Google Pixel 6a review: It's all about user experience

Pixel 6a packs a punch above its weight to deliver exceptionally good photography and user experience and, the credit goes to Tensor silicon

Google on Thursday (July 20) launched the Pixel 6a in India. Prospective buyers can pre-order the new phone on Flipkart for Rs 43,999.

The new Pixel 6a will be available in two colours-- Chalk and Charcoal and can be purchased online from July 28 onwards.

DH had the opportunity to review the Pixel 6a. I have been using it for the past several days and here are my thoughts on Google's brand new mid-range phone.

Design, build and display
The new Pixel 6a looks identical to the premium Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, which are available only in select global markets.

The mid-range phone features aesthetically pleasing dual-tone design language on the back. Our review unit is a charcoal model. It has a dark black slab on the top, which also houses the dual camera module and the LED flash. The rest of the body has a grey shade and features Google trademark 'G' engraving at the middle and a Made in Vietnam tag at the base. It has a simple minimalistic design. I like it this way. There are no exaggerated MP counts and brand collaboration names near the camera module, which has become a norm on Chinese phones.

Google Pixel 6a. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

The back is made of 3D thermoformed composite material with a smooth and glossy finish. It is a fingerprint smudge magnet and I had to clean the back quite often to keep it shiny.

However, the device exudes a premium glass-like hand feel and it should be noted that the phone features a metal alloy frame. If you have a sweaty hand, be advised to get the phone case, as the device can slip out of the fingers quite easily.

It has seven antenna bands, two each on the left, top and right and one at the base. They all blend well with the colour of the rails around the corners.

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The phone has a power button and volume rockers on the right and on the left side, is a single nano-SIM tray (FYI: it supports e-SIM too).

At the base, you will find the stereo speakers with a Type-C port in the middle. And, on the top, there is a lone mic. Unfortunately, there is no 3.5mm audio jack. Yeah, that's Google telling you to get the new Pixel Buds Pro, which can be purchased for Rs 19,990.

On the front, the Pixel 6a sports a 6.1-inch full HD+ (2400 x 1080p) OLED HDR display and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield.

Unlike the Pixel 6 (90Hz) or the 6 Pro (120Hz), the mid-range phone supports just the 60Hz display refresh rate. This shouldn't be taken as a major concern at all. I had a good time browsing the web smoothly without stressing my eyes.

Also, I did not face pressing issues or discomfort while reading outdoors. I had set the brightness to full.

Google Pixel 6a. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

The colours of the subjects, particularly watching nature documentaries on the Pixel 6a's screen come off vibrant and rich. Even the black looks darker and real.

Also, there is a Night Light feature, and when turned on, it tints the screen to an amber colour and this makes it easier to view content on the screen or read in a low-light environment. And, also ensure, that there is no blue light to harm the eyes during nighttime and helps easily fall asleep. You can schedule by ticking the 'sunset to sunrise' option on Night Light in the Display settings.

It also comes with an IP67 rating, meaning the device can survive underwater up to 1 metre (approx. three feet) for close to 30 minutes.

Pixel 6a comes with an in-screen fingerprint sensor. It is placed slightly above the base compared to the other phones in the market. It is ergonomically placed for the thumb to reach the sensor easily and unlock the phone. Overall, the false rejection rate is somewhat okay.

Performance
The device is powered by Google's proprietary Tensor chipset (2 x 2.80GHz Cortex-X1 + 2 x 2.25GHz Cortex-A76 + 4 x 1.80GHz Cortex-A55) and is backed by 848MHz Mali-G78 MP20 GPU and pure Android 12 OS.

Tensor silicon also comes integrated with Titan M2 security chipset and together with Tensor security core, they promise to safeguard the sensitive user data, PINs and passwords stored in the Pixel 6a.

The new Google silicon on Pixel 6a promises 80 per cent and 370 per cent faster CPU and GPU performance, respectively compared to the Pixel 5 series.

