The Pixel 6a is really good
Google's new $449 Pixel 6a is a stupendous smartphone with just a handful of drawbacks.
Google made another great Pixel A-series phone. I’m sure you’re all used to hearing that every time there’s a new A-series, but there’s a reason Google makes a majority of its Pixel money from that line of phones: they’ve been consistently good for years, and the 6a won’t be bucking that trend.
Priced at $449, the 6a will launch on July 28th. Preorders go live today, and you’ll have the choice of three different color options: Charcoal, Chalk, or Sage like I have. It’ll be available from the Google Store as well as the big three US carriers. For a limited time, Google will offer free Pixel Buds A-Series when you preorder the device.
I had the opportunity to review the Pixel 6a for CNN Underscored, so if you’d like to read my full thoughts on the device, you can head over there. In this piece, I thought I’d summarize my experience with the phone and give you an idea of where I’m landing with it.
To me, the Pixel 6a has the potential to become the new default Android mid-ranger. Sure, there are phones in this price range that might offer slightly better specs or outperform the 6a in specific areas, but because of how well-balanced the 6a’s experience is, the device might as well become the new starting point for shoppers who need an Android phone under $500. It’s just that good.
Design & Display
The design of the 6a is terrific, with a nearly identical appearance to the standard Pixel 6 with its aluminum rails and glass exterior. Google isn’t using the fancy Gorilla Glass Victus in this case (you’re left with the aging Gorilla Glass 3 on the front and unbranded 3D glass on the back), but it still makes for a very appealing form factor. It’s also a great size thanks to the 6.1-inch screen.
Speaking of which, the display on the 6a is really solid. It’s an AMOLED panel so you get inky blacks and vibrant colors, and it boasts a Full HD+ (2400×1080) resolution that’s plenty sharp. What I don’t like is its inability to get bright enough to see outdoors, and the auto brightness is also pretty slow and clunky. It’s also locked to 60Hz, and because I’m used to looking at 90Hz and 120Hz panels, I’m gonna call this a downside. There’s similarly-priced phones on the market with faster refresh rates, so I’m a little disappointed Google didn’t include it.
Performance
I wouldn’t necessarily call it flagship-level performance, but the Pixel 6a is certainly one of the fastest mid-rangers you can get. It’s thanks to Google’s inclusion of its Tensor processor, a chip that can also be found in the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. It’s only paired to 6GB of RAM which I blame for the lack of 1:1 performance between the three Pixels, but it certainly gets the job done. Only occasionally would the device choke (such as in the camera app).
Cameras
These are Pixel cameras, through and through. So much in fact that Google decided to include the same 12.2MP main lens it’s been using for nearly four years now. It’s paired to a 12MP 114-degree ultra wide camera, and the results are what you’d expect: contrasty, colorful photos in almost any light setting. Compared to the Pixel 6’s 50MP camera, you don’t get as much detail or as much light, but they’re good enough (which is nice to say since this is the first Pixel A-series phone not to get the same cameras as its more expensive siblings).
Battery
The 4,410mAh battery lasts all day. I never struggled to get through a full day of use during my week and a half with the Pixel 6a. I regularly ended nearly 16-hour days with 30-35 percent left in the tank. There’s no wireless charging, so you’ll have to use the included USB-C cable which can supply up to 18W fast charging (assuming you have a brick that supports it, since google doesn’t include one in the box anymore).
Software
I’m still a sucker for the Pixel experience. I know that other UIs from other companies have gotten better over the years (namely Samsung who’s impressed me a lot lately), but using Android 12 on the 6a reminded me yet again why the first Android phone I reach for is always one with a “G” on the back of it. Everything is silky smooth and aesthetically pleasing, and features like Material You and Now Playing continue to delight me. I did run into a few bugs during my review period (some apps would hang, others would stutter when opening, UI elements could act a little funky at times), but it seems that that’s sort of a tradition with new Pixel phones.
The 6a will get five years of software updates from Google, and it seems that Android 16 will be the last major version of Android it’ll get since generational updates will stop after three years. That lines up with what we expect from the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, so at least you won’t get gipped in the software department despite spending considerably less money for the 6a.
