Google Pixel 6a: History and Pixel repeat themselves | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan

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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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 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.

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, Google has used its own Tensor chipset having 5nm technology. The octa-core chipset handles the phone’s needs efficiently. The phone isn’t meant for gaming either. It tends to generate heat when used extensively or even on games like Ludo King or Candy Crush. The routine computation is good, but can’t load pages as quickly as we would have liked.

In other ways, Google did try to bring something new and unique with the Tensor apart from Qualcomm’s and MediaTek’s chipsets. Similarly, Samsung experiments with Exynos processors. There will always be inhibitions for something new and Tensor, in its first generation, has been successful in portraying a good image of its own with much scope for improvement.

Pixel phones’ camera performance has been constant till now. The Pixel 6a goes as per the standards set by its predecessors. It gets dual rear lenses. The primary is a 12.2MP shooter while it has a 12MP ultra-wide lens. The lens supports optical and electronic image stabilisations. Images clicked by the Pixel 6a have been rich in tone, feature fine details, and maintain colour balance. You won’t get over-saturation of images here. This Sony IMX363 sensor has been a great companion to the Pixel phones and it doesn’t disappoint in 6a either. The low light photography is yet another highlight of the Pixel 6a. The wide-angle lens is satisfactory in terms of the details it holds.

You will cherish the shots captured by Pixel 6a, especially in Portrait mode. There is still no match to it, even if you pay more. The 8MP selfie lens is as good as anything. My favourite mode remains Portrait here as well. Pixel is known to define edges and distinguish the subject background with great care. The Portrait shots just emerge out of the background so elegantly that you really want to share it every time. You can go 2X deep with Pixel 6a inside Portrait shots, which is very helpful. The quick sharing option makes the phone ever more efficient. The Tensor-backed Pixel 6a comes with the Magic Eraser feature to cut the clutter from a frame.

All in all, I’m still trying to find a better camera phone than a Pixel in terms of wide range and detailing.

Pixel 6a has got a 4,410 cell on it, minus the charger inside the box. Under normal usage, it can go for a day and a half quite easily. If you go shooting, watch videos, and continuously use it, even then it can take you a day at least to drain the battery. The Tensor prevents drainage but heating is observed if used for prolonged periods. The charging speed is decent and takes time - around 2 hours or more to fill it up.

Google delayed the arrival of the Pixel 6a phone to India and in the meantime, is about to unveil the Pixel 7 series, probably next month. So, does it make sense to spend around ₹44,000 on Pixel 6a?

There are features in the Pixel 6a we can vouch for. First and foremost, its camera and secondly, clean OS coupled with updates. Tensor is a good addition to the Pixel 6a, but we would love to see upgrades to it. The design and build quality have become redundant, but Google fails to admit it.

Pixel 6a met with heavy and stiff competition in its segment, with brands like OnePlus, Realme, iQOO and Nothing that offer premium build quality, a more efficient processor, bigger batteries with upto 150W of fast charging, but minus the clean OS and enhanced photography experience.

Overall, the Google Pixel 6a doesn’t really sync with the market, but you can’t ignore it either.

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Printable version | Aug 24, 2022 8:36:31 pm | https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/gadgets/google-pixel-6a-review-india-launch-smartphone-camera-android-tensor-sony/article65804259.ece