The Google Pixel 6a is just a smaller version of the 6 and 6 Pro and costs less accordingly. In some ways, it redefines the mid-tier for value and performance. But in others, Google’s strict adherence to pure Android and lack of hardware customization holds it back.
Pixel is the favorite pure Android phone and one of the first to get Android 13. I feel comfortable with Pixel phones. They always work well, no built-in spyware, a decent camera, and a good user experience. The Pixel 6a doesn’t disappoint, although its dual 12MP camera looks underspec on paper, it’s not too far off from its sibling’s 50MP cameras which sit at 12.5MP.
Let’s look at the differences in the Google Pixel 6a so you might end up buying the 6 or 6 Pro
Model6a66 Propric 7 $ 999from 1299web6a Website Website WebsoreleseSedmay 202221SSCREEN6.1 ”2400 × 1080 60HZ OLED GG36.4” 2400 x 108090h/storage GB6/1288/128/125612/125612 18W30W USB 21W Qi30W USB 23W QiRear Camera MP12.246145003OFocus +12.2.2K+Laser+12.2K Laser+12. /PDAF and OIS SameFront MP 8 1080 video8 1080 video11.1 4K videoSize152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9mm x 178g158.6 x 74.8 x 8.9mm x 207g163.9 x 75.9 x 75.9 x 75.9 x 163.9 x 75.9 x 8.9mm x 163. x 75.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 x 8.9mm Cloud White Out Sunny5GNano-SIM and e-SIM All Aussies sub-6 and low-band Namo-SIM and eSIM Same Same mmWaveWi-Fi6e AXsamesameBT5.2samesameUSB-C3.1 charge only3.1 high DP3.1 high DPNFCsísiSíSound/SesameSecurityFingerprintSecuritySesame 2 Equal/3 equal
Australian Review: Google Pixel 6a model G1AZG firmware has been modified for Australia
Australian Website6a Website Price $749 6/128 GBColorsSage Chalk CharcoalFrom *Google Online or Telstra, JB Hi-Fi, Optus, Vodafone, Harvey Norman and OfficeworksWarranty2 yearsCountry of originChinaCompanyGoogle is an American multinational technology company specializing in advertising and Internet-related products, including Internet-related online services, a search engine, cloud computing, software and hardware. It is considered one of the big five tech companies in the US with Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. More news and reviews from Google CyberShack
* Gray market – no Australian warranty and 5G won’t work
We strongly recommend that you purchase a genuine model with Australian firmware.
It’s easy to identify the Australian version: under Settings, About Phone and Regulatory Labels, there’s an Australian RCM C-tick. There is also an RCM C-Tick in the box. They use unique Australian sub-6Ghz 5G and low-band 5G frequencies, which require local activation first.
Don’t buy models
- GX7AS – US, CA, TW, SG, IN
- GB62Z – US Verizon only
- GB17L – Japan
- G1AZG – EMEA version
Deep-Dive Review Format
It is now divided into two parts: a summary and a separate database-based specification of more than 300 lines, including more than 70 tests to back up the findings. It also helps us compare different phones and features.
We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (exceeds expectations or is class leader) against many of the items below. Occasionally we give a grade of Pass(apt) which is not as good as it should be and a grade of Pass “+” to show that it is good but falls short of Pass.
You can click on most images to enlarge them.
First impression – Nice and elegant lines – Pass+
It may be a slab of glass, but the Glastic (plastic) back and prominent camera bar stand out. It’s a little slippery in the hand and can slide off the table when charging, so be careful and use a protective case. The back of the Glastic can scratch quite easily, so avoid keys in the same pocket.
At 152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9mm x 178g, it feels great in the hand and will appeal to those who want a smaller phone.
Display -6.12″ 2400 x 1080, 60 Hz, OLED – Approved
It’s a good daylight-readable screen, pretty bright, but it’s not a perfect OLED. For example, it can play HDR10+ content, but that requires more than 1000 nits; this has 780 so it’s not that bright. You won’t notice it for streaming, as it’s limited to FHD HDR content; that’s all right.
Color is accurate for sRGB and DCI-P3, but only for 8-bit 16.07m colors, not the wider 1.07 billion Rec.2020 colors. The brightness is slightly uneven, especially at the bottom and left, with a slight blue tint.
Overall, it’s fit for purpose, but a bit slow for gaming.
Processor SoC: A moment of stress for Tensor: approval for performance
The Google-designed Tensor chip is based on a Samsung Exynos 2100 (same as the Galaxy S21 series) that uses Samsung’s Exynos 5123 modem. It is highly optimized for mobile apps for Google AI and ML (artificial intelligence and machine learning). These include voice recognition, language translations, computational photography, energy efficiency, security, and what Google claims is up to 80% faster than the Pixel 5.
