Google’s line of Pixel smartphones never launched in India. Before the recently launched Pixel 6a, the last smartphone to reach India was back in 2020, which was the Pixel 4a. Before that, there was a big gap between the last devices Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL launched in India in 2018. So consumers in India who wanted Google’s premium Pixel smartphones didn’t get anything beyond the Pixel 3 series. .
Google has now decided to bring its Pixel 6a to India, the successor to the Pixel 5a 5G. Compared to the humble Pixel 4a ( review ), the Pixel 6a is a huge leap forward. There are new features, plenty of power from a flagship-grade processor and a bigger battery. Its design seems to belong to the more premium Pixel 6 and 6 Pro family.
What’s worrying is its pricing in India, with some odd hardware options (display, RAM and more) that don’t really fit in the premium mid-range segment here. I’ve used the phone for several weeks and even made it through the Android 13 update, and here’s what I think about it.
Google Pixel 6a Price in India
The first thing that catches your eye about the Pixel 6a is its price, which comes in at Rs. 43,999 for the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. This is a big leap from the Pixel 4a (Rs 31,999), which was a mid-range device when it was launched. Fortunately, the Pixel 6a’s design has been improved. It doesn’t look as basic as the Pixel 4a and is also available in two finishes, Chalk and Charcoal in India. Unfortunately, sage (green) color is not available here.
Google Pixel 6a design
The core of the Google Pixel 6a is not as premium as the Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro, but it still has good build quality and an IP67 rating which is good for a smartphone in this price segment in India. The display glass is Corning Gorilla Glass 3 while the back panel is made of plastic, with an aluminum alloy frame holding it all together.
While the Google Pixel 6a’s display remained dust-free during the review period, the rear panel was a smudge and dust magnet and was also susceptible to scratches. The raised camera module, thankfully, has a glass lens covering the two rear cameras, but the rest of the strip, which is also plastic, is prone to fingerprints. While the raised camera bar looks cool, the dust that constantly accumulates above and below it is really annoying and difficult to clean. Indeed, this phone is best used with a case.
The Google Pixel 6a looks similar to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
The display has a hole-punch cutout and the phone has reasonably thin bezels, save for the bottom edge which is quite thick. Despite being a clunky mess when using it, I liked the in-hand feel of the Google Pixel 6a as it’s small and light enough (178g) to use with one hand. Those upgrading from the Pixel 4a may find it a little bigger and heavier, but I think the larger display is a welcome change.
Google Pixel 6a Specifications and Software
The Pixel 6a features the same Tensor processor found in Google’s premium Pixel 6 and 6 Pro handsets. This SoC is designed by Google and has a maximum clock speed of 2.8GHz. It also has Google’s Titan M2 security co-processor. Unlike most smartphones in this segment that offer multiple RAM options, the Pixel 6a only has 6GB of RAM and storage is also limited to 128GB with no room for expansion.
Communication standards include support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC and the usual satellite navigation system. The phone is powered by a 4400mAh battery and can charge up to 18W, but it doesn’t ship with a charger in the box. Compared to the Pixel 4a, the Pixel 6a is missing the 3.5mm headphone jack. The phone thankfully retained the stereo speakers which sounded good and balanced but not the best in class.
I used a Google Pixel 6a with both Android 12 and Android 13. The Android 12 experience was a jumbled mess with random glitches that you wouldn’t expect on a premium smartphone, least of all a Google smartphone. The Android 13 update brought some new features to the Pixel 6a, but overall, the 12 felt more refined and stable.
Google Pixel 6a has already received its Android 13 update
Android 13 on the Google Pixel 6a introduces some nice cosmetic additions, such as an improved media player with a cleaner layout, theme icons that now extend to third-party apps, and plenty of color options to choose from when theming your device. For security reasons, all apps must now request permissions before posting notifications, and access to photos can now be limited to a few photos instead of giving access to the entire Photos app. Android 13 also adds the ability to assign a specific language to a specific app, which is especially handy for users in India.
The new Clipboard feature has a nice visual representation of what’s being copied and saved to the phone’s memory as you go about your daily tasks. Just select and copy the text and it will appear in the preview as a small block in the bottom left corner of your display. Tapping on it lets you edit the text before copying it to another app, which is nice to have. The same applies to images, where copied images can be edited in markup before being shared elsewhere.
Google claims that its Pixel smartphones will receive updates for at least five years after the device first became available. Google promises guaranteed Android software updates until July 2025 and security updates until July 2027, which is nice to have.
Google Pixel 6a performance
The Google Pixel 6a’s display produced saturated colors when used with the default Adaptive setting but was slightly muted with the Natural color setting. With full-HD+ resolution, the display looked pretty sharp with text and images, and I had no problem viewing outdoors in direct sunlight. The 6.1-inch OLED panel also supports HDR10+ and does a good job of displaying supported content. Unfortunately, it’s only 60Hz which is a major drawback for a premium mid-range Android smartphone.
After the Android 13 update, the software performance, in terms of overall smoothness, has improved tremendously. Multitasking was also no problem with 6GB of RAM. Still, the high-refresh rate display doesn’t make the software feel as fluid as the experience you get on other similarly priced smartphones.
