s the smallest cellphone out there that you really want, the 6a isn’t it. At 152.2mm (to be exact) it’s taller than the 138.4mm iPhone SE 2022 and the 131.5mm iPhone 13 mini.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The 6a continues to be a big cellphone, it’s simply not as giant as most different slab smartphones on the market, particularly the big Pixel 6 Professional. Its angular and boxy design nonetheless feels good to carry due to rounded aluminium edges, however I nonetheless can’t attain the highest of the display with a thumb when utilizing one-handed (I do have fairly small fingers, however nonetheless).

The display is flat reasonably than curve edged, and my black overview unit is essentially unremarkable save for that digicam ‘bar’ design on the again identical to the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional. It protrudes a lot lower than its greater brothers, which is a aid.

The distinction on the 6a is the 2 digicam sensors are housed in a small pill-shaped blob on the left of the black bar that’s camouflaged by additionally being black, with a round flash on the fitting. On the opposite Pixel 6 fashions, the lenses are unfold out throughout the size of the bar.

You may choose from three color choices which have two-tone designs with the small strip above the digicam a distinct color to the bigger part beneath. I reviewed the charcoal color which is darkish gray on the underside and lighter gray on the highest.

Google

A giant draw back to the 6a is the sturdiness of the rear panel, which is made from a composite plastic reasonably than sturdy glass. My charcoal unit picked up an unlimited variety of scratches after lower than per week. Two weeks in and the factor appeared extra battered than telephones I’ve had for over a 12 months, and I’m particularly cautious with my telephones. I think about the inexperienced (Google calls it sage) color may even present scratches, however perhaps the white (chalk) would cover them higher. The white would additionally higher cover fingerprints and smears, which the charcoal doesn’t.

I wasn’t despatched a case, so I used the cellphone with out one in London and on vacation overseas. Google says there’s Gorilla Glass 3 on the show and this received no scratches, however the again appears a little bit of a multitude. It’s additionally very arduous to {photograph} this to indicate you:

Henry Burrell / Foundry

The cellphone scratching simply is a minor niggle with what’s in any other case a really well-built cellphone that feels extra premium than it prices and packs in IP67 mud and water resistance.

Display & Audio system

• 6.1in AMOLED
• Solely 60Hz refresh fee
• Wonderful color and brightness
• Stereo audio system

The display is a 6.1in AMOLED, placing this cellphone within the ‘small’ cellphone camp – not really small like telephones was once, however extra compact than most fashionable Android slabs.

That display sadly solely has a 60Hz refresh fee. Different telephones at this value have increased refresh charges that make content material scroll smoother, such because the £399 Nothing Cellphone (1) with 120Hz and the £369 OnePlus Nord 2T with 90Hz. Google might certainly have stretched to this however in all probability needs to upsell patrons after such a function to its 90Hz-toting Pixel 6.

Fortunately the show of the 6a is great with superb brightness, with issues solely arduous to see within the harshest direct daylight. I missed the next refresh fee at first, however I quickly forgot that it was a 60Hz display. It’s an excellent panel with glorious color replica and sharpness that’s miles higher than the 720p show on the $429/£419/€529 iPhone SE 2022.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

There’s a black bezel all the way in which across the flat panel with a contact extra to the chin than the highest of the cellphone, and a selfie cut-out digicam within the centre on the prime of the display.

The stereo audio system can play audio at a good readability and quantity and are adequate for podcasts within the kitchen or making video calls.

Specs & Efficiency

• Similar Tensor chip as Pixel 6
• Beautifully quick
• 6GB/128GB solely

The place the Pixel 6a shine is in efficiency. That’s as a result of Google determined to cram its Tensor processor into it, the identical chip used within the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional.

Paired with 6GB RAM, the 6a completely flies by way of all the things and is a mid-range cellphone with real flagship efficiency. It’s the primary time Google has opted to place the chip from its major telephones into its A collection mannequin the identical era, and it’s well worth the trade-off in different places, reminiscent of within the 60Hz display.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

There’s just one mannequin out there with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. That is lots sufficient for my utilization however there’s no microSD slot for expandable storage must you ever fill it up. As with each different Pixel, that is additionally solely a single SIM cellphone, which is a draw back – so many Android telephones have twin SIM slots and so ought to Pixels. That stated, there may be an choice so as to add a second line as an eSIM, which is midway there in case you do need or want two numbers.

We often run benchmark exams on all telephones we overview at Tech Advisor utilizing apps reminiscent of Geekbench 5, however the Pixel 6a unit I acquired wouldn’t obtain them. Within the Play Retailer, they confirmed as not suitable.

Google informed me it had blocked benchmarking apps on the overview models forward of launch “to keep away from benchmark and machine spec leaks”. A spokesperson stated I used to be free to sideload the apps as an alternative, which I did for Geekbench 5 and GFXBench, which measure CPU and common efficiency respectively. The beneath chart reveals how the Pixel 6a stacks up towards telephones of the same value.

