Google Pixel 6a — power of Tensor trickles down from flagships
Google Pixel 6a in Sage green. Picture: Noel Campion.
Like or hate it, Apple designs phones that users want and love. They have a devout following that spans decades. They invented the term brand loyalty, but I believe the reason for a lot of their success is down to the fact that they control everything from hardware and software and of course, the design. This is not always the case for other brands that must get their hardware and software from different vendors.
Google develops Android OS and in their recent Pixel iterations, they took control over their hardware which is akin to the Apple model. This gives them full control over both hardware and software that in theory should allow them to create the optimal harmony between the two.
The Pixel 6a is Google's latest mid-range phone that features an OLED display with flagship-level performance and cameras that are excellent.
Like Apple, Google has adopted a design philosophy that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. The 6a hasn’t strayed from the already striking design of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. One of its standout features is the horizontal camera bar on the back, which isn’t as deep as the more expensive Pixel 6.
The Pixel 6a is smaller and lighter than the Pixel 6, which makes it more comfortable to hold and more ergonomic to use. It features a stunning 6.1-inch 2,400 x 1,080px resolution OLED panel but unfortunately, the refresh rate is locked at 60Hz. This may put some potential buyers off since many mid-range phones come with 90Hz or even 120Hz panels.
The front glass is only Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which is more resistant to scratches but less resistant than the latest Gorilla Glass Victus to shattering if you drop it. You also get IP67 dust and waterproofing, which is more than adequate protection if you accidentally dunk it in water.
The rear is made of glossy plastic although it looks and feels like glass. While I love the premium feel of glass, it does make a phone heavier and plastic doesn’t shatter like glass.
The Pixel 6a has impressive stereo speakers — one above the display facing forward and the other on the bottom edge. As with most phones these days, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack or microSD support.
Biometrics come in the form of an optical under-display fingerprint reader that’s not particularly fast, but I did find it reliable. Strangely, there’s no face unlock option which is the same as the 6 and 6 Pro. I’m assuming Google decided not to implement it since it’s less secure than a fingerprint reader.
The Google Tensor chip, which premiered on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro is also present on the Pixel 6a. When using the phone for everyday tasks, it doesn’t feel slow although the 60Hz isn’t as smooth as displays with 120Hz refresh. This is particularly noticeable when scrolling through social feeds or web browsing but it’s not a dealbreaker.
In terms of gaming performance, the 6a can hold its own with most phones, but when playing AAA titles, there’s a noticeable hit in performance compared to the high-end chipsets found or more expensive phones. Don’t expect to be able to play games like Genshin Impact at the highest graphic settings and get 60fps.
Where the Tensor chip does offer something unique is in image processing. For instance, real-time processing of Live HDR+ video on 4K footage can produce rich, vibrant colours, improved night-time performance, and improved tone mapping. Tensor also powers advanced features like Live Translate, which enables you to chat in 11 languages in real-time.
The Pixel 6a includes the next-generation Titan M2, which works with Tensor security core to protect your sensitive user data, PINs and passwords. Google has also extended their support window to at least five years of security updates and three for OS updates.
The phone has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. As with any Google account, you get 15GB of cloud storage free and you also get three months of YouTube Premium and 100GB for free. If you upgrade your 15GB plan to the Google One plan you’ll get 100GB for €1.99/month.
The Pixel 6a comes with a 4,410mAh battery that is capable of surviving a full day of heavy use. Battery performance is excellent thanks to OS tweaks, a 60Hz display and the Tensor chipset.
There’s no charger in the box, but you do get a USB-C to USB-C cable. It does support up to 18W charging that’s good enough to fully charge it in less than a couple of hours. There’s no wireless charging support which is unfortunate but this is one of the areas Google felt they could save costs on.
The Pixel 6a features Bluetooth 5.2, 5G and NFC that supports contactless payments such as Google Pay.
The Pixel 6a has a 12.2MP f/1.7 dual-pixel primary shooter (same as the one found on the Pixel 5a) and the same 12.2MP ultra-wide sensor as the Pixel 6. Despite the main lens' greater image quality, shots taken with the ultra-wide lens appear good overall.
I love using Pixel phones to take photos because of the camera apps' ease of use. It is minimalistic with just the right amount of features to be comprehensive without making things too complicated for those who just want to point and shoot.
The results speak for themselves too. Photos taken in good light look natural with good contrast, realistic colours and lots of detail. HDR isn’t too aggressive most of the time — I find smartphone image processing can try too hard to bring out details in shadow and highlights. The end result is often a flat image that lacks any real contrast. Thanks to the Tensor chip image processing time is much faster than it was on the Pixel 5a.
You can capture video up to 4K 60fps and you now get four different stabilisation modes including Standard (for light movements), Locked (for faraway, still shots (2x zoom), Active (for heavy movement) and Cinematic Pan (for smooth, panning shots — half speed, muted).
One of my favourite camera features is Night Sight which can capture incredible photos at night. There’s even an option to photograph the stars — you’ll need to put the phone on a tripod before it will auto-enable astrophotography mode. There’s also an option to capture timelapse movies in astrophotography mode.
One feature missing that wasn’t carried over from the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro is the panning effects which is a pity.
The 8MP selfie camera does a decent job of taking selfies and video calls. In addition to using Night Sight to take selfies in less-than-ideal lighting situations, you can use portrait mode to add fake depth and background bokeh.
The Pixel 6a comes with all of Google's cutting-edge editing tools, including Face Unblur, Magic Eraser, Real Tone, and others. The fun of capturing and editing images on a Pixel is mostly due to these features.
The Google Pixel 6a is a solid mid-range smartphone with good performance and features that justify its price. While some may lament the lack of wireless charging, a high refresh rate display and a plastic back, you do get most of the benefits of Google’s flagships; the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, for a lot less. The excellent battery life, great camera, comfortable form factor and solid performance make the Pixel 6a an easy mid-range smartphone to recommend.
Pixel 6a €459 available in Sage, Chalk or Charcoal colours from Google
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