The OLED display of the Google Pixel 6a has a standard 60Hz refresh rate
The fingerprint sensor on the Google Pixel 6a had a major security bug when we got the phone back in July. We were also able to unlock the phone with an unregistered finger. This was later fixed with a software update. I had some problems unlocking the phone once Android 13 was installed, but re-enrolling my fingerprints solved the problem. However, it wasn’t always reliable as it refused to unlock a few times, despite repeated attempts, forcing me to key in the security pin.
The Google Pixel 6a scored 7,07,603 points in Geekbench’s single and multi-core tests with 1,047 and 2,923 points in AnTuTu respectively. In terms of graphics performance, the phone managed 60fps and 52fps in GFXBench’s T-Rex and Car Chase tests. These results are on par with most of the premium smartphones the Pixel 6a will compete with, including the Xiaomi 11T Pro, which performed well in the graphics benchmark.
While synthetic benchmarks paint a pretty picture, the Google Pixel 6a takes a hit with real-world gaming performance. Call of Duty: Mobile performed excellently in high graphics and high framerate settings. After about 15 minutes of playing the game on very high settings the performance took a big hit, after which the game started lagging and stuttering. The Pixel 6a performed better with more casual games. The phone doesn’t get too hot while playing, but it got very hot while recording videos outdoors. Serious players should stay away from this.
The Google Pixel 6a lasted 13 hours and 12 minutes in our HD video loop battery test, which was a bit less than I expected considering its standard 60Hz refresh rate display. I managed to get about a day of battery life with heavy usage that included about an hour of gaming and about 30 minutes of camera use.
Avoiding gaming or using the camera gave me about a day and a half of battery life. It sounds great for casual user but not for power users. Since the phone doesn’t come with a charger, I plugged it into a 61W USB PD charger, which took an hour and 50 minutes to fully charge the phone. This is quite slow compared to devices like Realme GT Neo 3 (150W) and OnePlus 10R 5G Endurance Edition, which supports 150W charging.
Google Pixel 6a cameras
The Google Pixel 6a packs a modest camera setup compared to other smartphones in this segment. There is a 12.2-megapixel primary camera (with OIS) and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera on the back and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The camera interface is similar to what we’ve seen on previous Pixel smartphones, with quick settings hidden under the gear icon.
Thanks to the Tensor processor, we have software features like the Magic Eraser tool that allows users to erase or camouflage unwanted objects in an image. The results aren’t perfect, but the feature comes in handy when you really need to clean up the perfect shot for Instagram.
The Camouflage option in the Magic Eraser tool seems to do a more subtle job than the Eraser option.
Photos captured in daylight are crisp and clear with good dynamic range and the contrast-heavy look that Google’s Pixel smartphones are known to deliver. I liked that I could adjust photos’ white balance and exposure using the sliders in the viewfinder before taking the shot, but it only showed up when I tapped the screen to focus.
Google Pixel 6a Daylight Camera Specs: (Top to Bottom) Primary Camera, Ultra-Wide-Angle Camera, Selfie Camera (Tap to view full size)
Google’s decision to use a tried and tested sensor (the primary camera comes from the Pixel 3), along with its heavy machine learning optimization, manages to capture a lot of detail. This applies to both primary and ultra-wide-angle cameras. The ultra-wide camera was definitely one of the more usable cameras I’ve seen on a smartphone at this price point and captured quality images with good dynamic range in all kinds of lighting conditions.
Selfies came out crisp and clear in daylight but appeared a bit soft and with less detail in low light. Edge detection was spot on in portrait mode and so was the dynamic range.
Google Pixel 6a low light camera samples. (Top to Bottom) Primary Camera, Ultra-Wide-Angle Camera (Tap to view full size)
In low light, the primary camera captures sharp images with good dynamic range. By default, it automatically switches to the night site, taking longer exposures as needed. Videos captured at 1080p were average at best, with cropped scenes and mild purple fringing. 4K videos had excellent detail and dynamic range. Low-light video quality was average, and 60fps footage had a lot of noise.
judgement
Rs. 43,999, Google’s Pixel 6a certainly gets the job done for casual users and mobile photography enthusiasts. Google’s gamble of going with a high-end processor, however, seems to have cut corners in some areas such as design, display and system memory.
However, power users looking for premium build quality, solid gaming performance, fast charging and a fluid software interface will need to look at competing smartphones instead. Xiaomi 11T Pro (Review) (starts at Rs. 39,999), Oppo Reno 8 Pro (Review) (from Rs. 45,999), and OnePlus 10R Endurance Edition (Review) (Rs. 39,999) are all excellent options. Pixel 6a.
There’s also the Google Pixel 6 right now Available Unauthorized (without warranty) around Rs. 43,500 and a 90Hz display, IP68 rating, 8GB of RAM, a 50-megapixel primary camera and a larger battery with wireless charging make it definitely better value than the 6a.
The Google Pixel 6a is by no means an all-rounder, but it’s still a very unique offering that will appeal to buyers who are willing to put good camera performance and timely software updates above all else.
