Google Pixel 6a – a smaller, more affordable 6 (smartphone review)

The Google Pixel 6a is just a smaller version of the 6 and 6 Pro and costs accordingly less. 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 customisation holds it back.

Pixel is the pure Android phone of choice and one of the first to receive Android 13. I feel comfortable with Pixel phones. They always work well, with no baked-in spyware, a decent camera, and a good user experience. The Pixel 6a does not disappoint although its dual camera 12MP camera on paper looks under-speced, it is not too far removed from its sibling’s 50MP cameras that bin to 12.5MP.

Let’s look at the Google Pixel 6a differences because you may end up buying the 6 or 6 Pro

Model	6a	6	6 Pro
Price	$749	From $999	From $1299
Web	6a Website	6 Website	6Pro Website
Released	May 2022	October 2021	Same
Screen	6.1” 2400×1080 60Hz OLED GG3	6.4” 2400 x 1080 90Hz AMOLED GG Victus	6.7” 3120 x 1440 120Hz LPTO AMOLED Curved edge same
Processor	Tensor 5nm Titan M2 security co-processor	Same	Same
Ram/Storage GB	6/128	8/128/1256	12/128/256/512
Battery mAh	4410	4614	5003
Charger (not supplied)	18W	30W USB 21W Qi	30W USB 23W Qi
Rear camera MP	12.2+12 PDAF and OIS/EIS 4K video	50+12MP Laser focus and OIS Same	50+48+12 Laser/PDAF and OIS Same
Front MP	8 1080 video	8 1080 video	11.1 4K video
Size	152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9mm x 178g	158.6 x 74.8 x 8.9 mm x 207g	163.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm x 210g
IP	67	68	68
Colours	Sage Chalk Charcoal	Kinda Coral Stormy Black Sorta Seafoam	Stormy Black Cloudy White Sorta Sunny
5G	Nano-SIM and e-SIM All Australian sub-6 and low-band	Namo-SIM and eSIM Same	Same Same mmWave
Wi-Fi	6e AX	same	same
BT	5.2	same	same
USB-C	3.1 charge only	3.1 alt DP	3.1 alt DP
NFC	yes	yes	yes
Security	Fingerprint unlock	same	same
Sound/mics	Stereo/2	Same/3	same

Australian review – Google Pixel 6a Model G1AZG firmware modified for Australia

Australian website	6a Website
Price	$749 6/128GB
Colours	Sage Chalk Charcoal
From *	Google Online or Telstra, JB Hi-Fi, Optus, Vodafone, Harvey Norman and Officeworks
Warranty	2-years
Country of Origin	China
Company	Google is an American multinational technology company specialising in Internet-related services and products, including online advertising, a search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. It is considered one of the Big Five US tech companies with Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.
More	CyberShack Google news and reviews

* Grey market – no Australian warranty, and 5G won’t work

We strongly advise you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware.

It is easy to identify the Australian version – under Settings, About Phone, and Regulatory Labels, there is an Australian RCM C-tick mark. There is also an RCM C-Tick on the box. They use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies, requiring local activation first.

Do not buy models

• GX7AS – US, CA, TW, SG, IN
• GB62Z – US Verizon only
• GB17L – Japan
• G1AZG – EMEA version

Deep-Dive review format

It is now in two parts – a summary and a separate 300+ line database-driven spec, including over 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 (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First impression – Nice, elegant lines – Pass+

It may be a glass slab, but the Glastic (Plastic) back and a prominent camera bar are standouts. It is a little slippery in hand and can slip off the table when charging, so take care and use a bumper case. The Glastic back can scratch fairly easily, so avoid any keys in the same pocket.

At 152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9 mm x 178g, it is excellent in hand and will be attractive to those wanting a smaller phone.

Screen –6.12” 2400 x 1080, 60Hz, OLED – Pass

It is a good, quite bright, daylight readable screen, but it is not a perfect OLED. For example, it can play back HDR10+ content, but that requires over 1000 nits – this has 780, so it is not as bright. You won’t notice that for streaming as it is limited to FHD HDR content; that is fine.

It is colour accurate for sRGB and DCI-P3 but only for 8-bit, 16.07m colours – not the wider Rec.2020 1.07 billion colours. Brightness is slightly uneven, especially on the bottom and left sides, with a slight blue tint.

Overall, it is fit for purpose but a little slow for gaming.