A beautiful improve from the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional is the in-screen fingerprint sensor, which I discovered to be much more responsive. It really works each time with out fail, and I didn’t need to retrain it with my thumbprint in any respect.

Battery Life & Charging

• Prices scorching
• Restricted to 18W
• No wi-fi charging

The Pixel 6a has glorious battery life however prices fairly slowly at a most of 18W. I say most as a result of there’s no charger within the field, solely a USB-C to C cable, so that you’ll have to purchase a charging brick with a USB-C output, or use one other charger (there’s no wi-fi charging). The Pixel 6 and 6 Professional additionally ship with out chargers however have a most pace of 30W. From empty, the 6a prices to 22% in quarter-hour, 42% in half-hour, and to 100% in a single hour and 50 minutes.

The OnePlus Nord 2T is cheaper than the Pixel 6a however comes with an 80W charger within the field that prices to 100% in half-hour, which makes Google look stingy on each included equipment and pace.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

I juiced the 6a with numerous chargers and located it constantly prices fairly scorching. I don’t know if it is because a few of the chargers might output greater than 18W, however when a cellphone ships and not using a charger and with no instruction within the field or within the cellphone’s software program about what sort of cable or brick to make use of, that is the expertise most individuals will get once they seize the closest (or least expensive) charger.

A cellphone shouldn’t be this scorching when charging. Over time such warmth might result in battery degradation, however that is unimaginable to inform proper now. In the mean time, the 6a has strong, all-day battery life. Even roaming overseas on 4G all day whereas taking tons of pictures by no means noticed me dip beneath 20%.

Cameras & Video

• 12.2Mp major digicam
• 12Mp ultrawide
• Very good stills processing

Whereas Google gave the Pixel 6a the Tensor chip from its premium telephones, the identical can’t be stated of the digicam. In truth, it’s the primary time an A-series Pixel just isn’t getting the identical major sensor because the corresponding common Pixels, and that may be a disgrace – the 50Mp sensor on the Pixel 6 is excellent.

As an alternative, the 6a has a 12.2Mp f/1.7 Sony IMX363 sensor with optical picture stabilisation. This is identical sensor Google used from the Pixel 3 to Pixel 5 period.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

I personally would have reasonably had the newer 50Mp lens and a lower-powered processor, however Google has modified its method. The excellent news is the principle digicam on the 6a continues to be phenomenally good – it simply isn’t fairly pretty much as good because the Pixel 6 or 6 Professional within the element it may well seize, however Google’s post-processing in software program is so good, that variations are barely noticeable.

In much more excellent news, the ultrawide 12Mp f/2.2 Sony IMX386 lens is identical one used within the pricier 6 fashions.

As anticipated, nonetheless pictures are prime drawer and simply compete with telephones three or 4 occasions the worth. I in contrast a number of comparable pictures I took on vacation with these taken on my spouse’s iPhone 13, and I constantly most popular the daylight pictures of the Pixel. They sport the contrasty processing Pixels are recognized for the place the iPhone has leant extra not too long ago into pure shades, typically to a fault.

In low gentle, the iPhone was significantly better than the Pixel, higher at dealing with tough sundown scenes and rendering element higher. The Pixel’s Night time Sight for pitch black pictures continues to be good, however it’s a couple of generations behind the iPhone now, significantly on the 6a with the older major sensor.

However the iPhone 13 prices much more than the Pixel 6a. I’d fortunately use the 6a as my solely digicam on a day-to-day foundation – it’s that good. Add to that the very succesful ultrawide that doesn’t fish-eye scenes like cheaper telephones do, and it’s a really succesful setup for a mid-range smartphone (miles higher than the iPhone SE 2022).

There’s no zoom lens, so it’s important to depend on digital zoom from the principle sensor however that’s normal for mid-range telephones. Google’s Tremendous Res Zoom function can zoom in as much as 7x, however outcomes are fairly blotchy and grainy on inspection as all digital zoom tends to be, however the 2x zoom is strong and satisfactory for social media pictures.

The 8Mp f/2.0 selfie digicam has a good 84 diploma discipline of view and takes strong selfies, although the portrait mode struggles to select up strands of hair and doesn’t appear to be as in step with outcomes as it’s from the principle rear digicam.

Apart from fundamental nonetheless picture taking pictures (which, let’s face it, is 99% of all cellular pictures for 99% of individuals) the 6a additionally has each single digicam software program function from the Pixel 6 apart from the lengthy publicity movement mode.      

Magic Eraser can cleverly erase individuals or issues from pictures even when it does require a bit endurance as typically it will get it mistaken. It’s finest to have a plain background or the smarts get confused and blur the mistaken colors collectively, however it’s nonetheless spectacular on the entire.

A brand new function is Camouflage, which reasonably than deleting issues from pictures as an alternative adjustments their color to raised mix right into a scene. Huge orange seaside ball distracting from smiling faces on the seaside? Flip it the color of sand. It’s a barely bizarre function however it does work nicely.

