Its Pixel A time, the mid-range offering of the Google flagship phone. With the Pixel 6A, things have been switched up. Google is focusing on what makes their phones great as it still has the best performance and camera quality at its price, but it’s not quite the shoo-in that it once was. The competition has already caught up.
The Pixel 6A offers most of what the Pixel 6 does — and to a lesser extent, the Pixel 6 Pro — for a much lower cost: $449 (UGX 1.71m*) before taxes. At this price, you don’t get wireless charging, a glass back panel, or a faster screen refresh rate. But you do get the same core features as the flagship models and the best of all you get Google’s custom-built processor, Tensor.
Google’s Tensor chip enables some AI and machine learning-driven features, like better real-time transcription and HDR video recording at the camera’s highest resolution and frame rate. But mostly, the chipset enhances things that Pixel phones could already do, like live translation, by running them more efficiently so you can use them more without running your battery down.
Pixel 6A Hardware
The Pixel 6A is the smallest of the three 6 series phones with a 6.1-inch screen is the best compromise between a small (read: reasonably sized) phone and the gigantic phones everyone else seems to want, but that’s just my own personal hill to die on.
The screen on the Pixel 6A is a 1080p OLED panel with a standard 60Hz refresh rate, a step down from the 6’s 90Hz screen. LCD panels are quite common in the $500 and below class, so the richer contrast of an OLED is welcome here. It’s not terribly comfortable to use outside in direct sunlight, either, but it gets bright enough to be usable.
The Pixel 6A doesn’t just borrow its elder brother’s processor; it carries over the entire design language Google introduced with the 6 series. The horizontal camera bump on the back panel protrudes a bit less, but otherwise, it’s the same distinct design. Most people may not like it. The black rails and camera bar contrast so harshly with the soothing sage green on the back panel.
The phone includes 128GB of storage — with no card slot for expansion — and 6GB of RAM. That’s the only variant, and it has 2GB less RAM than the base model Pixel 6.
There’s a relatively small 4,410mAh battery powering the Pixel 6A, but the tight relationship between hardware and software (presumably) contributes to its very good battery performance. It got me through a day and a half of moderate use, and it handled a full day of heavier use with a bit of gaming and a conference call, no problem. It’s big battery energy from a little battery. The Pixel 6A carries an IP67 rating for water resistance, making it a little less robust than the IP68-rated Pixel 6 and 6 Pro — but not much.
The Pixel 6A’s 12-megapixel f/1.7 main camera is borrowed from the Pixel 5A, with a couple of Tensor-enabled benefits. The 12-megapixel ultrawide camera is the same as the one on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, and it’s good but unremarkable. Another thing that Tensor enables is the ability to use HDR during video recording, even at the highest frame rate and resolution setting: 4K / 60p, in this case. The difference is subtle, though.
The 6A presents a sophisticated set of camera features for a mid-range phone, and in terms of raw capabilities, it’s still the best in its class. Tensor adds a couple of interesting new features, but the foundation that the 6A’s camera is built on was already a strong one.
Android 12 onboard
The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro launched with Android 12. With Android 13 around the corner, Google is working on the Android 12 issues, at least on the Pixel 6A. The Pixel 6A will get five years of security updates, the same as the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Google wouldn’t confirm to us how many OS platform upgrades the 6A will get, but the 6 and 6 Pro are promised three. Samsung offers a very strong update policy for the A53, promising four OS upgrades and the same five years of security patches. It’s worth noting that the Pixel should get monthly updates from Google throughout its life span, but Samsung tends to put its phones on a less frequent update schedule as they get older — just two security updates a year for the oldest supported devices.