Processor SoC – A tense moment for Tensor – Pass for performance

The Google-designed Tensor Chip is based on a Samsung Exynos 2100 (same as the Galaxy S21-series) using Samsung’s Exynos 5123 modem. It is heavily optimised for mobile applications for Google’s AI and ML (artificial intelligence and machine learning). These include speech recognition, language translations, computational photography, power efficiency, security, and Google’s claim of up to 80% faster than Pixel 5.

We have a few issues with this SoC, which are exactly the same as the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. It won’t run several industry standard tests like GFX Benchmark Manhattan 3.1 battery test. It won’t run the Geekbench 5 OpenCL test (it runs on every other smartphone except Pixel).

Still, it is 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 that is where we feel the Pixel is let down. Simply put, it is not for videographers, photo editors, or power users that need speed or space. There is no mountable micro-SD or large external USB-C SSD support either. It will access flash drives only as cut, copy, and paste of data.

We also got some variable results in data transfer tests. We use CPDT (Cross Platform Disk Test) to measure sustained performance – not the ‘BS’ peak performance you may achieve for a microsecond burst.

Read times varied from 197 to 1008MBps with no explanation for why (all tests have all apps closed).

CPU Throttle – Fail for power users and gamers. Pass for average users

This throttles between 43 and 50% at 100% load for 15-minutes. If you run the test longer, the device gets too hot.

To put that in perspective, video editing, rendering, and even video playback will see you quickly lose 50% of the power. The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro were almost as bad at their release, but back in January, after firmware updates, this had dropped to 19/24%, respectively.

This reflects a poor thermal design that firmware updates cannot fully fix.

Comms – Pass(able)

This has a Wi-Fi 6E AX chip, but it is not enabled in Australia (same as Pixel 6 and 6 Pro) despite the standard being approved a few months ago for use here.

However, it does connect nicely to Wi-Fi 6 and records maximum 2400Mbps speeds out to 5 metres. At 10 metres, it drops to 1633Mbps – still extremely good.

It has BT 5.2, NFC and dual GPS (<4m accuracy) – all above spec.

But again, it is let down by the USB-C 3.1 connection that does not support mountable drives and does not have alt DP for HDMI cable connection to monitors and TVs. You have to settle for Chromecast.

LTE and 5G – city and suburbs only – Pass(able)

Test: Using a Boost Mobile (Telstra retail network) sim at 1km line-of-sight from 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 closest telco tower at -90dBm and gets a variable signal from 1 to 6pW. It cannot 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 does not have the same antenna signal strength as Qualcomm modems, which always find four towers at usable signal strengths.

The Pixel 6s is city/suburbs phones where you can get strong coverage from multiple towers.

Battery – Pass to Pass+ depending on use

The 4410mAh battery is a little smaller than the typical 5000mAh phones. It does not come with a charger, and you need to use one that can supply 9V/2A/18W to charge at the maximum speed. Most USB-C PD chargers should do that, or at best, you will get 5V/2A/10W slow charging.

Charge time is 1 hour and 47 minutes – OK and tolerable. However, slow charging takes that to 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Battery life is variable, and we can only give estimates because it could not run two important battery tests (PC Mark 3.0 battery Test and GFX Bench Manhattan 3l1 battery test).

A 1080p video loop at 50% brightness/sound in aeroplane mode lasted 16 hours and 4 minutes. GFX T-Rex (a gaming graphics test) lasted 9.66 hours. Accubattery predicts 18 hours maximum.

The bottom line is that battery life is nowhere near the 24-hour claim. However, that is based on ‘testing using a mix of talk, data, standby, and limited default features which 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 Pass(able)

It has the typical stereo forward firing earpiece and down-firing bottom speaker. It uses a pair of Cirrus Logic CS35L41 amps that can output up to 5W each at 10% THD. It has no EQ, Dolby Atmos or Hi-Res support.

BT is 5.2 and has SBC, AAC and LDAC codecs; however, we could not get the latter to work.

The maximum media volume is 84dB with a bit of distortion. Hands-free quality is good, and the mics are effective, but it is not loud.

The sound stage is narrow, and Dolby Atmos test tracks did not expand that.

