Monitor: 6.1 inches 1080 x 2400
Slices: Google tensor
RAM: 6 GB
cameras: 12.2 megapixels and 12 megapixels
battery: 4,410 mAh
The Google Pixel 6a is a solid average, however it’s priced a bit too high to really stand out. It has many of the same good and bad points as the Pixel 6, including great software, a smart chipset, and a sleek design, but it’s held back by a 60Hz display.
to
- Fingerprint scanner
- Same as Tensor chipset
- Clean software
against
- Bad battery life
- Lower refresh rate
- Very expensive touch
Monitor: 6.4 inches 1080 x 2400
Slices: Google tensor
RAM: 8 GB
cameras: 50MP and 12MP
battery: 4614 mAh
The Google Pixel 6 isn’t the latest model anymore, which makes for a mid-range feel — and it’s all comparable to the Pixel 6a. However, here you get a better camera, a higher refresh rate, and – yes – a higher price, but not much higher than that.
to
- Takes great photos
- Good program
- Interesting design
against
- There is no zoom lens
- More expensive
- Limited storage
The Google Pixel 6 turned out to be one of the most popular Pixel phones ever, with fans loving its design, imaging experience, and clean software, and it made a jump to our list of the best smartphones.
But one problem was that it was an expensive phone, and that’s something the Google Pixel 6a is here to solve — it’s a budget alternative to the 2021 flagship model at a lower price point while cutting some corners to keep that cost down.
However, now that the Google Pixel 7 line has come out, the Pixel 6 itself is something of a mid-range, which makes it more comparable to the Pixel 6a.
Anyway, if you’re looking to pick up a new Android phone, you might be interested in buying one of these Pixels — how exactly do they compare? We’ll run their specs side by side so you can see.
Pixel 6a vs Pixel 6 price
On paper, the Google Pixel 6a appears to be the cheaper phone of the two, costing $449 / £399 / AU$749 compared to $599 / £599 / AU$999 for its non-A sibling.
However, keep in mind that the old phone has only been around for another nine months, and it’s seen some price cuts in that time. In fact, in certain regions, the Pixel 6’s price has dropped below the 6a’s.
So, look out for the best deals if you’re buying a new Pixel phone, because which one is cheaper will influence your opinions on it quite a bit.
Pixel 6a design vs. Pixel 6 design
We can basically put our feet up and make coffee for the Pixel 6 vs 6a’s design department, because he’ll roughly write the same — these are very similar phones.
The Pixel 6 family is united by its looks, with a horizontal camera “mask” that punctuates the back of the device. The 6a stands out less, but that’s really the point of this phone — it’s smaller than the 6.
The Pixel 6a also has a plastic back, unlike the 6’s glass, so it’ll feel cheaper but will likely take a little more beating.
Neither phone has a 3.5mm audio jack, and both use the USB-C standard for charging and data transfer.
One advantage of the Pixel 6a is that it uses a more advanced version of the Pixel 6’s in-screen fingerprint scanner, so it unlocks faster and more reliably.
Pixel 6a screen vs. Pixel 6
The Google Pixel 6 has a larger screen than its sibling, with the 6.4-inch panel feeling large compared to the Pixel 6a’s 6.1-inch display.
In addition to your opinion of the “big vs. small” screens, the Pixel 6 has a superior screen. It has the same resolution, 1080 x 2400, but with a 90Hz refresh rate instead of 60Hz, and more advanced display technology, so it supports HDR10+.
The phone’s two screens are split with “punch-hole” cut-outs for the front camera at the top center of the panel.
Pixel 6a vs Pixel 6 camera
Google Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 share two cameras, one different.
The first similarity is in the selfie camera, with both featuring an 8MP f/2.0 aperture lens which worked well in our tests, and the second being the 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera with a 114-degree field of view.
The main difference here is in the main camera — while the Pixel 6 gets a 50MP f/1.9 main camera, the 6a is stuck with the same 12.2MP f/1.7 unit that Google has been putting in all of its smartphones for a few years.
That’s not quite as big a downgrade as the numbers suggest — it’s still nice to take bright photos, but they won’t have as high a resolution as those shot on the Pixel 6.
Phones have more in common than they don’t, especially when you get into software. Google is big on AI, especially when it comes to scene optimization, and using the same algorithms that improve photos on both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a, the results aren’t out of the world different.
The 6a gets a lot of the Pixel 6’s camera features too, most notably the Magic Eraser which lets you pick out unwanted background elements in photos and clean them up using AI.
Pixel 6a vs. Pixel 6 performance and specs
This is another area that is too easy to write about: all members of the Google Pixel 6 family have the exact same chipset.
This is the Tensor chip, developed by Google itself, and this trio of phones marks its debut in consumer-ready phones. In terms of performance powerhouse, it returned upper-midrange results in our benchmark tests, but its real strong suit is the array of AI intelligence it facilitates. Lots of those in the camera department.
When it comes to intense gaming, AI, and operations, the Google Pixel 6a will feel exactly the same as the Pixel 6, so you can’t use this as a way to decide which model to buy. However, the standard Pixel 6 has an edge when it comes to RAM, as you get 8GB in it, while the Pixel 6a has 6GB.
Both are 5G phones, so your connection should be about the same no matter which model you choose.
specs for you can Use the storage though – While both phones get a 128GB option, only the Pixel 6 also comes in 256GB.
Pixel 6a vs Pixel 6 software
Behold, another area where the Google Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 are equal.
Both phones run Android 12 out of the box, and both can upgrade to Android 13 at the time of writing — Google makes Android, and stock versions are exactly what the company wanted them to look like (a lot of phone makers tweak Android in a few ways to create an experience different).
Stock Android though is pretty clean, with no bloatware and only Google’s own pre-installed apps (such as Pay, Maps, and Play Store).
Pixel phones are often held up as the epitome of the Android experience, and that’s the case here, with key features in place and their account. The big feature is Material You, which lets you tweak a lot of the program’s design elements depending on your wallpaper.
Pixel 6a battery life vs Pixel 6
Unfortunately, the two Pixel phones don’t have enough in common when it comes to battery life.
On paper, the Pixel 6’s 4,614mAh battery and the 6a’s 4,410mAh battery seem to be about the same when you factor in the display and size differences.
But in our experience, we found that the Pixel 6’s battery life was good, but the Pixel 6a was disappointing, rarely lasting a day of use.
Charging speed is another major difference — it’s only 18W at 6A, which means it takes nearly two hours for the power to fill up. That compares to 30W on the Pixel 6, which hit 80% after an hour of charging, and this phone also gets 21W wireless charging and wireless power sharing as well.
away
In some regions, these phones are identical.
You’re getting the same software, same chipset, and same camera software, which makes the user experience similar in a few ways.
And the Pixel 6a is ahead in a number of ways, with a more responsive fingerprint scanner and a smaller body that might appeal to some users.
But in a few ways, the Pixel 6 is the better phone with a higher-resolution main camera, higher storage options, faster charging, a longer-lasting battery, and a higher screen refresh rate.
When you consider that the Pixel 6 can often be bought for cheaper than the 6a as well, it seems like a better buy for most people.