In a perfect world, every smartphone would come with some form of expandable storage, including phones like the Google Pixel 6a. People take so many selfies, photos and videos on their phones, as well as download games and apps that can take up a lot of storage space. Unfortunately, as useful as expandable storage with SD cards can be, very few phones still have them today.
In Google’s case, specifically, it never supports MicroSD card expansion for its Pixel devices. Whether it’s the original Pixel from 2016 or last year’s Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, we’ve never seen a Pixel with an SD card slot. Now that the Pixel 6a has been released into the wild, can you expect it to have an SD card slot that its predecessors lacked? Unfortunately, the answer is no. The Pixel 6a doesn’t have an SD card slot.
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The Pixel 6a’s absence of a MicroSD card slot shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro don’t have this feature either. Google leaves this feature out of the 6th, and from its predecessors, it comes down to cost. Most Android smartphones used to support microSD cards a few years ago, but in recent years, the high cost of manufacturing and shipping microSD-capable phones has made it a rarity. In essence, Google (and other companies) sacrificed expandable storage for sleeker designs and lower costs.
Easy storage alternatives to the Pixel 6a
At $449, the Pixel 6a already has 128GB of internal storage space, so the absence of a microSD card slot is somewhat justified. However, if you really want more storage space for the untold amount of pictures, games and other content you’ll accumulate for the same price, the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G might be your best bet. It has 128GB of storage space like the Pixel 6a, but managed to keep the microSD card so you can increase the storage on the device to your heart’s desire. In fact, the A53 5G supports MicroSD cards up to 1TB in size.
The OnePlus Nord N200 is also a great alternative. It comes with 64GB of internal storage space, which isn’t much by today’s standards. However, it retains a microSD card slot so you can further increase your storage for the modest price of $240.
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