Google Pixel 6a adapts to you; it’s super fast and secure and powered by Google Tensor, the first chip designed by Google just for Pixel.Form_factor : Bar
Unlocked Android 5G phone gives you the flexibility to change carriers and choose your own data plan[1]; works with Google Fi, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and other major carriers
Pixel’s fast-charging all-day battery adapts to you and saves power for the apps you use most[2]
Take amazing photos with Pixel’s 12 megapixel camera and tools like Magic Eraser[3], Motion Mode, and Portrait Mode
With Google Tensor, your phone launches apps fast, pages and images load quickly, and everything runs smoothly
When you plug it in, Pixel 6a charges super fast[4]; with just a few minutes of charging, your phone gets hours of power (adapters sold separately)
Live Translate helps you translate live video captions, private chats, and messages, and signs in up to 55 languages right on your cell phone[5]
With IP67 protection, Pixel 6a can take a little water and dust[7], so you can take it almost anywhere you go
Privacy and security are built in to your phone; the Titan M2 chip and the Google Tensor security core add an extra layer of hardware security to help make your Pixel phone more resilient to attacks[8]
Please refer to the product description section below for all applicable legal disclaimers denoted by the bracketed numbers in the preceding bullet points (e.g., [1], [2], etc.)
8 reviews for Google Pixel 6a – 5G Android Phone – Unlocked Smartphone with 12 Megapixel Camera and 24-Hour Battery – Sage
Rated 4 out of 5
NJ Customer –
Coming from apple climate. Used iphone 4 and 7 for a total of 11 years. Back then, flagships used to be 650 bucks. Now it is insane. So i decided to try a budget phone. Dont like samsung , bloatware etc. I decided to give this a chance. Read the reviews, i knew what was coming. what surprised me is the compatibility issue with ATT sim. It took some time (days) to get it work. At some point ATT customer service told me this model is not supported and cant use all of its services. I was preparing to to return, then it picked up and now it seems fine. Dont know if ATT triggered something in their system or something else. ATT users beware!
There wasnt a surprise on anything else. I agree with majority. Decent battery, and good screen; poor camera and fingerprint. Got really warm at the beginning, now it seems ok. Not a fan of android os , but I’m not a power user, using very few apps and does the job.
Overall good budget phone at 299. normally 449 but it is on deal at 299 almost all the time. As if Google knows the true value of the phone , but they are trying their like at 449.
Rated 5 out of 5
LuckyLucy –
Basically I like compact phone with less weight. So I choose this one. This is I’m writing after 20 days of purchase, First of all I felt Little warming in first day and after updating the softwares there’s no warming or heating issues. This was an 60 Hertz display but you won’t feel like that. I have used iphone 12 and pixel 6a simultaneously. after using pixel 6a, iphone feels little choppy. So there no disappointment in display. Also finger print scanner works fast and accurate. Camera is best thing in this phone. Googles post processing makes the picture awesome. Camera will compete with flagship phones like iphones. There’s is no downs in battery. Coming to the performance you can’t say any cons on this. It works well. I didn’t played any game yet. Overall best in 50000 ranges phone. I got this phone at 29000. I say that you can compare this phone with iphones.
Rated 4 out of 5
Sanjay –
Now that I have been using this phone for a while, here are the basic things to understand
Pros
1. Camera. 2. UI is smooth and haven’t experienced any sort of lag 3. Audio systems are great. 4. Bluetooth and wifi connectivity is strong 5. Display is crisp and smooth for 60Hz 6. This phone is sturdy in grop unlock other phones.
Cons
1. fingerprint sensor is slow and sometimes won’t work 2. Battery life; well mine hardly stays for 15 hours 3. Now that it has a bad fingerprint sensor, this phone does not have a face unlock feature 4. Heating issues on multitasking
Hope this helps
Rated 4 out of 5
PRANAV A. –
Ok. So I bought this phone regardless of some reviews saying that there are better phones for this price. And I’ve been using it about for 4 days now. I post this review as I believe my opinion won’t change as the product is from Google and is expected to have standards.
Pros:
1. Phenomenal camera. I mean it’s pixel. 12MP only gives moderate zooming but the picture quality is just camera-like. Even supports astrophotography.
2. Nice software experience. I like several Google features in this phone. Some are global to android phones, some are pixel specific. I did not expect this much privacy features from a company like Google. Defentiely much better UI (subjective) than chinese crap.