Inbuilt too are superb options like Face Deblur, which does precisely what it says very nicely. The digicam works by taking a number of pictures both facet of whenever you really faucet the shutter button. In case your topic strikes their head a bit leading to blur, the cellphone can inform this and mechanically makes use of all of the picture information to right it.

That is additionally a part of the function High Shot, which data a brief video to associate with your picture if the cellphone reckons it’s price it, autoplaying of which may be toggled off within the Pictures app when trying by way of pictures.

Actual Tone can also be an excellent function that higher reproduces pores and skin tones precisely due to Google’s work to tune its processing algorithms. Different telephones overprocess some pores and skin tones inaccurately, so the Pixel is an efficient alternative on this regard.

Throw in 4K video recording at 60fps and it’s a well-featured digicam app. There’s even a speech enhancement mode that isolates vocal audio and cuts out background noise, although solely works on the selfie digicam, so it’s a helpful function if you’re recording a video message for somebody in conjunction with a motorway. Or one thing.

Software program & Updates

• Clear Android 12
• Three years of Android updates
• 5 years of safety updates

Google provides 5 years of safety updates for the cellphone, so its ultimate replace will land in July 2027 in idea. There’s solely three years of Android platform updates although, so the 6a will solely get these till July 2025 – probably Android 15, because the 6a is launching with Android 12, not Android 13.

You’ll get new variations of Android earlier than third-party producers although.

Android 12 is a pleasure to make use of. It appears nice and performs simply in addition to on a Pixel 6 Professional – no imply feat. The included new ‘Nature swept’ wallpapers are proper up my avenue (see one in motion beneath), and the color picker that takes 4 colors from no matter wallpaper you’ve and allows you to choose it because the icon and accent color for the entire OS is great.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

It’s rolling out to extra Google apps like Gmail too, so there’s an actual unity to the entire aesthetic. I favor operating the cellphone in darkish mode.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The all the time on show is my favorite of any cellphone, with simplicity one of the best factor about it. It reveals time, date, and climate, with full notification banners in case you so select too. There’s additionally the superb Now Taking part in function that cleverly listens to no matter music is enjoying and shows the observe and artist, all from an offline database saved on the cellphone. You may faucet the tune and begin streaming it from a number of streaming providers, not simply Google’s personal YouTube Music.

Google’s voice-to-text smarts and the Stay Transcribe function in its Recorder app are current and glorious in an space Google trumps Apple, which is enjoying meet up with its dictation function in iOS 16.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Worth & Availability

The Pixel 6a prices $449/£399/€459 and is on the market to pre-order from Google within the US, UK, and Europe. Pre-orders made earlier than the cellphone goes on common sale on 28 July additionally get you a free pair of Pixel Buds A-series price $99/£99/€99.

It’s additionally on sale unlocked within the US now at Greatest Purchase and Amazon.

Within the UK you may choose it up from Amazon, Carphone Warehouse, Mobiles.co.uk, EE, and John Lewis with most doing the identical Pixel Buds deal.

The 6a prices the identical because the 2021 $449 Pixel 5a that was solely out there within the US and Japan, however greater than the $349/£349/€349 Pixel 4a from 2020.

I like to recommend it over the $429/£419/€529 iPhone SE 2022, which trumps the 6a with wi-fi charging and software program OS replace assist however that’s about it. Every little thing in regards to the Pixel is best – display, digicam, design.

Samsung’s Galaxy A53 5G is £399/$449/€449 however has horrible efficiency, whereas the £399/€469 Nothing Cellphone (1) has excellent design however show points and an inferior digicam to the Pixel. It’s a crowded value bracket, however the Pixel comes out on prime.

Try all of your choices in our greatest mid-range telephones chart.

Verdict

Regardless of the upper value than earlier A-series Pixels, you’re solely paying barely extra for the Pixel 6a, an outstanding mid-range cellphone with a flagship-level processor, really excellent major digicam, 5G, the newest model of Android, 5 years of safety assist, and a extra pocket-friendly design.

Downsides are the gradual charging speeds on a cellphone that prices scorching, the simply scratched rear plastic materials, and the 60Hz show lagging behind equally priced telephones. But, this can be a Pixel, which suggests it has a superlative Android expertise and digicam with a software program polish and premium {hardware} really feel you received’t discover on different manufacturers on this value vary.

Specs

• Android 12
• 6.1in 60Hz gOLED show
• Google Tensor chip
• 6GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• Rear cameras:
  • 12Mp IMX363 major lens with OIS
  • 12Mp IMX386 ultrawide lens
• 8Mp IMX355 selfie digicam
• 4400mAh battery
• 18W wired charging
• 5G
• Stereo audio system
• Wi-Fi 6
• Bluetooth 5.2
• NFC
• IP67
• Gorilla Glass 3 show
• 71.8 x 152.16 x 8.85mm
• 178g