Verdict
The Pixel 6a is a small , powerful Android phone that ’s more notecase - friendly next to Google ’s other gadget . It is n’t as radical as other A - series handsets we ’ve see , but it remains a slap-up sound in 2023 for those who prefer great software system rather than big spec sheet . The only veridical complications are the introduction of the Pixel 7a and the fact the upgraded Pixel 6 can now be found at quite a deduction .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Pixel 6a is Google ’s 2022 affordable smartphone and the most budget - conscious entry in the Pixel 6 series .
It offers a good television camera system , a sleek design and the hope of many years of computer software updates – all at a toll that puts it aright up against theNothing Phone ( 1)andOnePlus Nord 2T.
However , Google takes a slightly unlike approach path to many of thebest loud phonerivals . This is a modest phone that focuses on the overall experience , rather than have a standout , headline - grabbing spec or feature .
It ’s also a far more compact machine than rival handsets , clear it an splendid pick for purchaser who favour a smaller phone , although it has since been take over by the new , more equal to ( and slimly more expensive)Pixel 7a .
Design and Screen
Google switched up its design philosophy with itsPixel 6andPixel 6 Prohandsets , moving aside from the simplistic approach it had adopted before and into a more interesting way . It also continued this trend with thePixel 7andPixel 7 Proin late 2022 . I have been a rooter of the standout look of recent Pixel devices , and I ’m glad to see Google carry on in this counsel .
The Pixel 6a looks very much like a more compendious Pixel 6 or Pixel 7 . It has the same vizor covering the dual rear cameras , the same two - tone colouring material scheme , and the same boxy last . If you dislike the flagship Pixel design , then I very much doubt that this twist will win you around .
My reappraisal unit , which I ’ve been using for the retiring two workweek , is in the Sage colourway and in my opinion it looks enceinte . The pastel immature alumna into a darker finish further down the phone , and the green colour itself is one of the more refined hue I ’ve go through this year . If you ’re looking for something a little more elusive , then there are pitch-black and lily-white alternative , too .
The biggest difference visually between the Pixel 6a and the regular Pixel 6 is the size . The Pixel 6 was n’t a huge phone , but the 6.1 - inch showing here nominate for a far dinkier machine that will appeal to those alienated by the growing size of most modern smartphones . The Pixel 6a is n’t as compendious as theiPhone 13 Mini , but it ’s a similar size to theGalaxy S23andiPhone 14 . It ’s rare to see a decent earphone of this size of it at the £ 399 price , with many rivals such as the Nothing Phone ( 1),Realme GT Neo 3Tand OnePlus Nord 2 deoxythymidine monophosphate coming in much larger .
While I ’m a fan of the 6a ’s dimensions , I ’m sure there will be some who will be instantly put off . This equipment is n’t going to be the best choice for those who would like to share in healthy bouts of mobile gambling . gratefully , the rival machine cite will be excellent alternatives .
Despite sit down at the lower conclusion of the market , the Pixel 6a is well built . The phone sports a Methedrine ( Gorilla Glass 3 ) exterior on both the front and buttocks of the gadget , while an alloy flange adds a academic degree of inflexibility . Google has kept the IP67 rating , too , which delivers some proper protection against water and dust – something you wo n’t find on much of the competitor , away from theiPhone SE .
However , the 6.1 - inch showing is both bully and something of a letdown .
In many areas , it has impress me . The 1080pOLEDpanel delivers a howling puncher of coloring in its default Adaptive style , while those who opt a more muffled feel can choose for the Natural place setting . The consumption of OLED allows for deep blacks , and this comes across well when streamingHDRcontent on YouTube and Netflix . It ’s far from the brightest screen around , but even on the gay day that I was using the earpiece outdoors , the blind remained viewable . I ’m not a huge lover of the janky auto - cleverness , but that ’s an issue I have with most Android phones .
Having say all of that , the Pixel 6a ’s display misses a openhanded feature of speech you ’ll detect on the OnePlus Nord 2 T and the Nothing Phone ( 1 ): a fast refresh rate display . The 60Hz board here lacks the zip of a 90Hz or 120Hz version , and having come to this machine from the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) , I immediately notice the slowdown . These fast displays review more times every second , and as a result bring forth a smoother image that gives the earpiece a dissipated tactile property .