We have a few issues with this SoC, which are exactly the same as the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. It will not run various industry standard tests such as the GFX Benchmark Manhattan 3.1 battery test. It will not run the Geekbench 5 OpenCL test (runs on all other smartphones except Pixel).
Still, it’s a powerful processor in a mid-range device.
RAM and Storage – Pass
6GB is all you need and Android 12 handles memory management well.
Storage is non-expandable, 128GB (99GB free) UFS 3.3 (fastest available), and this is where we think the Pixel falls short. Simply put, it’s not for videographers, photo editors, or power users who need speed or space. There’s also no mountable micro-SD support or large external USB-C SSD. Access flash drives only as data cut, copy and paste.
We also got some mixed results in data transfer tests. We use CPDT (Cross Platform Disk Test) to measure sustained performance, not the peak “BS” performance you can achieve with a burst of microseconds.
Read times varied from 197 to 1008 MBps with no explanation as to why (all tests have all applications closed).
CPU Accelerator: Crash for advanced users and gamers. Pass for average users
This speeds up between 43 and 50% on a 100% charge for 15 minutes. If you test longer, the device gets too hot.
To put that into perspective, video editing, rendering, and even video playback will quickly drain you of 50% of your power. The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro were nearly as bad at launch, but by January, after firmware updates, that had dropped to 19/24%, respectively.
This reflects poor thermal design that firmware updates cannot completely fix.
Communications – Passed (apt)
It has a Wi-Fi 6E AX chip, but it’s not enabled in Australia (just like the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro) even though the standard was approved for use here a few months ago.
However, it connects very well to Wi-Fi 6 and records maximum speeds of 2400 Mbps up to 5 meters. On 10 meters it drops to 1633Mbps, still very good.
It has BT 5.2, NFC and dual GPS (accuracy <4m), all above the specs.
But again, the USB-C 3.1 connection does not support mountable drives and does not have high DP for HDMI cable connection to monitors and TVs. You have to settle for Chromecast.
LTE and 5G – city and suburbs only – Approved (apt)
Test: Using a Boost Mobile simulator (Telstra retail network) within 1km line of sight of Telstra tower. Expressed as -dBm (lower is better) and Femtowatts (fW) or picowatts (pW or 1000fW) where higher is better.
Like the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, it only finds the nearest telco tower at -90 dBm and gets a variable signal from 1 to 6 pW. He can’t find the other four nearby towers.
The poor result reflects the Samsung 5123 5G modem (used in Samsung phones with the Exynos 2100 SoC). It doesn’t have the same antenna signal strength as Qualcomm modems, which always find four towers with usable signal strengths.
The Pixel 6s are city/suburban phones where you can get strong coverage from multiple towers.
Battery: Switch to Pass+ based on usage
The 4410mAh battery is a bit smaller than typical 5000mAh phones. It doesn’t come with a charger, and you need to use one that can supply 9V/2A/18W to charge at full speed. Most USB-C PD chargers should do this, or you’ll get slow 5V/2A/10W charging at best.
The loading time is 1 hour and 47 minutes: correct and tolerable. However, slow charging takes 3 hours and 45 minutes.
Battery life is variable, and we can only give estimates because it failed two major battery tests (PC Mark 3.0 Battery Test and GFX Bench Manhattan 3l1 Battery Test).
A 1080p video loop at 50% brightness/sound in airplane mode lasted 16 hours and 4 minutes. GFX T-Rex (a gaming graphics test) lasted 9.66 hours. Accubattery provides a maximum of 18 hours.
The bottom line is that the battery life doesn’t come close to the 24 hour claim. However, this is based on “testing with a combination of talk, data, standby and limited default features that disables various features, including 5G.”
Our best estimate is that heavy users will get up to 12 hours of use and typical users up to 18 hours.
Sound – stereo Approved (apt)
It has the typical forward-firing stereo earpiece and a downward-firing bottom speaker. It uses a pair of Cirrus Logic CS35L41 amplifiers that can produce up to 5W each at 10% THD. It does not support EQ, Dolby Atmos or Hi-Res.
BT is 5.2 and has SBC, AAC and LDAC codecs; however, we couldn’t get the latter to work.
Maximum media volume is 84dB with some distortion. Handsfree quality is good and microphones are effective, but not loud.
The soundstage is narrow, and the Dolby Atmos test tracks didn’t expand it.