Google Pixel 6a review

07 August 2022


Sort by:

Aan2007, 08 Aug 2022if the phone can get me through the day without any issues ... moreAlso another person below said it even better than me:

"Because it means you never have to worry about your battery being flat or waste time charging it through the night."

This is not a gimmick, nor is it even a feature, this is a paradigm shift. Just like ALL phones should have Type-C, ALL phones should be able to fully charge within an hour, let alone 30 minutes, let alone 5 minutes. Super fast charging is the future of technology, the way it should be.

    Aan2007, 08 Aug 2022if the phone can get me through the day without any issues ... more> 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥?

    I'm not saying you need the crazy fast 120W charging! My standards aren't even that high. I'm okay with just 33W, 25W even. But you gotta be absolutely ridiculous to think 18W is even acceptable for a 4000mah battery on a $449 phone! When I pay $449, I don't expect a full charge within 15 minutes, but I at least expect a full charge within an hour. 1h 20m maximum.

    Also, your question is idiotic. It's obvious why people need "high" charging speeds (1h to fully charge at very most). In fact, explaining it is even more idiotic, but I will explain it anyway:

    1⃣) Imagine forgetting to charge your phone last night and now it's dead, but you're running late for work. With high charging speeds, you can brush your teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, and come back to 100%. Imagine doing that with an 18W phone, you're only gonna get 20%, and when you get to work it's already dead and you need to charge it again.

    2⃣) Your phone dies while taking videos while at a concert. With a slow charging phone, recharging from 0% while taking videos is going to result in a negative net charge, meaning you drain more battery than gaining charge, as video recording is very harsh on battery. In other words, your slow charging phone is gonna die again 3 minutes after charging from 0%. This is not a problem with a fast charging phone.

    3⃣) Literally any other scenario where your phone is low on battery but you need to gain large amounts of battery very quick. There are lots. I'm not going to waste more time thinking about them.

    There. I took the time to explain three very plausible situations. I find it hilarious you're asking this, because it is common sense to most people.

    Just like how using Type C instead of MicroUSB is common sense to most people.

    Just like how switching from florescent to LED light bulbs is common sense to most people.

      • s
      • sumdumguy
      • StU
      • 09 Aug 2022

      How is the audio when shooting a video with the rear camera? Can you hear people speak even if they are 3-5m away?

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • up6
        • 09 Aug 2022

        Rippy, 09 Aug 2022Love to have this 6.1 size option in the flagship.Go with asus Zenfone 9

          wongwatt, 09 Aug 2022I've had a similar journey to you it seems, I had a P3... moreI originally had a mate 10 pro, loved it, got my dad to get the p30 and was awesome so took a chance with the p40 pro. Jealous you got the p40 pro+, ceramic back and the extra telephoto 😍. Shame what happened to Huawei, if P40 had Google services I would of never changed phones, still beats modern phones in a lot of ways.

          The kirin 990 was so underrated, it never missed a beat for me and I've done real life testing and it's as smooth/bit smoother than the pixel 6 pro (so opening apps, swapping between tabs on web browser, use fingerprint unlock or face unlock vs fingerprint).

          Loving my X5 though, which colour did you get it in? I've got the matte grey finish and probably best looking phone other than the X5 pro imo haha! Also the charging, man it's nice to never worry about the battery life. Also running 2 sims in 5g concurrently (pixel could only take 1 sim).

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • n1u
            • 09 Aug 2022

            A52s is way better than this ****

              • R
              • Rippy
              • NUw
              • 09 Aug 2022

              Love to have this 6.1 size option in the flagship.

                • w
                • wongwatt
                • L9v
                • 09 Aug 2022

                Anonymous, 09 Aug 2022I love how everyone's response is always this after I ... moreI've had a similar journey to you it seems, I had a P30 Pro and a P40 Pro+ (with the same Google issues) before getting my current OPPO Find X5 - it reminds me so much of my Huawei devices in the way it feels and operates, the official flip case is just as well engineered as Huawei's too.
                But the best thing is that it never gets hot, I can run Maps driving while wirelessly charging in our current hot weather without worries - just like the Huaweis with the sadly departed Kirin.

                  • J
                  • Janneman
                  • 00$
                  • 09 Aug 2022

                  Anonymous, 09 Aug 2022I had the pixel 6 pro and it had nothing but problems and m... moreI 100% agree with you. The 6 pro had a vary bad fingerprint reader. Screen brightness did not work properly. Traded mine in as well.

                    • J
                    • J
                    • gLZ
                    • 09 Aug 2022

                    Aan2007, 08 Aug 2022S21FE is huge and its camera is slow shit, usable maybe for... moreI have an S21FE and I can confirm, it's nothing to write home about all in all! The truth you told about the camera couldn't be more correct! Blurry pics if the object moves slightly, worst decision I made buying it.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • mx}
                      • 09 Aug 2022

                      Anonymous, 09 Aug 2022Based on your comment, I really doubt that you had the P6P.... moreI love how everyone's response is always this after I give my actual experience with it hahaha! (I understand some pixel users haven't had any problems but mine was the complete opposite and a horrible device to use)

                      Yeah I owned it since February (had it in black with 256gb storage,
                      Last time I checked mine was sitting in CeX to be sold) and got rid of it last month because of how poor it performed (for an Oppo Find X5, cameras aren't as good except the ultrawide, device as a whole is far better though and nicest feeling back on a phone, a joy to hold and use).

