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Google Pixel 6a Review | Does it worth it in 2023?

4/5

We all know Google due to its fame as the best search engine of the times, but this company does not only stay there, as it has a line of phones with the best functionalities and performances.

This time we will talk about Google Pixel 6a, the best bet Google has had against its previous model Google Pixel 6, finding few differences but focused on a lower price smartphone.

Google Pixel 6a arrived with the idea of keeping the Pixel experience at the top, with a smaller design, improvements in its screen, performance and battery.

But, yes there are some but to talk about in this review if you want to get the Pixel 6a.

In addition, Google Pixel 6a is the most economical model within the Google Pixel family.

Let’s see what this new member offers after Google launched the flagship phones Pixel 6 and 6 pro, and its Google Tensor. 

Google Pixel 6a Black
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Google Pixel 6a
Google Pixel 6a Review

The Google Pixel 6a is running now with the Android 13. The Pixel 6a has of 6 GB ram, 12.2 MP dual pixel wide camera with magic eraser feature.

Product Brand: Google

Product Currency: USD

Product Price: 349

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
4

Pros

  • High quality pictures

Cons

  • Fingerprint sensor
  • Software Issues
  • Battery Life

Google Pixel 6a Design and construction

The new Google Pixel model, Google Pixel 6a, features a subtle and unique design, varying between sage green, Chalk, and charcoal color scheme, which allows for an excellent combination with the different accessories provided by the company to complement your experience. 

The Google Pixel 6a, has been built with a size of 152 millimeters in height and a width of 71 millimeters, in addition to a thickness of 9 millimeters, seeking greater customer comfort when holding your cell phone in your hand, adapting correctly to different sizes.

The Google Pixel 6a cell phone is neither too big, nor too small, it is ideal. 

It has a weight of 178 grams, which allows it to be handled easily and without discomfort, giving customers a lightweight and easily cell phone when they have to keep it for a long time in their hands. 

The Google Pixel 6a has a Gorilla glass 3.

It is a IP67 water rand dust resistant, but it won’t fully survive going by itself down the water.

Its body is constructed by aluminum, with its characteristic metal curves on the corners, facilitating the grip of the same.

The back of the Google Pixel 6a is an imitation of glass, but it is constructed of plastic, so well designed that it feels like glass to the touch. 

Similarly, the Google Pixel 6a features the characteristic strip of the Pixel family, where the rear camera bar are located and protrudes a bit from the entire structure of the device.

This gives it a combined design between classic and tasteful modern. 

On the other hand, the phone company insists with the new Google Pixel 6a model to keep the power and volume buttons contrary to what is customary with other Android devices.

Compared to the previous Pixel A series, the 6a says goodbye to the headphone jack, so it is time to start searching for wireless headphones.

The power button is located at the top and the volume button is located below it. 

Overall, the new design and construction of Google Pixel 6a, does not present many innovations compared to the previous model of Google Pixel 6, but it has been very well received by users. 

Google Pixel 6a Back Carlos Barraza

Google Pixel 6a Display

With a 6.1-inch oled display with refresh rate of 60hz, the Google Pixel 6a, presents the best graphics experience with HD resolution and an explosion of colors in every image and video you want to play.

You get a natural color reproduction, plus you can customize it in settings, in order to give you the best sharpness, saturation and brightness you need at every moment of the day. 

Touch screen with sensitivity settings, providing excellent fluidity when navigating and interacting with your device.

It has an automatic brightness adjustment adapted to the environments and situations needed.

Through the Google Pixel 6a’s display screen you will have the optical fingerprint sensor scanner, which you can configure with the number of fingerprints you want. 

After the September software update 2022 for the Android 13, the fingerprint sensor got fixed and working fine for around 95% of the times, since previously it was not actually fully recognizing the fingerprint, hence you had to unlock it in the other form you had selected, either just a swipe, pin code or pattern.

The Google Pixel 6a screen has a high quality compared to the previous model, so neither improvements nor poor performance in the operation of the same are displayed. 

Google Pixel 6a Performance

The performance of Google Pixel 6a, has the power of the processor that have more advanced models of the Google Pixel line.

It is Google Tensor processor, which has been a chipset manufactured and co-designed by Samsung, giving the devices the speed, fluidity and performance required to access various high-end applications and games. 

It allows interaction within the device’s functions to be fast and smooth, as well as handling any game with the capability of any other cell phone.

In general the performance of Google Pixel 6a, has a high quality and fast loading of applications, images and pages. 

It has a RAM of 6GB, which may be few in the future, but at the beginning gives the perfect space so that the functionality of the device has nothing to envy to other high-end cell phones.

The performance of the Google Pixel 6a is considered one of the best elements that this new budget phone model has. 