Sound quality – Pass(able)

Note: Frequency response is from 20Hz to 20kHz

Deep Bass: 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass: 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass: 100 to 200Hz	Starting at 130Hz and very slowly building
Low-mid: 200-400Hz	Slowly building
Mid: 400-1000Hz	Slowly building to flatten at 1kHz
High-mid: 1-2kHz	Flat
Low-treble: 2-4kHz	Flat
Treble:4-6kHz	Starting decline
High Treble: 6-10kHz	Flat to 15kHz
Dog whistle: 10-20kHz	Flat to 15kHZ and then plummets off the cliff

The sound signature is almost identical to the 6 and 6 Pro. It verges on analytical (bass/mids recessed, treble boosted), which is crisp but overly harsh and unpleasant for most music. You can read more about How to tell if you have good music (sound signature is the key).

There is no EQ, pre-sets, or support for Dolby Atmos or other spatial music.

Build – Exceed

It is a little slippery in the hand, and the back Glastic scratches fairly easily (no keys in your pocket, please). Use a case. The front is the older Gorilla Glass 3 (6/6Pro have GG Victus 7), but it is fit for purpose. The IP rating is 67 – 1metre for 30 minutes. See Waterproof phones – fact or fiction (smartphone guide)

Android 12 – secure and soon upgradable (Exceed)

Google calls the Android 12 UI ‘Material You’, chock full of themes and styles. You can retain the old three-button navigation if you wish.

Several exciting features revolve around voice and translation. You can voice type (Hey Google, Type) and send a message. It can live translate from a foreign language (Live Caption) or a camera image. It has 55 offline and 104 online languages. Or it can be an interpreter between two languages both ways.

A new Privacy dashboard helps you identify and control what apps have permissions. A security hub offers all device security tools in one place. Emergency settings determine a car crash and can send an SOS.

And best of all is the excellent OS and security patch policy – See What are the official Android OS and Security update policies? (guide) and no bloatware!

Missing – no real deal breakers if you know first

• 3.5mm port – use Bluetooth earphones
• Micro-SD – no mountable expansion, so if you store a lot, it will be in Google Drive (at extra cost)
• Mountable external SSD storage – not for videographers
• Wi-Fi 6E not yet enabled
• Charger – Bad Google!
• Wireless charging (not expected at this price)
• USB-C 3.1 alt DP for audio/video cable to HDMI (missed opportunity)

Google Pixel 6a Camera – Pass+

This is a tried-and-true setup with the Sony IMX363 sensor dating back to the Pixel 2. The main difference is the Tensor SoC’s extra processing power. This means faster focus, more AI processing and a better night mode.

DXOMark has tested it and ranks it at 130 – 21^st along with Apple iPhone 12Pro Max/13/mini. The Pixel 6 Pro scores135 (8^th), and the 6 scores 132 (10^th). Interestingly it is well up from the Pixel 5 at 120 or 44^th  place, yet it uses the same sensor. The bottom line is it is a pretty good camera now with the extra SoC power.

Its strengths are very good point-and-shoot computational photography and excellent OIS/EIS video stabilisation. Its weaknesses include the ultra-wide lens/sensor lacking details; there is some noise in almost all light conditions and a loss of finer detail in low light.

Regrettably, the front 8.1MP selfie camera is average at best, and AI tends to try too hard to match skin tones.

Camera App features

• Magic Eraser removes unwanted objects
• Camouflage changes an item’s colour to better blend into a scene
• Photo unblur – works well combining the UW and Wide sensors, but the image is soft
• Real Tone is also a very good feature that better reproduces skin tones, but it can get it wrong depending on the background
• 4K HDR video

We say – It is the perfect point-and-shoot camera.

Camera results

• 1X Day: 12.2MP primary sensor – the colours are excellent with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights.
• 2X Day: Primary sensor – colours are excellent with good dynamic range. The background is starting to get noisy.
• 7X Day: Primary sensor: Lots of noise in the background but adequate foreground detail.
• Ultra-wide: Completely different colours, brighter image, good details
• Macro: The 12.2MP sensor takes great macro shots, but as usual, 4cm focus is critical
• Indoor office light: While the definition is good, the dog’s black ears are greyer, and the image is a little soft and dull.
• Bokeh Depth: The image is brighter, but the dog’s ears are even greyer, and the colours are off.
• Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is pretty good with reasonable colour and low noise.
• Night mode brings up the detail, saturates the colour, and removes a lot of noise
• Selfie: In good daylight, the 8MP selfie has natural skin tones and details, but we noticed the background had quite an impact on the AI processing. If it was light, the skin tones were darker and vice-versa.
• Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 4K@60fps (OIS) and 10870p@60fps (OIS and EIS). It also supports HDR+ 4K. Excellent stable shots day or office light and not bad in lower light.

