Release date, pricing, specifications, and more for the Google Pixel 6a

The Google Pixel 6a will be available in stores on July 28th, and it will be a significant upgrade over its predecessor. This new phone will be a cheaper alternative to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, giving some of the same capabilities while maintaining the Pixel 5a’s pricing owing to certain display and primary camera concessions compared to Google’s flagships.

In the affordable phone sector, the Pixel 5a is up against phones like the iPhone SE (2022), Samsung Galaxy A53, and OnePlus Nord 2. However, with a Google Tensor processor, Google’s superb photography software, and a low price, Google’s next phone has a strong chance of sticking out among our top cheap phones. Although the Pixel 6a isn’t due for another month, we’re nonetheless thrilled to get our hands on one. This year’s Pixel seems to be a much more dynamic phone than the Pixel 5a, with all the Google-exclusive features we were looking for.

Specifications

Using a camera bar design on the rear, a centred punch-hole camera on the front, and an under-display fingerprint sensor beneath, Google made the Pixel 6a blend in with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro (but using a different sensor to the annoyingly slow one on the Pixel 6 series). One minor modification is that the cameras are now grouped together beneath a single rectangular glass cover, emphasising the optics.

Unfortunately, the Pixel 6a lacks a headphone jack, which was included on the Pixel 5a. It’s an especially regrettable omission on inexpensive phones, which usually do, but you might be tempted to buy yourself a set of Google Pixel Buds Pro. Google will give three colour options: Charcoal black, Chalk white, and Sage green. These aren’t the most vibrant hues, but they should be adequate to delight the majority of people. If you’re concerned about the phone getting wet, the Pixel 6a has an IP67 rating for water and dust protection.

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Design and Display

The Pixel 6a boasts a 6.1-inch AMOLED display with FHD resolution and a Gorilla Glass 3 casing, according to Google. That’s a little smaller than the Pixel 5a’s 6.34-inch display, but not so much that you should reconsider upgrading. The Pixel 6a’s screen, unfortunately, is fixed at a 60Hz refresh rate. Most current Android phones have transitioned to smoother 90Hz or 120Hz speeds, which is slower. At the very least, the iPhone SE 2022, which uses 60Hz as well, suddenly has company.

Cameras

This time, the Pixel 6a uses an older camera rather than the flagship cameras seen in the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. For the 6a, Google appears to be focusing on the Tensor chip. The Pixel 6a has a 12.2MP primary camera as well as a 12MP ultrawide camera on the back, as well as an 8MP selfie camera on the front for your photographic requirements. In comparison to the Pixel 5a’s 16MP ultrawide camera, the ultrawide camera has a lower resolution. However, a bigger sensor with increased brightness might compensate for this.

However, Google’s camera capabilities are based on more than simply technology. There are further software-only capabilities for the Pixel 6a, like a low-light photography option (which is missing on the iPhone SE 2022), Magic Eraser (now with extra object recoloring capability), and Face Unblur. Those are some of our favourite aspects of the Pixel 6 photography experience. Videographers can capture 4K video at up to 60 frames per second, slo-mo at up to 240 frames per second, and time lapse recordings in 4K.

Performance

The Pixel 6a, like the mainstream Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, will employ a Google Tensor chipset instead of the Snapdragon sensors of previous Pixel A-series phones. This should offer the new phone a lot more power than most of its cheap competitors, however it won’t be able to compete with the premium Pixels because it only has 6GB of RAM instead of 8GB or 12GB.

The Pixel 6a comes in a single 128GB storage configuration. That’s the norm for a modern smartphone, so unless you’re a photographer or have a lot of applications installed, you shouldn’t have any problems with space.

Google verified that the Pixel 6a supports 5G, including both the standard sub-6GHz variant and the less common mmWave version used by several US carriers. If you want to upgrade to the Pixel 6a while maintaining your current provider, or if you want a new phone that can take advantage of mmWaves faster speeds, this is good news.

Battery and Charging

The Pixel 6a is powered by a 4,410 mAh battery, which is somewhat less than the 4,680 mAh cell found in the Pixel 5a. The 5a didn’t fare well in the TG custom battery test, so perhaps Google is making some additional changes to increase power efficiency.

However, Google does not believe you need be concerned. According to the 6a’s official estimations, you’ll get more than 24 hours of ordinary use from it, and up to 72 hours if you use the Extreme Battery Saver option. The charging pace is one item that hasn’t altered since last year. The Pixel 6a can only be charged at 18W, which is the same as the Pixel 5a.

Software

Google will ship the Pixel 6a with Android 12 out of the box, which will include the typical Google-only features. This features, among other things, Live Translate and Magic Eraser.

Google promised a five-year upgrade cycle for the Pixel 6, which we believed would extend to the Pixel 6a and provide it incredible long-term value. However, Google only promises five years of security updates for the Pixel 6a, which means you could lose out on a couple of years of complete Android updates. However, it’s still an excellent value, given other Android phones only get one or two years of complete upgrades.

Warranty Plan