Google Pixel 6a: Tensor Chip takes it all
We wrote a detailed article a few days ago discussing the Google Pixel 6a’s specs and the possibility of being a contender for the Nothing Phone (1). Now that the most awaited Google Pixel 6a is officially out for sales, we’ve finally got the device hands-on!
We’ve been using the phone for 2-3 days, and we’re ready with our quick review!
FYI, we’ll be starting this blog directly from the review this time! For specs and basic details about Google Pixel 6a, you can refer to our previous article!
Detailed Review
Software & Performance
The Pixel 6a has a Google Tensor chip, one of the fastest and smoothest Android SoCs. It supports high software optimisation, which ensures that your phone will run fast even with low specs.
The Pixel 6a has only 6 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM. Hence, the Google Tensor chip helps in smooth functioning.
Moreover, you get 3 years of software updates and five years of security updates on a first-priority basis.
Apart from smooth optimising and priority-based updates, this chip also ensures fast performance, almost at a flagship level.
You can play games like Apex Legends and BGMI in 59-60 fps, and for heavily graphical games like Genshin Impact, you can run it in 45-50 fps. However, we experienced quite a bit of lagging and overheating of the phone while playing the latter.
But the performance all over is pretty good. This phone doesn’t stutter, even when rigorous multitasking is going on. Hence, we’re sure you don’t have to worry about its performance.
Design & Display
The design is your usual two-tone, standard Pixel design, which looks great. However, the downer in this design is the materials used for the build quality. While holding it, it does not give off the cheap plasticky feel, but it’s not something we’d appreciate in the long run.
The phone display has the old Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which is not really drop-resistant but is scratch-resistant. In India, you can find phones in this price range with glass backs and Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Hence, Pixel 6a can be a bit of a downer regarding the materials used for the phone.
The display is good, but it is not the best compared to its fellow phones of the 6 series; Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro. The display is decently sharp with vivid-ish colours, and HDR10 is supported, even for Netflix.
Now we think we should address the two crucial problems in the display: the low refresh rate of 60 Hz and the slow fingerprint reader.
60 Hz refresh rate is a nuanced spec feature to be discussed as it is co-dependent on other spec features you have on your phone and how much it matters to you. Let’s take an iPhone, for example. Except for the Pro models, all iPhones have standard 60 Hz, but surprisingly feel super smooth. Now, it’s all because of iOS software optimisation and the Bionic chipset working in sync.
Given that Google Pixel 6a has a stable and flagship processor, Google Tensor, it is expected that 60 Hz should not feel super choppy. Except…it does, which is a bummer. It does not feel smooth, and the responsiveness is lagged.
‘Slow fingerprint reader in Pixel’, heard that somewhere, didn’t you? We’ll tell you just in case you were not aware. While Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were great hits, there was a common issue: The fingerprint reader was not working correctly/ working very slowly.
Most of us expected this issue to be resolved in Google Pixel 6a, but our expectations weren’t matched. We hope that this will be fixed in the next software update.
Audio
The audio clarity is pretty much decent with dual stereo speakers. However, we did not appreciate the absence of a 3.5 mm headphone jack because, in every ‘a’ version of any Pixel range, we get a headphone jack.
This is a possible reminder of the extinction of headphone jacks by 2023.
Camera
The rear camera has two 12 MP wide and ultra-wide sensors with 77° FOV and 114° FOV, respectively. It is downgraded from the fellow phones in its series, but that’s not a concern.
Because even with low-megapixel sensors, you get super sharp, natural tone images. The night mode of Pixel 6a is pretty good compared to its contenders in the price range. Pictures are crystal clear than what we see in night mode on mid-range phones.
The ultra-wide sensor is pretty good, as there’s less distortion of angles while maintaining a crisp & clear image.
You can even shoot high-res videos in low light or daylight at 4k at 60 or 30 fps with EIS and OIS. We personally loved the output during bright light sources.
The front camera has an 8 MP wide camera with 84° FOV that tops at 1080p video shooting at 30 fps, which is pretty much standard. However, despite being a single-digit megapixel sensor, it clicks crisp and real-to-complexion images and videos.
Battery & Charging
Even though the Tensor chip is 5 nm, it’s still pretty battery efficient. You can use this phone for a day if you use your phone casually.
If you use the phone rigorously for hours shooting videos or playing games, you need to plug in for a charge mid-day. However, even that’s not very useful because the charging rate is slow.
You get only 18W of charging, which would take at least one hour and 30 mins to charge from 0 to 100%. At this price range, you get at least 60W of charging, which is both stable and fast. So, the 18W charging is a bit of a bummer.
Moreover, unlike most phones in the Pixel range, this phone does not have wireless charging.
Connectivity
In India, we don’t have a 5G network yet, so we could not test how it works in 5G networks. However, despite that, the call quality was pretty crisp and good.
It’s got WiFi 6E, a top-notch, flagship level of WiFi compatibility, and it felt pretty fast during usage.
This phone also has NFC, which is helpful while making cardless payments or transactions.
Verdict
Google Pixel 6a is a good phone if you’re ready to spend ₹40,000+ for mid-range. However, it is overpriced for the features and the usage it’s giving. The phone is a mini flagship regarding the performance and camera, but that’s pretty much it.
Otherwise, the phone is pretty much like any other mid-range phone. With Nothing Phone (1) going around the corner, we can confidently say that mid-range phones offer much more than their quoted price in the market.
Google has to work on software bugs on this phone. The slow fingerprint reader issue has been going on for a long time, and hopefully, in the next software update, it will be resolved.
If Google launched this phone for 30-35k in India, it would be a great hit like its fellow phones, Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro. But because of mediocrity and high pricing, it did not turn out to be as great as people expected it to be.
The design is like any other Pixel phone in the Pixel 6 series, but the build quality is not superb. It’s mentioned as a 3D thermoformed composite material on the website, which is just another fancy name for plastic. Even though it does not give an outlook of a plastic back cover, it definitely won’t age well because of the same.
And for the same, we have the perfect solution for you: Gadgetshieldz Google Pixel 6a skins or Google Pixel 6a Screen protectors/Full body protectors .
You can order them now on our site and let your Google Pixel 6a age gracefully!
