Even by Google’s smartphone standards, the Pixel 6a was a poorly kept secret. It was mentioned in the company’s product coloring book for Pixel superfans earlier this year, but now it’s finally arrived in the UK.
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Announced at the Google I/O developer conference in May, just like the original Pixel 3a was three years ago, it’s essentially what you’d expect from a Pixel ‘a’ series phone, namely the Pixel 6a it is a reduced version. of the flagship Pixel 6, which we really liked when we reviewed it in October last year.
Google Pixel 6a review: What you need to know
But this time there is a key difference. Google has taken a leaf out of Apple’s iPhone SE handbook by matching its flagship’s processing power and making cuts elsewhere. The Pixel 6a uses Google’s own Tensor chip, giving it the same processing and graphics grunt as the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. This is supported by 6GB of RAM and 128GB of inbuilt storage.
That’s not only positive in itself: it also means that the Pixel 6a is just as fast as the flagship version, which is probably why Google felt confident enough to promise at least five years of security updates. And since Pixel phones get first access to new versions of the mobile operating system, this shouldn’t be underestimated.
Elsewhere, the Pixel 6a has a smaller 6.1-inch, 1080p, 60Hz OLED HDR display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection and an under-display fingerprint reader. It’s back to the 12.2MP primary camera used in the previous three Pixel generations, as opposed to the 50MP number that debuted on the Pixel 6, but this is supported by a 12MP ultra-wide sensor and a selfie camera of 8MP.
Google Pixel 6a review: Price and competition
Given the average price of £399, these cuts don’t seem too reasonable, at least on paper. The problem, though, is that the Pixel 6 is nine months old at this point, with the Pixel 7 on the way, so it costs a lot less now than it did at launch.
In fact, at the time of writing this review, the Pixel 6 is currently on offer for just £450. This is only a temporary deal, of course, but if savvy shoppers do it right, they can pick up a flagship-level Pixel, with a larger 90Hz display, 8GB of RAM, and a superior 50MP primary camera for a little more .
The Pixel 6a is also in dangerous territory when it comes to non-Google competition. The mid-range market has exploded this year, with excellent options such as the Xiaomi 12 Lite (£332), Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (£399) and OnePlus Nord 2T 5G (£369). It’s also identical in price to the new Nothing Phone (1), although we haven’t received a phone for review yet, so we can’t comment on how the two compare.
Google Pixel 6a review: design and key features
At first glance, the Pixel 6a doesn’t look much different from its siblings. It’s smaller in size, measuring 152 x 72 x 8.9mm, but retains the thick horizontal camera bar of the regular Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. This stretches across the width of the phone, but isn’t as thick as it is on more expensive models.
Instead of describing it as plastic, Google says the Pixel 6a has a “thermoformed composite” back, and that’s surrounded by an aluminum frame. The other Pixel models have glass-coated backs, which helps with scratch protection, though when placed. side by side you can’t really tell the difference.
Unfortunately, my initial review model had a small manufacturing defect. The back panel was slightly misaligned with the frame, resulting in sharp dropouts in the bottom left and right corners of the phone. I discussed this with other reviewers at a recent industry event and I was the only one with this problem, so it’s possible that I was simply unlucky with an early production sample.
When approached for comment, Google said: “We can confirm, in the background, that this is a one-time glitch.” After contacting them, I quickly received a replacement phone that did not have this problem.
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Next, the Pixel 6a is IP67 rated against dust and water ingress, meaning it should survive a submersion of up to 1m deep for up to 30 minutes, and the front is coated with a protective layer of Gorilla Glass 3. The phone comes in a choice of three colors: sage, charcoal and chalk (pictured here).
The rear-mounted fingerprint sensor has been removed, and in its place is an under-display scanner, which I found a bit inconsistent. Sometimes there was a message on the screen asking me to hold my thumb in place for a little longer before it would unlock, which wasn’t ideal.
We’ve also entered the third year since Google last incorporated face unlocks. Your guess is as good as mine as to why Google still refuses to add this feature: All of its rivals have supported this unlocking method for years, so its absence here is annoying.