CyberShack’s view – Google Pixel 6a is a good mid-range with some quirks

While I really like the 6 Pro, there is little to discriminate between it and the 6a in everyday use. You can see where the 6 Pro’s extra lenses work better but as Pixel is all about computational photography, there is not the gulf I expected.

Similarly, while Qi charging is mandatory for me, the 6a 1 hour and the 47-minute charge did not phase me.

The screen is smooth (even though it is only 60Hz😉 – who cares apart from gamers?), and I like the pocketability of the 6a.

But it has a few issues that will affect power users.

• Battery life under load is 5 screen-on-hours. This is not for you if you play lots of video games.
• Throttling is extreme – nearly twice as much as the 6 and 6 Pro, so again, not for gamers or power users.
• It won’t run standard tests like OpenCL and GFX Bench Manhattan 3.1 Battery Test. Nor will the 6 and 6 Pro.
• External storage access is limited to USB Flash drives for cut and paste only, and you can only copy or move files to or from (not mountable as storage). Same as 6 and 6 Pro.
• No alt DP out
• A minor point, but it is advertised as Wi-Fi 6E,  but this is not enabled despite ratification here a few months ago.

Overall, it is a phone that Joe and Jane Average would be happy to own. With Google’s pure Android and generous update policy, it is a winner. Read What are the official Android OS and Security update policies? (guide).

Competition – its $749 for 6/12GB

Frankly, its biggest competition comes from the Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6, and 6 Pro revisited – (smartphone after the January 2022 update). It is $999, another $250, but if you want pure Android from a US company, this is probably the pick.

If you do spend $999, you need to look at the Motorola Edge 30 Pro is the value flagship king (smartphone review). Motorola (Lenovo) uses a light My UX user interface over Android.

But there are some very strong competitors offering more

CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.1 (E&OE)

• OPPO Find X5 Lite 256GB – $799 uber-value (smartphone review)
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, Fan Edition 128GB – $699 (smartphone review)
• Samsung A53 5G – 5G smartphone for $699 (smartphone review)
• Motorola Edge 30 – fantastic value $699 5G (smartphone review)

Google Pixel 6a

Brand	Google
Model	Pixel 6a
Model Number	G1AZS modified for Australia
Price Base	3/64
Price base	749 plus power adapter $45 Free shipping
Warranty months	2 years
Tier	mid-range
Website	Product page
From	Google Store, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, Telstra, Optus
Country of Origin	Vietnam
Company	Google is an American multinational technology company specialising in Internet-related services and products, including online advertising, a search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. It is considered one of the Big Five US tech companies with Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.
Test date	15-18 August
Ambient temp	10-20°
Release	1/05/2022. AU release July
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	GX7AS – US, CA, TW, SG, IN GB62Z – US Verizon only GB17L – Japan G1AZG – EMEA

Screen

Size	6.1
Type	OLED
Flat/ Curve/ 2D/ 3D	Flat
Resolution	2400 x 1080
PPI	439
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %
Colours bits	8-bit, 16.07m
Refresh Hz/ adaptive	60 fixed
Response 120Hz	N/A
Nits typical/ test	500 (tested 465)
Nits max/ test	1000 (Tested 780)
Contrast	Infinite
sRGB	Natural 100% Colour Boost mode takes this to about 130% not the natural colour
DCI-P3	Adaptive 98%
Rec.2020 or other	Not stated
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	2.2
HDR Level	HDR10+
SDR Upscale	No
Bluelight control	Yes
PWM if known	360Hz
Daylight readable	Yes – quite bright
Always on Display	Yes
Edge display	No
Accessibility	All Android features
DRM	L1 Widevine for HD SDR Netflix
Gaming	60Hz is old hat and the processor throttles
Screen protection	GG3
Comment	It’s the perfect pocket size – not too big or small – just right and will appeal to those looking for a smaller device.