3. Good display. Not 90Hz and it shows, but for a 60Hz display, it’s very good. For me, not at all a deal breaker.
4. Aesthetics. Beautiful to look at, at both software and hardware perspectives. I bought the sage green option.
Cons:
NOT HAVING A CHARGER WITH THE PHONE. but it’s all phones now, so yeah. crap.
1. Battery. On a 30K phone, battery can be better. It’s not too bad, it’s just not feels like a 30K phone in 2022. But if you buy Google charger, you get rapid charging so there’s that. You also have adaptive charging to charge overnight without damaging battery. Do not forget to take charger for longer trips, or turn on battery saver. For emergency situations, there’s extreme battery saver, so I think it’s not that much of an issue.
2. Not true Dual SIM. One of the SIM is eSIM, which is not bad but in a country like India it’s still not appropriate. For now I use only one SIM in it.
3. Heat. Any serious multitasking and the phone gets hot. Not for daily use tho, so there’s that. If you are heavy gamer or use phones like computers, beware. But with the flagship processor the phone feels fast always.
4. Minor Bugs. I have not updated the phone yet, and the factory OS has some bugs here and there, nothing deal braking tho. And I already have got the android 13 update notification, so I guess this is a minor inconvenience,if any.
Overall, recommended Unless you are a heavy gamer or the cons are a deal breaker for you.
Rated 3 out of 5
amanooensis –
I read many reviews before buying this. I waded through endless nonsense about playing games and taking selfies to get to factors I needed: voice calls, texts, email, and other apps that actually get things done, and maybe the occasional video or music app. I had high hopes, but I’m running into a lot of disappointment so far. Transitioning to stock Android 12 from stock Android 10 was easy. The Pixel’s cable and built-in instructions helped import all my old apps, often with settings and data intact. I had to re-enter a few passwords, tweak some settings, etc. but it was far less work than I expected. The immediate Android 13 upgrades were easy, although slow. Some companies make ruggedized, military-grade phones. This isn’t one of them, in fact it uses mostly midrange materials. So of course I use a case and screen protector. Well, they say all newer Google phones have a hard time recognizing fingerprints, especially with a screen protector. I set the finger sensitivity to high. No difference. Stored multiple recordings of the same fingerprint to enhance recognizability. No difference. The only help I found came from other reviewers, one of whom suggested rubbing the fingertip on his face to pick up skin oil, or another who advised licking the fingertip to make it wet. These are the low-tech solutions to Google’s high-tech design failure. Bottom line: an in-screen sensor is a stupid idea and its performance is just as bad as you’ve heard. Maybe you’ll get lucky, but be prepared to enter passwords or codes or patterns or some other unlock method. It seems to use power quickly, and definitely charges more slowly than my older, cheaper phone, regardless of charger or cable. No wireless charging and nothing like any kind of actual “fast” charging. We have an app through our phone company to locate all phones in the family. It can find a Nokia or Samsung to within 50-100 feet. But it struggles to locate this phone at all, and then only to within about 1000 feet, indoors or outdoors. The phone has multiple setting options for location precision, permission, GPS vs. Wifi vs Bluetooth, etc. I’ve checked Google help and user forums, phone company help and user forums, reviews etc. Nothing helps, and this is a big deal to me. I used my old phone to listen to music, mono speaker and all. It had a headphone jack of course, and an app to tune in FM radio. You could plug in studio-quality headphones. The Pixel speakers are stereo, but not nearly as loud. There’s no FM radio and the headphone audio via USB is lower than headphones plugged into an audio jack on the old phone. A scam to force people to buy expensive Bluetooth headphones and headsets when they already own wired versions of both. The Pixel 6A is a bit narrower than my old phone, which makes the Gboard virtual keyboard narrower; and individual letters seem even narrower than they need to be. So it’s harder to type on. I have not tried experimenting with an external USB keyboard, or any other USB “on-the-go” function. There’s reportedly no good way to view this phone on an external monitor, unlike most Samsungs for instance. Its chips are faster than my old phone and it has more working memory. I’m gradually getting used to the finicky “upgraded” Android 13 gesture system, which is better for some actions and worse for others. The phone size suits my needs, it has 5G and high-speed wifi which are definite upgrades. I haven’t used it much for pictures or video but it seems competent for those. I was recently at a meeting where people were discussing complex topics, so I tried out the recorder app so as not to miss anything. It not only picked up faint voices pretty well, it also transcribed them to text in real time, with varying levels of accuracy. So there are a few pluses, and I’ll live with the phone. But I’ll keep my eyes open for some better alternative, rather than waiting a few years for the software support to end. This is not what I wanted when making this purchase, so with all things considered, it is disappointing.