There’s also no room for a microSD card, which means if you end up completely filling up the onboard storage, you’ll either have to start deleting stuff or paying for a Google One subscription. You’re also stuck with just a nano-SIM slot.
Google Pixel 6a review: Display
Predictably, the Pixel 6a’s screen is the smallest of the three Pixel phones, measuring 6.1 inches. It’s still an HDR-certified OLED panel, though, with the same full resolution as the regular Pixel 6 (2,400 x 1,080), the only key difference being that the refresh rate is stuck at just 60Hz.
That’s a shame, especially when we get to benchmarks. Because otherwise, the Pixel 6a’s screen is phenomenal, with color performance that beats the competition. It even gives the most expensive flagship phones a run for their money.
Three display modes are offered: Natural, Enhanced and Adaptive, and color purists will want to enable the Natural setting at the first opportunity. With this mode selected, our colorimeter recorded a virtually flawless average Delta E score of 0.73 when tested in the sRGB color space – all colors were good. You sure don’t see that very often.
Peak brightness was measured at 857cd/m2 in auto mode with a torch shining on the ambient light sensor. Outside of this setting, the manual brightness slider peaked at a respectable 500cd/m2, and I recorded HDR playback at 760cd/m2.
Google Pixel 6a review: Performance and battery life
The most exciting addition this year is the introduction of Google’s homebrew Tensor processor. It’s a 5nm octa-core chipset clocked at 2.8GHz, and in the case of the Pixel 6a, it works alongside 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
As it never launched in the UK, I unfortunately don’t have the Pixel 5a’s benchmark test results to compare them to, but suffice it to say that the performance gains between the two-year-old Pixel 4a 5G and the new Pixel 6a are colossal.
In the Geekbench 5 CPU stress test benchmark, the Pixel 6a’s Tensor chip outperformed the Pixel 4a’s Snapdragon 765G by about 75% in both single- and multi-core processing. These are generally the same scores achieved by the Pixel 6, with the 6a absolutely smashing its similarly priced rivals – only the Xiaomi 12 Lite’s multi-core result is the most outlier.
Gaming performance has taken an even bigger leap forward, though that’s where the Pixel 6a’s 60Hz screen lets it down. The Pixel 6a, which represents a 114% increase in the GFXBench Manhattan 3 screen test, is capable of producing higher frame rates in games, not that you’ll ever get the chance to see it. 60fps is all you can hope to achieve on a 60Hz screen.
Battery life is the only area where the Pixel 6a hasn’t performed as well. That was to be expected: We found Tensor to be very power-hungry in our review of the Pixel 6, but the Pixel 6a’s battery score is about three hours off. Still, a result of 20 hours and 47 minutes is very good and should be enough to last almost two days on a single charge.
The slow 18W charging is also a bit annoying. The regular Pixel 6 supported a maximum power of 30W (with wireless and reverse wireless charging), so it’s a little disappointing not to see that here.
Google Pixel 6a Review: Software
Software is one of those big areas where the Pixel devices really come into their own. These phones are usually the first Android phones to receive core updates, and you can even try out new beta versions as part of Google’s preview program, with Android 13 making the rounds as we speak.
But the Pixel 6a, like the Pixel 6 before it, launches with Android 12. At the top of the list of new features is “Material You,” a user interface revamp with a slate of new icons customizable apps, widgets and color schemes. There are plenty of options here, and you can even match the color and style of the Google app icons on your home screen to the theme of your choice.
There are also a handful of smaller quality-of-life changes, including new translation options, such as live translation in the recording app, and new Google Assistant features. Google’s digital butler can now wait on the line if you’re put on hold during a call, show current and projected wait times for toll-free phone numbers, and can even transcribe automated voice messages and menu options in real time
Google Pixel 6a review: Cameras
On the other hand, there is not much new in terms of camera hardware. The Pixel 6a’s main camera is the same 12.2MP (f/1.7) sensor previously used by the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5, while the 12MP (f/2.2) wide-angle unit is identical to that found on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. An 8MP (f/2) selfie camera sits inside a central punch-hole notch on the front of the phone.
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That’s disappointing, but it’s worth noting that the previous Pixels punched well above their weight in the photography stakes. So when you…