Processor (Soc)

Brand/ Model	Tensor based on Samsung Exynos 2100.
nm	5
Cores	Octa-core (2×2.80GHz & 2×2.25GHz & 4×1.80GHz
Modem	Exynos 5123
AI TOPS	Estimate 25
Geekbench 5 Single-core (power/battery)	1040/same and similar to Pixel 6/Pro
Geekbench 5 multi-core (power/battery)	2627/same
Like	Single core is exactly like Exynos 2100, but multi-core approx 10% slower
GPU	Mali G78 MP20
GPU Test
Open CL	Would not run
Like	Does this mean no support?
Vulcan	7231/same
RAM/ type	6GB LPDDR5
Storage/ free/ type	128GB UFS 3.3 99GB free (no larger option)
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	197 to 1006
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	207
CPDT microSD read/ write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	The external storage (SSD or USB) will not return a test result, which means it cannot be mounted as live storage, only for content moved from internal storage. If this is the case, it is useless to videographers and vloggers.
Comment	We had variable disk transfer results ranging from 197MBps to 1006MBps. The 1006MBps is the peak, and the lower value is sustained.
Throttle test
Max GIPS (power/battery)	244,382 (similar on power battery)
Average GIPS	186,219
Minimum GIPS	131,966
% Throttle	43/44/47% over three tests
CPU Temp	50° but back reaches 37°
Comment	This is an unacceptable throttling result. We ran it on power and battery and repeated the tests three times each. You are seeing the best of a bad lot. The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro suffered from a new SoC and Android 12 – a double whammy. Test results were not great, and throttling was poor. This has improved over several firmware updates.
	Note that the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro had 19/24%, respectively.

Comms

Wi-Fi Type/ model	Wi-Fi 6e AX As of August 2022, 6E has not been enabled in the firmware. Tests are Wi-Fi 6
Test 2m -dBm/ Mbps	-26/2268
Test 5m	-46/2268
Test 10m	-54/1633
BT Type	5.2
GPS single/ dual	Dual accuracy <4m
USB type	USB-C 3.1 charge only
ALT DP/ DeX/ Ready For	No alt DP
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wide-band	No alt DP
Sensors
Accelerometer	Combo with gyro
Gyro	Combo with gyro
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer	Yes
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other
Comment	We express concern that this device is limited for professional users. It lacks USB-C Alt DP connectivity, microSD expansion, and the apparent inability to mount external storage for video.

LTE and 5G

SIM	Single SIM and e-SIM
Active	One active at a time
Ring tone single/ dual	Single
VoLTE	Carrier Dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier Dependent
4G Bands	Not stated on the AU site B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/38/39/40/41/42/48/66/71
Comment	All Australian bands – almost a world phone
5G sub-6Ghz	n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/20/25/28/30/38/40/41/48/66/71/77/78
Comment	Supports all Australian sub-6Ghz and low bands.
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile/ Telstra
UL/ DL/ ms	44.5/28.2/60ms
Tower 1 -dBm/ fW or pW	-90/1-6pW
Tower 2	No
Tower 3	No
Tower 4	No
Comment	Only finds a single tower at average signal strength – strictly a city or suburbs phone with good tower coverage.

Battery

mAh	4410
Charger/ type/ supplied	Not supplied – ideally, at least 5V/3A/15W or 9V/2A/18W
PD/ QC level	2.0 – use any PD charger
Qi/ wattage	N/A
Reverse Qi or cable	N/A
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)
Charge % 30mins	40%
Charge 0-100%	1 hour 47 minutes
Charge Qi/ W	N/A
Charge 5V/ 2A	3 hours 45 minutes
Video loop 50%/ aeroplane	16 hours 4 minutes
PC Mark 3 battery	Would not run Accubattery shows 18 hours of combined use
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	579.8mins (9.66hrs) 3340 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	5 hours Accubattery shows 5 hours
Watt full load	2000-2200
Watt idle Screen on	255
Estimate loss at max refresh	N/A
Estimate typical use	Google claims 24 hours and up to 72 hours with extreme battery saving. Heavy use will need a daily charge, and light use will get up to two days.
Comment	We do not like the loss of a charger as Samsung and Apple have done. This requires a 9V/2A/18W charger to achieve the fastest charge times.

Sound

Speakers	Stereo earpiece and bottom-firing speaker.
Tuning	No
AMP	CS35L41
Dolby Atmos decode	No
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	No
BT Codecs	SBC, AC and LDAC (although we could not get LDAC to work)
Multipoint	Should be able to
Dolby Atmos (DA)	No
EQ	No
Mics	2 with some noise reduction
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	84
Media (music)	71
Ring	74
Alarm	75
Notifications	74
Earpiece	52
Hands-free	A little quiet but reasonable noise handling
BT headphones	Decent left/right separation and adequate volume.

