Google Pixel 6a – 5G Android Phone – Unlocked Smartphone with 12 Megapixel Camera and 24-Hour Battery – Chalk

Fantastic Value with Impressive Features!
We got the Google Pixel 6a, and I am thoroughly impressed! As an unlocked smartphone, it offers great flexibility with carriers. The 12-megapixel camera is a standout feature—photos are sharp, vibrant, and the low-light performance is surprisingly good.The battery life is another highlight; we can easily get through a full day of heavy usage without needing to charge. The 24-hour battery claim holds true, and that’s a big win for anyone on the go.The performance is smooth and responsive, thanks to the efficient software. Google’s clean interface makes it easy to navigate, and I love the regular updates that keep my device secure and up to date.The charcoal color looks sleek and modern, adding a touch of elegance. Overall, the Google Pixel 6a is a fantastic value for the price, offering top-notch features that make it an excellent choice for anyone in the market for a new smartphone. Highly recommended!

The best all-around phone at this price point (in the US, at least)
TLDR: The Pixel 6a is a phone that I can safely recommend to anyone who just wants a device that works, takes decent enough pictures, can get through the day on a single charge, and won’t break the bank or double one’s monthly mobile bill for the next 2 years. Tech enthusiasts need not apply.However, as a tech enthusiast who bought one of these as a second phone, I could see myself dailying the Pixel 6a without too many regrets. I mean, I would feel guilty for coming down hard on it in any particular category simply because it’s so darn affordable (particularly when it’s on sale). Plus, there’s really nothing else in this price range I can recommend to others with any confidence. What else can you get for around $300 that is this well-rounded? In the US? Not much, though you can get some cheapo Motorola phones for less if you’re willing to settle for a weak processor, mediocre cameras, an LCD display (rather than OLED), and a cheaper-feeling, all-plastic build. You’ll also have to settle for weaker software support than the Pixel, which guarantees security updates for another 4 years from now (as well as two more Android OS updates after 13).The nearest competitor is probably the Samsung Galaxy A53 (soon to be A54). It’s also on sale regularly, though I’ve never seen it as low as the 6a has been. The Sammy does give you a better display (120Hz AMOLED vs 60Hz OLED) and a bigger battery than the Pixel, but it has a weaker Exynos CPU and worse cameras despite the more impressive specs on paper. I’d take the Pixel 6a hands down, and that’s coming from an 11-year Samsung Galaxy fan.Anyway, onto my detailed personal critique of the Pixel 6a…As I said before, I can’t really knock it much considering the price point. HOWEVER, there are a few sore spots that annoy me and will hopefully be improved upon with the upcoming 7a.The first is the display. While I appreciate the inclusion of an OLED panel at this price, the 60Hz refresh rate makes my eyes bleed while scrolling. Harsh? Yeah, but I’ve been spoiled by 120Hz displays for years now. Jumping between this and my S22 Ultra regularly makes the difference even more noticeable. The 7a is supposed to bump it up to 90Hz, which should greatly improve smoothness. Refresh rate aside, I also find the display to be a bit on the dim side. Not that it isn’t bright enough in most cases (aside from direct sunlight), but even indoors with minimal lighting the display will adjust to about 50% brightness to maintain adequate visibility. Meanwhile, my Samsung phones (S22 Ultra and old S21+) are only at 25% brightness in the same environment and still somehow appear to be brighter. And the colors never seem to pop as much on this phone compared to other OLED-equipped phones I’ve used. I suppose that’s a key difference between OLED and AMOLED.The second issue is the durability of the materials used to make this phone, mainly the plastic on the back panel. When brand new, the plastic back does an incredible job of imitating the appearance and feel of glass. But after minimal use (and even inside of a case, as another reviewer pointed out), this material reveals itself to be ridiculously soft and prone to nicks and scratches. Mine is covered in little pock marks and micro abrasions despite being in a case the majority of its life. It’s so soft that I swear the little nicks in it are probably from dust particles being pressed into it by popping a case on. Another ding goes to the dated Gorilla Glass 3 covering the display that’s also prone to scratches and sounds really thin and hollow when tapped. I recommend a screen protector.While steady software updates since the phone’s release last July have greatly improved the overall user experience, it still suffers from a few hardware-related headaches. The modem used in this thing (and its siblings) is infamous for being inefficient, having mediocre reception (though I haven’t noticed), and creating massive amounts of heat. Sadly, no amount of updates can remedy that situation. It’s fine as long as you stick to LTE, in my experience. Enabling 5G pretty much guarantees that your battery will drain much more quickly and that the back of the phone will stay warm at all times. On the bright side, you can put it in your back pocket and use it as a “butt warmer” on cold days. If you get a second 6a, you can heat both cheeks evenly. Don’t have heated seats in your car? Problem solved. Jokes aside, at least the fingerprint reader and random idle battery drain issues that I experienced early on have been fixed. It’s been months since I’ve gone to bed with 100% battery only to wake up with 65% left for no reason other than “just Pixel things” as a friend of mine with a 6 Pro would call little irritating bugs like those.Now that I’ve done nothing but blast this