Google delayed the arrival of Pixel 6a in India and is about to unveil the Pixel 7 series. So, does it make sense to spend around ₹44,000 on Pixel 6a?
Google delayed the arrival of Pixel 6a in India and is about to unveil the Pixel 7 series. So, does it make sense to spend around ₹44,000 on Pixel 6a?
Google Pixel 6a made its India debut last month after a long pause by the company. Pixel 6a came with the first-generation Tensor chip, developed by Google, and is sold in only one storage version which is 6GB RAM and 128GB internal space. The Pixel 6a came in Chalk colour to us. The pricing of Pixel 6a pitched it against the premium and flagship phones from Realme, iQOO, OnePlus, and of course, iPhone SE 2022. Is it worth spending on the Google Pixel 6a now? We’ll find out!
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Design
For the first time in its history of evolution, Pixel 6a came with a different design. The Pixel 6a brought a horizontal camera bar that runs from edge to edge. The Chalk colour variant with a black camera bar creates a contrast which is pleasing to the eyes and gets onlookers’ attention as well. But when you feel the back of the Pixel 6a, it disappoints. Google has used a PCB material at the back that is glossy and almost fools people into thinking it is glass, when it isn’t. The camera bar gets fingerprints on it and you have to clean it often for a better image preview. The frames on the sides are actually metal, which makes the Pixel 6a sturdy.
The placement of the power button along with the volume keys is confusing. Most often you’ll end up pressing the volume up key rather than locking the screen. The design team fails miserably here, considering the natural movements of our hands.
There are no sharp or curved edges as the Pixel is blunt upfront. After all those years of R&D it still looks like a block with no aesthetic appeal to it when held up. There is a wide chin and bezels around the display that really don’t go well today. It gets the Type-C port for charging but the box doesn’t ship with it. There’s no 3.5mm jack for your audio devices but the phone gets an in-display fingerprint scanner this time.
Overall, the Pixel 6a has a compact form factor that fits well in palm but seriously lacks innovations.
Google Pixel 6a: History and Pixel repeat themselves
| Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
Display
Google Pixel 6a features a punch-hole display in the middle that is only found in Samsung’s phone, while most have moved on towards the left part of the screen. Pixel 6a gets a 6.1-inch OLED display, similar to iPhone 13/12/11 sizes, but on the contrary, it ships with 60 Hz refresh rate. Now, we can’t imagine that a phone selling in the ₹44,000 price range will ship with a 60 Hz refresh rate, which is usually found in entry level phones starting at ₹6,000.
Being OLED in nature saves the day for Pixel 6a with good colour output. You can’t even think of playing graphics heavy games as the frame rates won’t make up to the ask and similarly, the HD OTT content doesn’t really live up to expectations on Pixel 6a.
Performance
Google is known to offer a clean stock Android experience with regular security updates on Pixel phones, and Pixel 6a is no different. It ships with pure Android 12 out of the box with no skin and no pre-installed apps other than Google’s own. There’s no bloatware or sluggishness observed on the phone.
In terms of processor,
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