The phone's intelligent suggestions while operating any of the Google apps are praiseworthy. It made the photo editing while using Magic Eraser (more on that later) feature easy. Not just that; even the live caption and live translations feature work really super fast and accurate.

The live translation supports most of the regional Indian languages including Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Malayalam. However, for offline, there is less than a handful of language kits (only Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Marathi) to download. Hopefully, Google release the rest soon.

Live captioning and Live translation features in action on Google Pixel 6a. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

The Google Assistant works faster and I also noticed, that it responds to commands more accurately than other Android phones.

While playing an extended session of Asphalt 9: Legends, the phone did get warmed up. I had installed the CPU-Z app and the latter recorded the temperature had touched 41.2 degrees. It's normal, I have seen other phones breaching 44-degree celsius. But, if you push too long, it will eventually breach 45-47-degree Celsius and automatically shuts down. To cut the long story short, this phone is not made for extreme gamers.

Google Pixel 6a. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

This phone is all about offering a good smartphone user experience in terms of photography, security to sensitive information and performing normal day-to-day chores such as messaging, calling, and it does an excellent job of live transcribing and translations, which will come in handy when you go for trips to neighbouring states or overseas.

Pixel 6a comes with a non-removable Li-Po 4,306mAh cell. The battery life aspect is very subjective and the longevity of the phone on the day depends on how much content you consume. If you use the phone just for calling, messaging, doom scrolling on social media platforms or even consume one or two episodes of your favourite TV series, the Pixel 6a will easily last a day. If you consume content or play online games using cellular data, the battery will drain faster and there is no guarantee, that it can last before you could leave office and reach home.

However, Google Tensor has some intelligent adaptive battery-saving features that will control the background functioning of rarely used apps. With Extreme Battery Saver mode in the settings, users can control which apps they want to run and others can be blocked from draining the power.

The retail package comes with just the one-metre USB-C to USB-C cable (USB 2.0) and Quick Switch Adaptor. The Phone supports 18W charging speed and will take a little over an hour to reach from zero to 100 per cent capacity. In thirty minutes, it can reach zero to 50 per cent capacity.

The phone comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The System OS and the pre-loaded apps take around 20 GB and the rest of them are for the user. The user interface is as clean as it gets and Google has assured that the device will get at least five years (up to July 2027) of security software support.

Also, Pixel 6a will be one of the first to receive Android 13, which is expected to be released in a couple of months. Also, it will get major Android updates for at least a couple more years up to July 2025.

Furthermore, Google has promised new feature drops in terms of photography, Google apps and more in the near future. Looking forward to it and I'm hoping, the company brings the motion mode to the Pixel 6a.

Also, Google has informed us the Pixel 6a does support 5G in India, but depends on the operator providing the service. Reliance Jio and Airtel are slated to roll out the 5G cellular service very soon.

The Pixel 6a supports multiple 5G bands-- Sub-62: n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n20/n25/n28/n30/n38/n40/n41/n48/n66/n71/n77/n78.

Google Pixel 6a's camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Photography
Pixel 6a houses a dual-camera-- main 12.2MP (with IMX363 sensor, f/1.7, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) backed by Ultra-wide angle 107-degrees 12MP (with IMX386 sensor, f/2.2, PDAF: Phase Detection Auto Focus) with LED flash on the back.

Google Pixel 6a's camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

The photo quality is exceptionally good in almost all light conditions. I was able to get the best possible pictures with just point-and-shoot mode. The colours look vibrant and the edge detection around the contours of flowers' petals is praiseworthy.

Google Pixel 6a's camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

One key photography feature we miss in the Pixel 6a is the Motion mode. The latter is available exclusively on premium Pixel 6 and 6 Pro models.

Google Pixel 6a's camera sample with Night Sight mode on. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

However, I was still able to get a decent photo of the moving vehicles on the street. The reds and sunny yellow lights of the vehicle making a dramatic line across the frame makes up for pretty good night pictures.