Rated 4 out of 5
LuckyLucy –
Pixel 6a Cell Phone – Charcoal
Writing this review on sept 2022 timeframe. Bought two while it is on sale 50$ off.
This is basically the BEST Cleanest clutter free android you can buy for 550$CAD. It certainly has competition but simply put, non Pixel phones are cluttered with bloatware. The only phones in mid-tier that comes close are some offerings by motorola however i am continually disappointed in Camera performance for all motorola phones both in low light and with the speed of taking the shot. With FAST updates and Android support , I think you should not look further and buy this phone.
Folks complain about glass fingerprint sensor — i do think it’s improved quite a bit from all the updates. Sept 2022 update also improves upon this. If you have a front glass protector, you should enable the high sensitivity mode if necessary. I personally have the Caseology glass protector and have no issues. It performs on par with my old samsung note 10+ glass sensor.
Battery life is average… nothing great. Gets me through the day.
Camera is basically the best on the Android market at this price in my opinion. I’ve used mid-tier Samsung., Motorola, TCL, Huawei, Plus one.. . theyre all strong contenders but I always preferred the photos coming out of Google camera with its computational photography. It keeps getting better with updates and Google doesnt abandon the phone for 2-3 years after buying. Other manufacturers are “one and done” and once you get the phone, its RARE to have any improvements (based on my own observations whilst owning those phones)
A few things i wouldve liked to see: –I generally would have LOVED to have the wired earphone connector on ALL phones but alas, pixel has gone the way of Bt only (or usb adapters). –I’m also going to say I’m not super thrilled with glass back. The phone NEEDS a case otherwise its slippery and fragile. . — only offered in 128GB flash . would have liked one of the two phones i bought , to have 256. Of course Google phones never offer external SD card.
Despite a few qualms I had, I still consider this phone best in class.
Rated 4 out of 5
Krunal –
Update: Don’t buy from Amazon!!!! If you buy from amazon, warranty is not given by google. You can claim warranty only if bought from Flipkart!!
I was using Redmi note 5 from last 4 years & wanted a phone for balancing my requirements as Office work apps (Teams, Outlook, workplace etc.), Utilities, Good camera (not oppo vivo type face beuty, but really a good camera), Good battery that lasts atleast 1 full day under heavy use, Compact design & also some gaming. I was skeptical about battery life as many users reported it as issue that under mobile network battery drains fast, but I am using it daily on mobile network only, no such issue is found. Its 9th Dec & we got new dec update, after which fingerprint reader has improved..its smoother now. Camera will not disappoint you for sure, Image after processing is at best. I will also suggest you to get Cardboard app & a VR set (cheaper one), which will give next level experience. Don’t buy Cover & glass online, if you have mobile market nearby, then buy from there. I got very smooth silicon cover with cushion pading from inside at 150 rs & glass at 150 also, which are availabe at 400-500 rs online. Back cover is must as given glass back design attracts fingerprint and also is vulnerable to scratches (yes…scratches from keys if you put mobile & keys in same pocket). Buy a 20W adaptor (C-type & Simple one inputs), which is sufficient. It charges faster if you use Cable given by google, & slowly with other cables.
Overall, I got what I expected. If you have same expectations as mine, just go for it.
Rated 4 out of 5
Atypical User –
I don’t want a phone. I find I need a phone. This phone is very good for meeting the need for one. It’s the right size for me, too, especially if I have to hold it up to my ear for a long period of time. If this happens a lot in the future, I’ll use my Bluetooth earphones.
I did hear that the Jan 2023 update messed Bluetooth connectivity up a bit for use in cars. I’ll be getting a car with this capability in a couple of months, so I hope that is resolved by then.
Unlike my previous Pixel 3a, it’s waterproof, has an updated OS with improved features (the pictures are better even though the camera is supposed to be the one used since the Pixel 2, the Android Assistant is really good, and the shortcuts are convenient — and programmable! — for the most-used features so one can pull the phone out and be taking pictures in about a second now) and it makes much better use of the available space for the screen. The response is noticeably better than the Pixel 3a, perhaps at the cost of the battery life. The 3a lasted at least a week for me, versus four or five days for the 6a.
There were more initial problems with connection reliability than the 3a had, but the 3a didn’t have 5G support. Maybe there are still growing pains with 5G. I note that the 4G 3a had consistent 4 bars where the 6a struggles to get 2 at the same location, but the phones would use WiFi more than cellular connections there. There may be some provider issues; I’m happy with the phone itself.