It ’s scarcely a surprise that Google has decided to leave off the degraded display . The Pixel 6 only has a 90Hz board , rather than 120Hz , and it rest a feature Apple adds only to its top - end phones . Still , it does make the rival equipment a better selection if the feature of speech is a precedency for you .
Camera
It was telling that Google barely advert tv camera upgrades on bring out the Pixel 6a . The feature that are new mostly arrive as a resultant role of the benefits afforded by the Tensor chipset .
But former Pixel A - series telephone have always instill for photography skill , and the 6a continues in that mineral vein – it just does n’t really agitate it forth .
Like the flagship Pixels , the Pixel 6a impress greatly when it comes to producing accurate tegument tones and churn out stiff pictures in down in the mouth - light fit . Both attainment are aid by theTensorand AI elements it ramp up into the photo - process word of mouth .
Most elasticity taken with the Pixel 6a stay good than I ’d expect at this price . For example , a hound ’s pelt tolerate out with sharp item , without feel oversharpened . The sound ’s HDR skill also dismantle out the colour far better than competing handset such as the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) , delivering more definition to bright and dark spots .
In typical Pixel manner , the photos shot outdoors with the Pixel 6a are rich , colourful and packed with active reach . landscape painting shots with undimmed skies really pop off the show ; nothing is too exposed or underexposed . There ’s less vividness here to shots consider with a Samsung sound , but there ’s more punch to people of colour – especially greens and reds – than you ’d get with the iPhone SE . Indoor shots can often lack some of that biff , though , with a telephone number of picnic I took seem far more grey and washed - out than they should have .
The Pixel 6a has some other neat tricks up its arm that make it a good pick for those looking for an fantabulous tv camera system on a budget . Magic Eraser is a sassy editing feature that absent unwanted guests from snaps ; it cultivate well , and I find myself using it a lot to square away up photos . The Night Sight mode is another Pixel stalwart , pulling lots of brightness out of lower - promiscuous stab that would usually be far too glowering to practice .
There ’s notelephotozoom here , but the digital zoom is far well than that on other phones I ’ve used – you may get a minuscule close to a subject with the Pixel 6a without your photo turning into a blurry spate . In addition , there ’s a 12 - megapixelultrawidethat adds some versatility to your shot ; but the exposure are n’t as courteous as those from the independent camera , so we suggest you use it only when it ’s require .
The Pixel 6a ’s video recording is also quite well , although most of the features are typical for the Pixel series . you may record footage at up to 60fps in 4 thou resolution , and there ’s a canny Cinematic Pan mode that adds some still cooking pan to your video .
Performance
Google has taken a standardised approach to the Pixel 6a as Apple does with its SE line . Instead of building , or buying , a cheaper mid - range cow chip to power the telephone , it has simply plucked the same Tensor SoC from 2021 ’s Pixel 6 professional . This pee-pee sense for Google ; Tensor has been built to its specification and project to make the most of the Android build running on these phones .
Tensor features the M2 protection chip build in , which works with the in - display fingerprint sensor . It has a focusing on Machine Learning and AI elements , allowing the Pixel exclusive features such as Face Unblur and Magic Eraser .
What Tensor is n’t is a performance beast . In benchmark tests , the Pixel 6a beat the single - essence score of the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) , but cede similar scores in multi - core tests – and that phone uses a mid - range Snapdragon chip . You ’ll find only 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage in the Pixel 6a .
The amount of RAM might seem ungenerous compared to rival machine ( you may get the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) with 12 G ) , but this has n’t prove much of an offspring during my two weeks using the Pixel 6a . Apps have remained in retentivity throughout the daylight , and multitasking has been jaunty . However , the 128 GB storage offer is n’t as easy to drop , specially since there ’s no Mount Rushmore State elaboration . If you wish to keep a lot of content – such as game , movies , RAW photos , and so on – offline , then you might fill up that allowance rather quickly .
The size of it of the speech sound , and the fact that it miss a topnotch - prompt 120Hz showing , means the Pixel 6a is n’t probable to be top of the lean for those big into fluid gambling . Still , the Tensor chipset can comfortably wield intensive title on the Play Store . I dilute up Call of Duty Mobile on both the Pixel 6a and the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) , and it loaded far quicker on Google ’s French telephone .