Google Pixel 6a's camera sample with Night Sight mode on. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

In the Night Sight mode, the photos don't over-expose lights and brilliantly contain them, as you can see our office name and even the Nandi logo in neon lights looks sharp. I have tried other phones and they fail miserably.

Google Pixel 6a camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Google Pixel 6a camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

This Pixel 6a beats all competition in terms of low-light photography aspects. Even the Magical Eraser and Blur tools are just top-notch.

Google Pixel 6a's Magic Eraser and Sky tools are used to get the modified photo on the right side. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

As you can see in the sample photos, the water tanks on the left are erased as if they never existed on the top of the house. The empty spaces blend perfectly with the background.

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In the second sample, I managed to erase a man in the background and the nearby red chair. The right-side photo collage doesn't easily give away any clue of being tampered with.

Magic Eraser feature demo on Pixel 6a camera. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

The blur feature too, works really well. It offers the user to adjust the intensity of the bokeh effect in the background.

Google Pixel 6a's Blur tool is used to bring the bokeh effect in the picture. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

The Ultra-wide mode manages to accommodate more space without any issues of structure bending into the frame. And, in the 2X Zoom, there is little or no loss of picture quality.

Google Pixel 6a camera sample with Ultra Wide Angle mode. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Google Pixel 6a camera sample with Normal mode. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

The Face Unblur feature ensures that photos of people's faces stay sharp when taken with a shaky hand. The phone also features Panorama and Photo Sphere and Lens features and they work fine too.

Google Pixel 6a camera sample with 2X Zoom. Credit: DH Photo/KVN RohitCaption

Google Pixel 6a camera sample with 7X Zoom. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Google Pixel 6a camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

On the front, it houses an 8MP 84-degree ultra-wide lens (with IMX355 sensor, f/2.0). It takes great selfies without any smoothening/whitening effect. The resultant pictures are really good natural and pretty.

Google Pixel 6a camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

With the Portrait mode on, the phone does a wonderful job of blurring the background with good edge detection around the hairs. Even with spectacles on, the Pixel 6a's front camera was able to good photos.

Google Pixel 6a camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

However, it did falter when I took the photo with wired earphones; the phone blurred a part of the wire and made it look like I was wearing an AirPods.

Google Pixel 6a camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Except that, everything on Pixel 6a's camera works great and is actually better than most of the ultra-premium phones (Rs 60,000 and above) in the market.

Google Pixel 6a camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

As far as the video recording capability is concerned, it can record 4K at 60 fps (frames per second) and 1080p (full HD) at 30/60 fps.

Google Pixel 6a camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

It has EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation) and does a decent job of delivering decent stable videos. Even the slow-motion (with 240fps) videos too came off good.

Google Pixel 6a camera sample. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Final thoughts- Pixel 6a packs a punch above its weight to deliver exceptionally good photography and user experience. The credit goes to Tensor silicon.
Since the first generation, the USP of Pixel phones have always been mobile photography, but Google kinda lost its way with the Pixel 4 and 5 series and fared badly compared to Apple and Samsung phones.

Now, with the Pixel 6a model, the company has made a good comeback and the credit has to go to Tensor silicon.

Google Pixel 6a. Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Though it is not as powerful and fast compared to the Apple A series or Qualcomm 800 series chipsets, Google has done an amazing job in terms of optimising the hardware and software on the Pixel 6a series. I loved the quick live translations and captions feature. The photography tools-- Magic Eraser, Blur (& Depth), Sky, and features such as Portrait, Real Tone, and Night Sight are exceptionally better than any rival brand across all price bands. The smart suggestions while editing photos make the job easy even for a rookie.

However, Pixel 6a may not appeal to extreme gamers. The device will get warned up if played for long hours.

Overall, Google Pixel 6a manages to deliver the goods in four key aspects-- build quality, good user experience with value-added features, great camera hardware, and a full-day battery life. Also, 5G support and long software support makes the device a worthy long-term investment.

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