I liked the earphone plug in the 3a, but strangely I don’t miss the lack, and if that helps the waterproofing of the phone I’m all for it. The new phone recognizes its orientation much faster than the 3a did, even though I do not have the facial recognition feature enabled for this purpose.
But I do miss the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone. The one on the front embedded in the screen feels like a gimmick. It’s slower to successfully recognize me, and seems faster at acknowledging failures. I did add my thumb this time; any other finger required two hands to log on to the phone. And maybe it is a security feature, but this OS requires a keypad code a lot more often than the Pixel 3a OS.
The Android OS has continually improved safety features with each new version. I’m not happy that the OS will not be updated after three years, but I do like the five-year security support.
NJ Customer –
Coming from apple climate. Used iphone 4 and 7 for a total of 11 years. Back then, flagships used to be 650 bucks. Now it is insane. So i decided to try a budget phone. Dont like samsung , bloatware etc. I decided to give this a chance. Read the reviews, i knew what was coming. what surprised me is the compatibility issue with ATT sim. It took some time (days) to get it work. At some point ATT customer service told me this model is not supported and cant use all of its services. I was preparing to to return, then it picked up and now it seems fine. Dont know if ATT triggered something in their system or something else. ATT users beware!
There wasnt a surprise on anything else. I agree with majority. Decent battery, and good screen; poor camera and fingerprint. Got really warm at the beginning, now it seems ok. Not a fan of android os , but I’m not a power user, using very few apps and does the job.
Overall good budget phone at 299. normally 449 but it is on deal at 299 almost all the time. As if Google knows the true value of the phone , but they are trying their like at 449.
LuckyLucy –
Basically I like compact phone with less weight. So I choose this one. This is I’m writing after 20 days of purchase, First of all I felt Little warming in first day and after updating the softwares there’s no warming or heating issues.
This was an 60 Hertz display but you won’t feel like that. I have used iphone 12 and pixel 6a simultaneously. after using pixel 6a, iphone feels little choppy. So there no disappointment in display. Also finger print scanner works fast and accurate.
Camera is best thing in this phone. Googles post processing makes the picture awesome. Camera will compete with flagship phones like iphones.
There’s is no downs in battery.
Coming to the performance you can’t say any cons on this. It works well. I didn’t played any game yet.
Overall best in 50000 ranges phone. I got this phone at 29000. I say that you can compare this phone with iphones.
Sanjay –
Now that I have been using this phone for a while, here are the basic things to understand
Pros
1. Camera.
2. UI is smooth and haven’t experienced any sort of lag
3. Audio systems are great.
4. Bluetooth and wifi connectivity is strong
5. Display is crisp and smooth for 60Hz
6. This phone is sturdy in grop unlock other phones.
Cons
1. fingerprint sensor is slow and sometimes won’t work
2. Battery life; well mine hardly stays for 15 hours
3. Now that it has a bad fingerprint sensor, this phone does not have a face unlock feature
4. Heating issues on multitasking
Hope this helps
PRANAV A. –
Ok. So I bought this phone regardless of some reviews saying that there are better phones for this price. And I’ve been using it about for 4 days now. I post this review as I believe my opinion won’t change as the product is from Google and is expected to have standards.
Pros:
1. Phenomenal camera. I mean it’s pixel. 12MP only gives moderate zooming but the picture quality is just camera-like. Even supports astrophotography.
2. Nice software experience. I like several Google features in this phone. Some are global to android phones, some are pixel specific. I did not expect this much privacy features from a company like Google. Defentiely much better UI (subjective) than chinese crap.
3. Good display. Not 90Hz and it shows, but for a 60Hz display, it’s very good. For me, not at all a deal breaker.
4. Aesthetics. Beautiful to look at, at both software and hardware perspectives. I bought the sage green option.
Cons:
NOT HAVING A CHARGER WITH THE PHONE. but it’s all phones now, so yeah. crap.
1. Battery. On a 30K phone, battery can be better. It’s not too bad, it’s just not feels like a 30K phone in 2022. But if you buy Google charger, you get rapid charging so there’s that. You also have adaptive charging to charge overnight without damaging battery. Do not forget to take charger for longer trips, or turn on battery saver. For emergency situations, there’s extreme battery saver, so I think it’s not that much of an issue.
2. Not true Dual SIM. One of the SIM is eSIM, which is not bad but in a country like India it’s still not appropriate. For now I use only one SIM in it.