                      Best things about the pixel are speakers and consistent pictures, the PO pixel video app, The live translate was cool too and live song reconigition. The rest was average or bad from battery to charging (take between 2-4 hours to charge or sometimes would say its charging but wouldn't charge, it wouldn't accept some type C cables i had) to terrible ultrawide cam to non stop WiFi and Bluetooth issues to issues connecting to Google products (would struggle streaming to a chrome cast). Mine wouldn't accept my £200 headphones on a wired connection (3.5 to type C dongle) either.

                      P40 pro was my favourite device for the cameras abilities (tbh it was just a near perfect device to hold and use hardware wise) its a shame that we rely so heavily on Google in the West because it makes it too frustrating to use without Google services. My P40 pro was overall better for camera and video than my pixel (again quality was pretty equal but HDR and depth handling the p40 was better and had better video recording options plus a dedicated biometrics sensor on the front that handled depth for the selfie aswell).

                      If I could I'd have a mi 11 ultra but like the s21/22 ultra and iPhone 13 Pro max, bit too big and heavy plus not great battery puts me off. Its meant to be best camera phone of 2021 too so would like to see how it performs in that aspect.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • mx}
                        • 09 Aug 2022

                        Anonymous, 09 Aug 2022LOL. And you know this how? Have you ever been close to a P... moreI had the pixel 6 pro and it had nothing but problems and mine ran warm while idle (and constantly ran the X1 cores for some reason). I traded mine in for a far superior phone (find X5) and I haven't missed my pixel for even 1 minute, I will never again own a pixel either after this experience.

                        I had the same issue multiple times over multiple updates, it would be fixed 1 update, broken after the next update. Alot of the time it was WiFi and Bluetooth issues from connecting to the device to it being connected and randomly disconnect. It would lose the device/WiFi even while in use so an example would be im on YouTube, connected to WiFi, then video would stop playing and phone isn't connected to WiFi. I'd have to open WiFi settings and let the device re find it, this would happen multiple times every. Single. Day.

                        My pixel 6 pro used to severely overheat recording 4k video to the point it would lag and glitch out while recording. 2 out of about 40-45 issues I had with it. You were very lucky if you never had a problem (the tensor chip is a fundementally broken SoC).

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • pQ0
                          • 09 Aug 2022

                          Anonymous, 08 Aug 2022Hmm surprised you thought the camera was that good. I had t... moreBased on your comment, I really doubt that you had the P6P.... I have the P6p and I tested the Mi 11 Ultra before I bought it, and decided on the Pixel because of the camera. I would not buy a Huawei product for obvious reasons, but I'd guess that the Mi 11 Ultra's camera is somewhat better than the P40.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • mx}
                            • 09 Aug 2022

                            Aan2007, 08 Aug 2022if the phone can get me through the day without any issues ... moreBecause it means you never have to worry about your battery being flat or waste time charging it through the night. 80w charging, I literally throw my phone on charge for 10-15 mins and it leaves me at about 85%, that's from about 30% before putting it on charge(you shouldn't charge to 100% or leave it at 100% and really shouldn't let it go below 20%). This gets me a full day's usage or about 8-10 hours screen on time, atm I'm at 9 hours 10 mins and 29% battery (Oppo Find X5) and haven't charged it at all at night.

                            No battery damage, no warm ups, no messing around charging through the night to heat up the device and I can charge it while I have a quick shower etc and because I'm leaving it between healthy battery levels and generally keep it between 30-80% doing little top ups (atm I've let it drop lower than normal) my battery is basically not effected.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • pQ0
                              • 09 Aug 2022

                              Grey Wolf, 09 Aug 2022So, you will buy an average phone at everything, just becau... moreHuh? Unless your main purpose is to play demanding games, the camera is the main differentiator for most of us. The rest is pretty much the same, except for any specific bugs introduced by the manufacturer's software.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • pQ0
                                • 09 Aug 2022

                                SSS, 09 Aug 2022Google pixel 6a has lots of issues which are not addressed ... moreLOL. And you know this how? Have you ever been close to a Pixel?

                                I have a P6P and have never had overheating issues. Nor have I ever heard about such issues with the 6s. Maybe this is why no reviewers mention it...

                                  • S
                                  • Shui8
                                  • KZ8
                                  • 09 Aug 2022

                                  Camera review -

                                  'The Pixel 6a's camera does a really good job of bringing details out of the shadowy areas, though some may argue that that shadows should be left darker for the image to look more realistic (an opinion we don't really share)'

                                  Well the better way to tell it, just turn off HDR, or by playing with 'shadow' & 'highlights' slider to adjust it inside the camera menu.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • a0V
                                    • 09 Aug 2022

                                    SSS, 09 Aug 2022Google pixel 6a has lots of issues which are not addressed ... moreNetworking issues will be because it's using crappy Samsung modem. Most reviews these days are advertisments.

                                      • S
                                      • SSS
                                      • GQi
                                      • 09 Aug 2022

                                      Google pixel 6a has lots of issues which are not addressed by any reviewer. Major is heating issue, temp goes beyond 50C. Network drop issue is there, charging takes lot of time. Not value for money. Finishing also is not that gr7. Recommending people not to buy Google Pixel6a.

                                        • G
                                        • Grey Wolf
                                        • ppq
                                        • 09 Aug 2022

                                        Aan2007, 08 Aug 2022because you won't find smaller phone for this price wi... moreSo, you will buy an average phone at everything, just because it has a relatively good camera? Lol. Just get a dedicated camera, if you are so much into photography. And get a better phone.