Google Pixel 6a Battery Life

Another issue that the Google Pixel 6a presented was actually after the Android update from the Android 12 to 13.

Beside the fingerprint issue, the Google Pixel 6a presented overheating even when all apps were closed, making it a very bad update for a while after September android phone update which improved the battery life.

Nevertheless, the October 2022 update presented a strange reseting of the phone for several times, and it stoped after turning the phone off and then on.

Do you need to keep the battery more for some apps than others?

The battery of the Google Pixel 6a, is responsible for recognizing those applications in which you tend to interact more frequently and decreases battery consumption in other applications to save load in the app that you tend to use often.

Depending on the use you give to your Google Pixel 6a, the battery can have a lifespan of 24h, allowing constant use throughout the day.

Thanks to the extreme battery saving that Google Pixel 6a presents, you can indicate which apps are not in use and the device closes them to avoid background consumption.

Thanks to its fast charging, you can have 100% battery in just minutes.

The Google Pixel 6a features a battery with “turbo power” capability without compromising the quality of life of the integrated battery.

It is recommended, for best charging and battery life, not to use the device while charging.

The device does not include charger, but can be adapted to a USB Type-C cable that can give fast charging at 18W, also it does not have wireless charging possibility like its high-end siblings. 

Google Pixel 6a Interface and functionalities

With regard to the software of Google Pixel 6a, it is too much to say that it has one of the latest and most updated versions of Android, which allows an ideal operation for the entire device.

With the passage of time, Google is responsible for releasing the available updates and your Google Pixel 6a device, will not hesitate to notify you.

Such updates can be Android keys or security for your apps and device.

One of the most important elements of Google Pixel 6a with respect to its software, is how “clean” it can be, as it avoids the excessive use of preinstalled applications to maintain better performance of the cell phone.

It does not include configuration items and settings beyond those necessary for cellular configuration and customization of the cell phone.

Regarding the interface, Google Pixel 6a, grants a simple presentation with respect to widgets that can help you quickly access sections such as “This is playing” or “Automatic subtitles” where you can get information about what is playing in the environment, automatically subtitle the data received to the language of preference.

All this can be achieved through “Material You” which is responsible for adapting the widgets to your wallpaper with colors that can match and play with the design. In addition, Google Pixel 6a, has “At a glance” tools which allows you to access any information and keep it in the foreground.

A feature that only presents the Pixel family and that has been integrated into Pixel 6a, is the ability to translate face-to-face conversations to another language and encourage communication, in addition to being able to capture images and translate the text present in them.

This will help you break the language barrier anywhere in the world.

As previously stated, Google Pixel 6a, never stops improving, as every few months you will be able to receive a new update for your device, allowing you to enjoy new tools or tricks on your device.

The functions and applications will usually be able to update automatically and Google will tell you.

With Google Pixel 6a, you will never find yourself outdated, you will always be at the same level in interface and performance as any high-end device, being one of the most outstanding features of this new model. 

Google Android

Google Pixel 6a Multimedia

With Google Pixel 6a, you can enjoy in a pleasant way any multimedia material, allowing you to receive sounds, images and videos with great quality.

Regarding the sound, the Google Pixel 6a, presents a high quality audio and audio stability, through wireless headphones, since it does not present headphone input.

Although Google Pixel 6a does not present a sound enhancement through sound settings, you can enjoy multimedia content with HD audio.

Without headphones, the sound of the Pixel 6a is quite powerful, raising the average in difference to its Pixel siblings, reaching 88dB at its maximum volume.

Enjoy movies and videos on the device without having to adapt extra earpieces to get better sound, nor are you forced to only watch things with headphones in order to hear well. Added to that, the HD quality of the multimedia content, will give you the best experience to enjoy your videos, movies and online games.

Selfie with Google Pixel 6a
Night out with Google Pixel 6a
Mexico Festival with Google Pixel 6a

Google Pixel 6a Camera

Ranked as one of the best cameras in the Pixel family, Google Pixel 6a, features two main cameras which are categorized as; 12.2 megapixel primary camera and 12 megapixel ultra-wide camera which helps to take pictures without giving steps back to have on frame your area of interest.

Both cameras show off the Google camera application, which will present all the necessary elements to be able to edit, configure and adapt the photos and videos you want to take. It does not present a great drop in quality, which makes Google Pixel 6a different from other high-end devices.

Thanks to the Google Camera app and the high quality of the Google Pixel 6a cameras, you can get images in full motion, with sharpness, clarity and focus worthy of a professional camera.

In the images captured by Google Pixel 6a it is very difficult to find blur or movement.

With this phone you will get one new feature the magic eraser, which will help to eliminate any undesired object from your image with the help of its software as if you were actually editing in Photoshop without actually knowing Photoshop.