3. Heat. Any serious multitasking and the phone gets hot. Not for daily use tho, so there’s that. If you are heavy gamer or use phones like computers, beware. But with the flagship processor the phone feels fast always.
4. Minor Bugs. I have not updated the phone yet, and the factory OS has some bugs here and there, nothing deal braking tho. And I already have got the android 13 update notification, so I guess this is a minor inconvenience,if any.
Overall, recommended Unless you are a heavy gamer or the cons are a deal breaker for you.
amanooensis –
I read many reviews before buying this. I waded through endless nonsense about playing games and taking selfies to get to factors I needed: voice calls, texts, email, and other apps that actually get things done, and maybe the occasional video or music app. I had high hopes, but I’m running into a lot of disappointment so far.
Transitioning to stock Android 12 from stock Android 10 was easy. The Pixel’s cable and built-in instructions helped import all my old apps, often with settings and data intact. I had to re-enter a few passwords, tweak some settings, etc. but it was far less work than I expected. The immediate Android 13 upgrades were easy, although slow.
Some companies make ruggedized, military-grade phones. This isn’t one of them, in fact it uses mostly midrange materials. So of course I use a case and screen protector.
Well, they say all newer Google phones have a hard time recognizing fingerprints, especially with a screen protector. I set the finger sensitivity to high. No difference. Stored multiple recordings of the same fingerprint to enhance recognizability. No difference. The only help I found came from other reviewers, one of whom suggested rubbing the fingertip on his face to pick up skin oil, or another who advised licking the fingertip to make it wet. These are the low-tech solutions to Google’s high-tech design failure.
Bottom line: an in-screen sensor is a stupid idea and its performance is just as bad as you’ve heard. Maybe you’ll get lucky, but be prepared to enter passwords or codes or patterns or some other unlock method.
It seems to use power quickly, and definitely charges more slowly than my older, cheaper phone, regardless of charger or cable. No wireless charging and nothing like any kind of actual “fast” charging.
We have an app through our phone company to locate all phones in the family. It can find a Nokia or Samsung to within 50-100 feet. But it struggles to locate this phone at all, and then only to within about 1000 feet, indoors or outdoors. The phone has multiple setting options for location precision, permission, GPS vs. Wifi vs Bluetooth, etc. I’ve checked Google help and user forums, phone company help and user forums, reviews etc. Nothing helps, and this is a big deal to me.
I used my old phone to listen to music, mono speaker and all. It had a headphone jack of course, and an app to tune in FM radio. You could plug in studio-quality headphones. The Pixel speakers are stereo, but not nearly as loud. There’s no FM radio and the headphone audio via USB is lower than headphones plugged into an audio jack on the old phone. A scam to force people to buy expensive Bluetooth headphones and headsets when they already own wired versions of both.
The Pixel 6A is a bit narrower than my old phone, which makes the Gboard virtual keyboard narrower; and individual letters seem even narrower than they need to be. So it’s harder to type on. I have not tried experimenting with an external USB keyboard, or any other USB “on-the-go” function. There’s reportedly no good way to view this phone on an external monitor, unlike most Samsungs for instance.
Its chips are faster than my old phone and it has more working memory. I’m gradually getting used to the finicky “upgraded” Android 13 gesture system, which is better for some actions and worse for others. The phone size suits my needs, it has 5G and high-speed wifi which are definite upgrades.
I haven’t used it much for pictures or video but it seems competent for those. I was recently at a meeting where people were discussing complex topics, so I tried out the recorder app so as not to miss anything. It not only picked up faint voices pretty well, it also transcribed them to text in real time, with varying levels of accuracy.
So there are a few pluses, and I’ll live with the phone. But I’ll keep my eyes open for some better alternative, rather than waiting a few years for the software support to end. This is not what I wanted when making this purchase, so with all things considered, it is disappointing.
LuckyLucy –
Pixel 6a Cell Phone – Charcoal
Writing this review on sept 2022 timeframe. Bought two while it is on sale 50$ off.
This is basically the BEST Cleanest clutter free android you can buy for 550$CAD. It certainly has competition but simply put, non Pixel phones are cluttered with bloatware. The only phones in mid-tier that comes close are some offerings by motorola however i am continually disappointed in Camera performance for all motorola phones both in low light and with the speed of taking the shot. With FAST updates and Android support , I think you should not look further and buy this phone.