Conclusion
It’s hard to hate on the Pixel 6a almost at all. Sure, I have some gripes with it, but at $449, the experience you get is almost unmatched. While other companies focus on only making certain parts of their mid-rangers great, Google wants the whole phone to be as balanced as possible, and that’s what you get with the 6a.
To read all of my thoughts, visit CNN.com/Underscored.
New Smartphone Season is approaching: Both Samsung and OnePlus announced dates for when they’ll unveil new smartphones. The latter is up first on August 3rd for an in-person event in New York to debut the OnePlus 10T 5G. The former will make headlines a week later with the unveiling of the latest Galaxy Z devices (including the Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4), the Galaxy Watch 5, and potentially new Galaxy Buds on August 10th. I’ll obviously be covering it all, and I’ll have some surprises along the way. But if there’s one takeaway here, it’s that New Smartphone Season is back, and it looks like it’ll be as busy as ever. (Matridox 1 | 2)
Facebook shakes up its news feed, because TikTok: Like every other social media platform, Facebook is jealous of the meteoric rise of TikTok, so it’s changing how its home feed works to make its experience feel more like the ByteDance-owned app. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced that two new home feeds would be making their way to users on both iOS and Android: one called “Home” and one called “Feeds.” Home will show you all the stuff the algorithm wants you to see like videos, photos, and other posts, while Feeds will show posts from your friends, pages you follow, and nothing more. It’s an interesting approach to combating the success of TikTok, and it’s the latest effort in the company’s journey to attract younger users to the platform. (Jon Porter, The Verge)
Twitter says Elon Musk made them lose money: In the social media company’s Q2 2022 earnings report, Twitter said uncertainty pertaining to the pending acquisition of the company by Elon Musk led to a 1 percent revenue loss year-over-year, from $1.19 billion last year to $1.18 billion this year. Advertisers are also reportedly growing weary over the takeover, with many hesitating to spend money on the platform. I don’t think any of this will be smoothed over until the acquisition is completely dead (highly unlikely) or Musk closes and is running the company for a number of months (pretty likely). We’ll have to wait to find out. (Annie Palmer, CNBC)
Snapchat hits the web: If you’re a Snapchat Plus subscriber (and honestly, who is?), you can now snap from your desktop. Snapchat released a web interface of its application that lets you do basically everything the traditional app does, from the comfort of your laptop or desktop computer. It’s unclear when the feature will come to those who don’t pay to use Snapchat. You can check it out at web.snapchat.com. (Sarah Lord and Nelson Aguilar, CNET)
An iPhone 14 without a SIM card?: That’s the question a lot of people seem to be asking lately. All signs point to eSIM becoming the primary way you activate your phone, and now, some believe that the upcoming iPhone 14, due this September, will usher in the technology by dropping the physical SIM slot entirely. 9to5Mac has a great roundup of expectations from the industry. I’m not sure that sort of a change would come as quickly as this year, but I suppose we’ll see sooner than later. (José Adorno, 9to5Mac)
My SIM card can’t seem to remain in a single phone lately. I primarily keep it in my iPhone 13 Pro, then slot it into the phone I’m currently reviewing (the latest one being the Pixel 6a). Because there’ll be a ton of Android news before Apple can generate any headlines later this year, I’ve found myself swapping between Android phones that I have lying around.
The phone my SIM eventually landed in is the OnePlus 10 Pro, which I’m using now. I reviewed it for CNN Underscored (shameless plug), and I was never overtly impressed with it. The camera and software were two pain points for me during my review process (neither are up to snuff with other phones I’ve used), but because there’s a OnePlus event coming up in early August for the OnePlus 10T 5G, I figured I’d immerse myself in OnePlus World to get a better feeling for where the company stands right now.
I might have more thoughts on this in next week’s newsletter, but in my short time having moved back into the 10 Pro, I can tell you that my impressions haven’t changed much at all. It’s a good phone, but its shortcomings still feel too evident to me.
Anyway, I’ll be using it for a little while until the next phone review comes down the pike. Follow me on Twitter if you wanna hear random thoughts on the device as they come to my head.
The Reader Q&A is returning next week! Send your questions to max@matridox.com or tweet me @LegendaryScoop.