poor thing in the previous few paragraphs, let me tell you what I think is great about it.For one, I love the size. While many out there still think it’s too large, I think it’s perfect. After handling a behemoth like the S22 Ultra, this one is a pleasure to grasp even while in a case (of which I recommend the Spigen Rugged Armor, but that’s another review). It’s just so light and easy to grip compared to what I’m used to. It’s no Zenfone 9 or iPhone 13 Mini, but it feels downright tiny compared to an S22/23 Ultra or Pixel 6/7 Pro. Folks with small hands or who simply prefer smaller phones will like this one. This is the compact option in the realm of budget and mid-range phones, as most inexpensive smartphones have 6.5″+ screens for some reason (I guess they’re cheaper to make?).The Pixel software perks are probably my second favorite “feature” (though I’m not sure if size can be called a feature…well, maybe but nvm). Being able to see the title and artist of just about any song playing around me at a glance is something I never knew I wanted. And while I haven’t used them personally, the call waiting assistance and Direct My Call (on-screen choices for automated calls) features sound amazing for simplifying a few of life’s little annoyances. I’m sure there’s a lot of great things I’m forgetting to mention but those stand out the most for me.Finally, there’s the cameras. Nothing about the hardware here is fancy or premium, or even new. In fact, the 6a’s main image sensor (Sony IMX363) has been used in the Pixel line as far back as the Pixel 3. What’s propping up these tiny, dated image sensors is Google’s amazing camera software and image processing. While the images produced by this combo won’t blow you away, you’ll be impressed by just how competent and “honest” the results are. The colors and details are very muted and realistic. If you’re fond of the super-colorful, oversharpened, Ultra HDR photos your typical Samsung phone cranks out, you’ll be very disappointed by this phone (and Pixels in general) and should look elsewhere. I actually prefer the main and ultra-wide cameras on this Pixel to my S22 Ultra for the simple fact that it’s better at quick, point and shoot photography. I can whip the 6a out of my pocket, snap a quick photo, and be 100% confident that resulting picture will be serviceable. I can’t say that about any Samsung that I’ve ever used. The main con is the lack of a dedicated telephoto camera. You can zoom up to 7X with the main camera, but your pictures start looking like watercolor paintings at that level of zoom. I’d go no higher than 3X and even that is pushing it.Other notes to close out this lengthy, rambling review:Speakers are just okay, and the volume slider has to be cranked fairly high to produce enough sound for normal listening.Battery life is fine, but should honestly be better with a 4410 mAh battery onboard. In a regular day of use for me, I average about 4-5 hours of screen on time with 5G enabled.I can squeeze out an extra hour or two if I disable 5G and stick to LTE, and the phone runs much cooler on average as an added bonus. I had a OnePlus 8T with a similarly-sized 4500 mAh battery and snapdragon 865 that could get up to 8 hours of SoT (with 5G disabled, as well), so I feel like the Tensor G1 isn’t the most efficient SoC around.Charging is slow, coming from someone who used to daily a OnePlus with 65W Warp Charging. Still, you can fully charge it in less than 2 hours from nearly-dead. Could be worse, I guess. Also, there’s no wireless charging on the 6a.As far as performance goes, I can’t complain about it in daily use scenarios. It feels very responsive when opening and navigating my usual apps (Gmail, Twitter, twitch, YouTube, Amazon, etc.). I’m not a phone gamer, so I can’t comment on gaming performance though I imagine that it gets rather hot in a short period of time as that’s just what the Tensor does.I’ve already stated repeatedly that I can recommend this phone to just about anyone because it does just about everything well enough for the average person. However, the 7a is on the horizon and is expected to bring a 90Hz display, wireless charging, the Tensor G2 from the Pixel 7, and better cameras for a similar RRP. While it won’t be as affordable as the discounted 6a when it launches this summer, I imagine we’ll be seeing it in the $300 range by Black Friday. So you may want to wait for that one unless you need a new phone right now. Still, the 6a at its current price is an absolute bargain, in my honest opinion.

Muy rápido a pesar de tener solo 6 GB de ram y casi dos años Ene le mercado, buena batería, llego a las 12 de la noche con el 50 % de batería, bonito, y se siente de excelente calidad. El mejor teléfono que he tenido, en cuanto a red es excelente lo único malo es que si no soporta la red 5G de México. Pero las llamadas se escuchan excelentes en el lte y los mensajes siempre llegan.

Great phone at a good price point. The internet is full of rave reviews going into great detail about this phone. I chose it mainly because it has a great camera and it is capable of “Always on”, and it isn’t bloated with preloaded “stuff” like my old Huawei. We live in a “cell phone world” and there are many choices out there and I wanted a phone that I would be happy with for some time to come.Fast camera, quality OLED screen, Gorilla glass, 5G, water resistance rating and a decent livable size. Phones can be huge making it difficult to manage in your day to day. How and where do you put it? This size can be put in your pocket or be worn on the belt.More about the “Always On”. I appreciate the fact that when the phone is beside me, I can glance at it without touching it and it gives me information; Day, Date, Time etc. Not all screens/phones can do this.It has only been a week and I am still getting used to (and surprised by) all the features. I can recommend this phone without hesitation.