Sound quality

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Starting at 130Hz and very slowly building
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Slowly building
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Slowly building to flatten at 1kHz
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Starting decline
High Treble 6-10kHz	Flat to 15kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Flat to 15kHz, then plummets off a cliff
Sound Signature type	Analytical (bass/mid recessed, treble boosted), which is crisp but overly harsh and unpleasant for most music.
Soundstage	Limited to handset width
Comment	The sound signature is almost identical to the 6 and 6 Pro. It is not at all musically satisfying with no bass, weak mids and strong treble. If you like music, use headphones.

Build

Assembled	Foxconn makes these in China. Build quality is excellent.
Size (H X W x D)	152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9 mm
Weight grams	178
Front glass	GG3
Rear material	3D thermoformed composite
Frame	Alloy
IP rating	67
Colours	Charcoal Chalk Sage
Pen/ Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	No
USB cable	1m
Buds	No
Bumper cover	No
Comment	No charger loses points

OS

Android	12
Security patch date	1/06/2022
UI	No
OS upgrade policy	Google Pixels get three OS updates
Security patch policy	Five years of security updates (if warranted).
Bloatware	No All standard apps, Google Lens. Maps, Assistant and YouTube. Google Assistant by pressing the power key
Other	Pure Android with 13 coming soon
Comment
Security
Fingerprint sensor location/ type	Optical under glass but only 6/10 reliability.
Face ID	2D
Other	Titan M2 security chip
Comment

Google Pixel 6a camera

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	12.2
Sensor	Sony IMX 363
Focus	PDAF
f-stop	1.7
um	.7 bins to 1.4
FOV° (stated/ actual)	77 (65.6-77.7)
Stabilisation	OIS
Zoom	7x digital
Rear 2	Ultra-wide
MP	12
Sensor	Sony IMX 386
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.2
um	1.25
FOV (stated/ actual)	114
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Special
Video max	4K@60 OIS 1080p@60 with OIS/Gyro EIS Stereo record
Flash	Yes
Auto-HDR	Yes
	This is a tried-and-true setup with the IMX 363 sensor dating back to the Pixel 2. The main difference is the extra processing power of the Tensor SoC. This means faster focus, more AI processing and better night mode.
QR code reader	Google Lens
Night mode	Yes
Features	Slo-mo video support up to 240 FPS 4K Timelapse with stabilisation Astrophotography timelapse Optical image stabilisation Fused video stabilisation 4K Cinematic Pan video stabilization 4K Locked video stabilization1080p Active video stabilization Digital zoom up to 5x Video formats: HEVC (H.265) and AVC (H.264)

Front

Front	Selfie
MP	8
Sensor	IMX 355
Focus	FF
f-stop	2
um	1.22
FOV (stated/ actual)	84 (72,6-85.2)
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom
Video max	1080p@30
Features	A bit underwhelming but fit for purpose.
Comment	1X Day: 12.2MP primary sensor – the colours are excellent with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights. 2X Day: Primary sensor – colours are excellent with good dynamic range. The background is starting to get noisy .7X Day: Primary sensor: Lots of noise in the background but adequate foreground detail. Ultra-wide: Completely different colours, brighter image, good detailsMacro: The 12.2MP sensor takes great macro shots, but as usual, 4cm focus is critical Indoor office light: While the definition is good, the dog’s black ears are greyer, and the image is a little soft and dull. Bokeh Depth: The image is brighter, but the dog’s ears are even greyer, and the colours are off. Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is pretty good with reasonable colour and low noise. Night mode brings up the detail, saturates the colour, and removes a lot of noise Selfie: In good daylight, the 8MP selfie has natural skin tones and details, but we noticed the background had quite an impact on the AI processing. If it was light, the skin tones were darker and vice-versa. Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 4K@60fps (OIS) and 10870p@60fps (OIS and EIS). It also supports HDR+ 4K. Excellent stable shots day or office light and not bad in lower light.

Ratings

Features	8.5
	While it has everything you need, there is a lot more you could want
Value	9
	Decent value, and you get a lot of AI smarts
Performance	7
	Throttling is an issue for power users but not so much for typical users.
Ease of Use	9
	AI makes the camera easy
Design	7.5
	easy-to-scratch
Rating out of 10	8.2
Final Comment	Overall, it is a phone that Joe and Jane Average would be happy to own. With Google’s pure Android and generous update policy, it is a winner.

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