The magic eraser will make you look like a photo expert.

You can select different picture modes from the normal, to portrait mode or also nightsight, which will help you to take picture in dark rooms or at night.

It has an 8 megapixel front-facing camera, obtaining the best high quality selfies.

The selfie camera still is a modest camera, so let’s hope that in the future it does get upgraded for the new pixel phones.

All three cameras have the ability to capture moving images and avoid blur through the easy focus function.

The sharpness and quality of the front camera allows you to zoom in to focus on details and not lose pixels in the process.

It has a fast capture response at the click of the button, which can lead you not to miss anything due to the camera load.

Regarding video recording, Google Pixel 6a comes with the same quality as in the still camera, allowing great stability in each captured frame.

It also presents four stabilization modes; standard, fixed, active and sweep effect, allowing horizontal scrolling shots.

This stabilization is another great feature of the Pixel 6a’s camera.

With Google Pixel 6a also you can achieve videos with a quality of professional, because its stabilizer works with a quality of 1080p and 4K up to a measure of 60fps.

Another tool that puts the Google Pixel 6a video as one of the best in its category, is the animated sequence, where you can record by joining static shots.

It is considered that for the price reduction that has the device, since the Google did not remove much of the tools and features that make it one of the best devices within the Pixel family.

A compact device with everything you need to stay connected and in the high-end at an affordable price.

It is assumed that one of the most important cuts to make the device more accessible is the lack of charger and wireless charging, otherwise it can be considered that the Google Pixel 6a device provides all the quality and performance that users need at their fingertips.

Google Pixel 6a Video Stabilizer

Is the Google Pixel 6a still worth it in 2022?

At the end of 2022, and for 2023, the Pixel 6 series, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, these phones will have one year and they will still be valuable phones for Google, but with the Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro now in the market, then for some it might start to be a moment of change.

If you are a type of user that wants the newest phone available and you can’t wait to buy a Pixel phone, then going for the new Pixel 7 series might be a better option now than buying a Google Pixel 6a.

We might be seeing the Pixel 7a until summer 2023, so it is still plenty of time.

Due to the issues that the Google Pixel 6a has presented in terms of the overheating and battery life consuming due to Android 13, the fingerprint sensor error and the mistery resets, it has kept us with a taste that probably it would be better to stick either with a older version such as the Pixel 4a or Pixel 5a and wait for the 7a.

The updates have helped with those issues, and the Google Pixel 6a is now working and lasting better, but even compared to the Pixel 3a, the battery last the same, so only in the case that you find this phone at half the price, or with some price drop, then yes, it would worth to have the Google Pixel 6a.

The Pixel 7 series are now in the market, and the considered expensive Pixel 6 series, will of course receive a price cut, so it will be a matter of time to see if we can find more good deals online to say that it really worth to choose one of the Pixel 6’s series.

At the Google store the 6a is at $449, whereas the 6 is at $599 and so as the 7.

At Ebay you can find the phone at $334 which has been the best price point deal so far we have seen.

Price per Value

Google Pixel 6a can be found in ebay for $339 new. Acquiring this Google phone for under $350 is a great deal, since the camera and performance

90%
Ease of Use

Google Pixel 6a updated is running in Android 13. For all Android users, this operative system is a friendly user one. Google Pixel 6a software shows up some bugs with the updates. The fingerprint sensor has been fixed and the overheating, but it restarts by itself randomnly.

80%
Google Pixel 6a Camera

DXOMark has ranked Google's cameras on top performers.

95%
Battery

Google Pixel 6a Battery has 4,410 mAh and in comparison to its predecessors, it doesn't has any better battery life in the run. As new phones are coming up, Google Pixel 6a might be outranked easily.

85%

Frequently Asked Questions
Google Pixel 6a Review

If you find the Google 6a below $350, then yes, it is worth buying the phone, as it has the Google Tensor, high quality pictures and Magic Eraser feature. Although, the battery can be considered OK, as it lasts for a day with normal use.

The Pixel 6a has guaranteed Android version updates until at least July 2025, and security updates until 2027.

Yes, the Google Pixel 6a has 5G.

The Google Pixel 6 has a screen size of 6.4 inches versus a 6.1 inches of the Pixel 6a.

The Google Pixel 6 has wireless charging and the Pixel 6a don’t.

The Google Pixel 6 has 8 GB ram of memory and the Pixel 6a has of 6 GB ram.

The Google Pixel 6 has a 50 MP Octa PD Quad Bayer wide camera and the Pixel 6a has 12.2 MP dual pixel wide camera.

You can find on Ebay the Google Pixel 6 for $429 refurbished, and the Pixel 6a brand new for $334.

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