Folks complain about glass fingerprint sensor — i do think it’s improved quite a bit from all the updates. Sept 2022 update also improves upon this. If you have a front glass protector, you should enable the high sensitivity mode if necessary. I personally have the Caseology glass protector and have no issues. It performs on par with my old samsung note 10+ glass sensor.
Battery life is average… nothing great. Gets me through the day.
Camera is basically the best on the Android market at this price in my opinion. I’ve used mid-tier Samsung., Motorola, TCL, Huawei, Plus one.. . theyre all strong contenders but I always preferred the photos coming out of Google camera with its computational photography. It keeps getting better with updates and Google doesnt abandon the phone for 2-3 years after buying. Other manufacturers are “one and done” and once you get the phone, its RARE to have any improvements (based on my own observations whilst owning those phones)
A few things i wouldve liked to see:
–I generally would have LOVED to have the wired earphone connector on ALL phones but alas, pixel has gone the way of Bt only (or usb adapters).
–I’m also going to say I’m not super thrilled with glass back. The phone NEEDS a case otherwise its slippery and fragile. .
— only offered in 128GB flash . would have liked one of the two phones i bought , to have 256. Of course Google phones never offer external SD card.
Despite a few qualms I had, I still consider this phone best in class.
Krunal –
Update: Don’t buy from Amazon!!!! If you buy from amazon, warranty is not given by google. You can claim warranty only if bought from Flipkart!!
I was using Redmi note 5 from last 4 years & wanted a phone for balancing my requirements as Office work apps (Teams, Outlook, workplace etc.), Utilities, Good camera (not oppo vivo type face beuty, but really a good camera), Good battery that lasts atleast 1 full day under heavy use, Compact design & also some gaming.
I was skeptical about battery life as many users reported it as issue that under mobile network battery drains fast, but I am using it daily on mobile network only, no such issue is found.
Its 9th Dec & we got new dec update, after which fingerprint reader has improved..its smoother now. Camera will not disappoint you for sure, Image after processing is at best.
I will also suggest you to get Cardboard app & a VR set (cheaper one), which will give next level experience.
Don’t buy Cover & glass online, if you have mobile market nearby, then buy from there. I got very smooth silicon cover with cushion pading from inside at 150 rs & glass at 150 also, which are availabe at 400-500 rs online.
Back cover is must as given glass back design attracts fingerprint and also is vulnerable to scratches (yes…scratches from keys if you put mobile & keys in same pocket).
Buy a 20W adaptor (C-type & Simple one inputs), which is sufficient. It charges faster if you use Cable given by google, & slowly with other cables.
Overall, I got what I expected. If you have same expectations as mine, just go for it.
Atypical User –
I don’t want a phone. I find I need a phone. This phone is very good for meeting the need for one. It’s the right size for me, too, especially if I have to hold it up to my ear for a long period of time. If this happens a lot in the future, I’ll use my Bluetooth earphones.
I did hear that the Jan 2023 update messed Bluetooth connectivity up a bit for use in cars. I’ll be getting a car with this capability in a couple of months, so I hope that is resolved by then.
Unlike my previous Pixel 3a, it’s waterproof, has an updated OS with improved features (the pictures are better even though the camera is supposed to be the one used since the Pixel 2, the Android Assistant is really good, and the shortcuts are convenient — and programmable! — for the most-used features so one can pull the phone out and be taking pictures in about a second now) and it makes much better use of the available space for the screen. The response is noticeably better than the Pixel 3a, perhaps at the cost of the battery life. The 3a lasted at least a week for me, versus four or five days for the 6a.
There were more initial problems with connection reliability than the 3a had, but the 3a didn’t have 5G support. Maybe there are still growing pains with 5G. I note that the 4G 3a had consistent 4 bars where the 6a struggles to get 2 at the same location, but the phones would use WiFi more than cellular connections there. There may be some provider issues; I’m happy with the phone itself.
I liked the earphone plug in the 3a, but strangely I don’t miss the lack, and if that helps the waterproofing of the phone I’m all for it. The new phone recognizes its orientation much faster than the 3a did, even though I do not have the facial recognition feature enabled for this purpose.
But I do miss the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone. The one on the front embedded in the screen feels like a gimmick. It’s slower to successfully recognize me, and seems faster at acknowledging failures. I did add my thumb this time; any other finger required two hands to log on to the phone. And maybe it is a security feature, but this OS requires a keypad code a lot more often than the Pixel 3a OS.
The Android OS has continually improved safety features with each new version. I’m not happy that the OS will not be updated after three years, but I do like the five-year security support.