At a look
Skilled’s Ranking
Professionals
- High drawer efficiency
- Smaller dimension
- Excellent digicam
- Strong battery life
- Assured software program updates
Cons
- Rear plastic scratches simply
- Expenses gradual and sizzling
- Solely 60Hz show
Our Verdict
A superlative mid-range telephone and probably the greatest worth Android telephones you should purchase, the Pixel 6a crams in the very best bits from the costlier Pixel 6 and 6 Professional at a really engaging worth, however you may be tempted by the newer Pixel 7a.
Worth When Reviewed
$449
Finest Costs Right this moment: Google Pixel 6a
$349.00
$349.00
Up to date on 17 Could 2023: Google has lowered the value of the Pixel 6a to $349/£349/€409.
Telephones aren’t as small as they was once however the Google Pixel 6a is about as compact an Android telephone as you may get nowadays. This is likely one of the greatest issues about it, together with its glorious efficiency, digicam, and its reasonably priced worth.
The Pixel 6a is Google’s cheaper model of its Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional telephones. The 6a retains a few of these units’ costlier options however ditches others to drive the value proper right down to a really palatable $349/£349/€409 – a everlasting worth drop so it’s now cheaper than when it launched in 2022.
A couple of corners have been lower and there are different mid-range telephones on the market that provide greater specs, however having used the Pixel 6a each day as my important telephone, I believe it’s probably the greatest telephones you should purchase for the cash – and the Pixel most individuals can buy as an alternative of the Pixel 6 or 6 Professional.
As of Could 2023, there’s additionally now the newer Pixel 7a to contemplate. It has some neat upgrades, however it’s costlier than the Pixel 6a, which is now bought for lower than it launched at.
Design & Construct
- Two-tone color choices
- Plastic again simply scratches
- Strong premium really feel
- IP67
Should 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 just a little.
If it’s the smallest telephone accessible 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 remains to be a big telephone, 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 because of rounded aluminium edges, however I nonetheless can’t attain the highest of the display screen with a thumb when utilizing one-handed (I do have fairly small arms, however nonetheless).
The display screen is flat moderately than curve edged, and my black overview unit is basically 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 suitable. On the opposite Pixel 6 fashions, the lenses are unfold out throughout the size of the bar.
You’ll be able to decide from three color choices which have two-tone designs with the small strip above the digicam a special color to the bigger part beneath. I reviewed the charcoal color which is darkish gray on the underside and lighter gray on the highest.
A giant draw back to the 6a is the sturdiness of the rear panel, which is product of a composite plastic moderately than sturdy glass. My charcoal unit picked up an infinite variety of scratches after lower than every 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 also present scratches, however possibly 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 initially, so I used the telephone with out one in London and on vacation overseas. Google says there’s Gorilla Glass 3 on the show and this bought no scratches, however the again appears a little bit of a large number. It’s additionally very exhausting to {photograph} this to indicate you:
Henry Burrell / Foundry
The telephone scratching simply is a minor niggle with what’s in any other case a really well-built telephone that feels extra premium than it prices and packs in IP67 mud and water resistance.
I then used Google’s official case for some time, and whereas I like the texture of the surprisingly sturdy plastic design, it stays to be seen if it will definitely discolours just like the circumstances for the 6 and 6 professional reportedly have.
Display screen & Audio system
- 6.1in AMOLED
- Solely 60Hz refresh charge
- Glorious color and brightness
- Stereo audio system
The display screen is a 6.1in AMOLED, placing this telephone within the ‘small’ telephone camp – not truly small like telephones was once, however extra compact than most fashionable Android slabs.
That display screen sadly solely has a 60Hz refresh charge. Different telephones at this worth have greater refresh charges that make content material scroll smoother, such because the £399 Nothing Telephone (1) with 120Hz and the £369 OnePlus Nord 2T with 90Hz. Google may absolutely have stretched to this however most likely desires to upsell patrons after such a characteristic to its 90Hz-toting Pixel 6.
Fortunately the show of the 6a is great with excellent brightness, with issues solely exhausting to see within the harshest direct daylight. I missed a better refresh charge at first, however I quickly forgot that it was a 60Hz display screen. 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 best way across the flat panel with a contact extra to the chin than the highest of the telephone, and a selfie cut-out digicam within the centre on the high of the display screen.
The stereo audio system can play audio at a good readability and quantity and are ok 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 all the things and is a mid-range telephone with real flagship efficiency. It’s the primary time Google has opted to place the chip from its important telephones into its A sequence mannequin the identical technology, and it’s well worth the trade-off in different places, reminiscent of within the 60Hz display screen.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
There’s just one mannequin accessible with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. That is a lot 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 telephone, which is a draw back – so many Android telephones have twin SIM slots and so ought to Pixels. That stated, there’s an possibility 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 advised me it had blocked benchmarking apps on the overview models forward of launch “to keep away from benchmark and system 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 basic efficiency respectively. The beneath chart exhibits how the Pixel 6a stacks up in opposition to telephones of the same worth.
A stunning improve from the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional is the in-screen fingerprint sensor, which I discovered to be way more responsive. It really works each time with out fail, and I didn’t should retrain it with my thumbprint in any respect.