Since theGoogle 5afailed to come in the UK , and thePixel 4aarrived without 5 G , the Pixel 6a is the first compact A - series Pixel earphone with 5 G to hit the UK securities industry . At this price and above , 5 G is jolly much an expected feature of speech , so it ’s good to see Google admit it here . The feature wo n’t exchange how you habituate your phone – but5Gwill be welcome on those occasion that you want to quickly download something and you ’re in a 5 gigabyte area . Other connectivity choice includeWi - Fi 6and 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 .
The Pixel 6a fare melt Android 12 ab initio , though it was one of the first gadget to be updated toAndroid 13when it arrived in late 2022 . The version here is the same one you ’ll find on the Pixel 6 and newer Pixel 7 , complete with the bass customisation options that give birth greater control of the look of the homescreen .
For me , Google ’s version of Android is the best – at least when it come in to look and serviceability . Some of the features lack deepness compared to rivals , especially the expanded Battery Saver modes found elsewhere , but the software is so well design and slick in consumption that this is forgivable .
Google also throws in a smattering of Pixel - sole feature , which I love . Now Playing , for deterrent example , exhibit whatever song is playing in the background on your lockscreen , and the Recorder app transcribes recording well than any other answer I ’ve try . It ’s these small extras that make it difficult for me to leave a Pixel phone for other Android alternatives .
Another welfare is the five twelvemonth of promised software updates , ensuring the phone should still be in receipt of new features and patches for far longer than rival equipment at this price .
Battery Life
Inside the Pixel 6a sits a 4410mAh battery . This is smaller than the stamp battery included in the Pixel 6 ( 4614mAh ) , the Pixel 6 Pro ( 5000mAh ) and the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) ( 4500mAh ) . However , the Pixel 6a has a more summary , slower display than those phones , and as such consumes less power over the course of instruction of a daytime .
I ’ve been using both the Pixel 6a and the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) a lot over the past few week , and Google ’s gadget has systematically outlasted the latter , leave me with about 5 - 10 % surplus by the end of a day . Standby time are also hike over much of the competition at this price , with the phone losing only about 3 - 5 % if left unplugged overnight .
It seems that a slower display also helps out when streaming . An hr of Netflix view only ingest 7 % of the electric battery , which is notably less than the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) .
Where the Pixel 6a fall behind the mob is in terms of its charging skills . Not only has the gadget been supplied without a bundled charger , but that upper limit 18W appoint speed is meagre compare to much of the Android contention . A full 0 - 100 % burster using a 35W courser took the Pixel 6a 1hr 45mins , while the Realme Neo 3 T can get to 100 % in hardly 35 minutes . If you run to only charge your phone overnight , this wo n’t be an take ; but for those look to quickly top up during the twenty-four hour period , it will be an issue .
There ’s nowireless charging , either ; Google has keep that feature single to pricier Pixels .
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Should you buy it?
I ’m a liberal fan of the sizing of this phone and the path it find in utilization . If you ’re tired of sizable handsets , then this is a executable option – and the tv camera and smart software only help its case .
you could recover other phones in this price range with faster , smooth 120Hz panel ; the Pixel 6a ’s 60Hz panel feels a little slow in comparability
Final Thoughts
The Pixel 6a is an easy - to - recommend Android telephone in 2023 that does n’t break the banking concern . You ’re have spate of phone for the money with this twist , especially if you ’re after a more compact twist that will pick up update for year to come .
There ’s nothing revolutionary here , and Google ’s decision to concentrate a little less on goodly camera upgrades means the Pixel 6a is n’t quite the budget smartphone shooter it could have been .
Arguably , the biggest rival to the 6a is the fully grown Pixel 6 . With the release of the new Pixel 7 range in previous 2022 , retailers are selling off the last Pixel 6 stock at as footling as £ 440 . Even though I choose the size of the 6a , if I were spending my money I ’d prefer for the regular Pixel 6 as a result of its good camera and improved screen .
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How we test
We prove every mobile earpiece we review thoroughly . We use industry - stock test to compare features the right way and we expend the earphone as our main gadget over the review period . We ’ll always tell you what we find oneself and we never , ever , swallow money to review a ware .
FAQs
Like the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro , the Pixel 6a does not hail with a charger . It only issue forth with a USB - C to USB - century cable that you’re able to punch into your own charging brick .
The Pixel 6a does not have wireless charging and has a max 18w charging speed when plugged in .
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