Battery Life & Charging
- Expenses sizzling
- Restricted to 18W
- No wi-fi charging
The Pixel 6a has glorious battery life however expenses 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 expenses 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 expenses to 100% in half-hour, which makes Google look stingy on each included equipment and pace.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
I juiced the 6a with varied chargers and located it constantly expenses fairly sizzling. I don’t know if it’s because a few of the chargers may output greater than 18W, however when a telephone ships and not using a charger and with no instruction within the field or within the telephone’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 telephone shouldn’t be this sizzling when charging. Over time such warmth may result in battery degradation, however that is not possible 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 important digicam
- 12Mp ultrawide
- Excellent stills processing
Whereas Google gave the Pixel 6a the Tensor chip from its premium telephones, the identical can’t be stated of the digicam. Actually, it’s the primary time an A-series Pixel is just not getting the identical important 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 similar sensor Google used from the Pixel 3 to Pixel 5 period.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
I personally would have moderately had the newer 50Mp lens and a lower-powered processor, however Google has modified its strategy. The excellent news is the principle digicam on the 6a remains to be phenomenally good – it simply isn’t fairly pretty much as good because the Pixel 6 or 6 Professional within the element it might 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 similar one used within the pricier 6 fashions.
As anticipated, nonetheless pictures are high drawer and simply compete with telephones three or 4 occasions the value. I in contrast a number of comparable photographs I took on vacation with these taken on my spouse’s iPhone 13, and I constantly most well-liked the daylight photographs of the Pixel. They sport the contrasty processing Pixels are identified for the place the iPhone has leant extra not too long ago into pure shades, generally to a fault.
In low mild, the iPhone was significantly better than the Pixel, higher at dealing with troublesome sundown scenes and rendering element higher. The Pixel’s Evening Sight for pitch black pictures remains to be good, however it’s just a few generations behind the iPhone now, notably on the 6a with the older important 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 you must depend on digital zoom from the principle sensor however that’s normal for mid-range telephones. Google’s Tremendous Res Zoom characteristic 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 photographs.
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 according to outcomes as it’s from the principle rear digicam.
Other than fundamental nonetheless photograph capturing (which, let’s face it, is 99% of all cellular images for 99% of individuals) the 6a additionally has each single digicam software program characteristic from the Pixel 6 aside from the lengthy publicity movement mode.
Magic Eraser can cleverly erase folks or issues from pictures even when it does require just a little endurance as generally it will get it incorrect. It’s greatest to have a plain background or the smarts get confused and blur the incorrect colors collectively, however it’s nonetheless spectacular on the entire.
A brand new characteristic is Camouflage, which moderately than deleting issues from photographs as an alternative adjustments their color to higher mix right into a scene. Huge orange seashore ball distracting from smiling faces on the seashore? Flip it the color of sand. It’s a barely bizarre characteristic however it does work properly.
In-built too are excellent options like Face Deblur, which does precisely what it says very properly. The digicam works by taking a number of photographs both aspect of once you truly faucet the shutter button. In case your topic strikes their head just a little leading to blur, the telephone can inform this and mechanically makes use of all of the picture information to right it.
That is additionally a part of the characteristic High Shot, which data a brief video to go together with your picture if the telephone reckons it’s price it, autoplaying of which will be toggled off within the Images app when wanting by pictures.
Actual Tone can be an excellent characteristic that higher reproduces pores and skin tones precisely because of 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 useful characteristic if you’re recording a video message for somebody in conjunction with a motorway. Or one thing.
Software program & Updates
- Clear Android 12 (at launch)
- Three years of Android updates
- 5 years of safety updates
Google provides 5 years of safety updates for the telephone, so its remaining 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 – possible Android 15, because the 6a is launched 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 may have and allows you to choose it because the icon and accent color for the entire OS is excellent.
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 telephone in darkish mode.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
The at all times on show is my favorite of any telephone, with simplicity the very best factor about it. It exhibits time, date, and climate, with full notification banners in case you so select too. There’s additionally the wonderful Now Enjoying characteristic that cleverly listens to no matter music is taking part in and shows the observe and artist, all from an offline database saved on the telephone. You’ll be able to faucet the track 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 Dwell Transcribe characteristic in its Recorder app are current and glorious in an space Google trumps Apple, which is taking part in meet up with its dictation characteristic in iOS 16.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Worth & Availability
The Pixel 6a prices $349/£349/€409 and is available for purchase from Google within the US, UK, and Europe.
It’s additionally on sale unlocked within the US now at Finest Purchase and Amazon.
Within the UK you may decide it up from Amazon, Carphone Warehouse, Mobiles.co.uk, EE, Vodafone, and John Lewis.
Try our full the place to purchase the Pixel 6a article for the US and UK.
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 help however that’s about it. Every little thing concerning the Pixel is healthier – display screen, digicam, design.
Samsung’s Galaxy A53 5G is £399/$449/€449 however has horrible efficiency, whereas the £399/€469 Nothing Telephone (1) has excellent design however show points and an inferior digicam to the Pixel. It’s a crowded worth bracket, however the Pixel comes out on high.
You may be tempted by the newer Pixel 7a, which is costlier than the 6a however provides a brand new digicam sensor, 90Hz show, and wi-fi charging.
Try all of your choices in our greatest mid-range telephones chart.
Verdict
Regardless of the upper worth than earlier A-series Pixels, you’re solely paying barely extra for the Pixel 6a, an excellent mid-range telephone with a flagship-level processor, really excellent important digicam, 5G, the newest model of Android, 5 years of safety help, and a extra pocket-friendly design.
Downsides are the gradual charging speeds on a telephone that expenses sizzling, the simply scratched rear plastic materials, and the 60Hz show lagging behind equally priced telephones. But, it is a Pixel, which suggests it has a superlative Android expertise and digicam with a software program polish and premium {hardware} really feel you gained’t discover on different manufacturers on this worth vary.
If you’d like a more moderen (however costlier) telephone you may think about the Pixel 7a.
Specs
- Android 12
- 6.1in 60Hz gOLED show
- Google Tensor chip
- 6GB RAM
- 128GB storage
- Rear cameras:
- 12Mp IMX363 important 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