Google Pixel 6a announced to rival the low-cost iPhone SE 3

The Google Pixel 6a has been confirmed at the Google IO 2022 keynote (we’ve got a live blog going on for the full event here).

It’s a budget spin on the Google Pixel 6, at least given its name and the ‘a’ in the series’ conventions. However, as of now we are waiting to know more about the phone.

It has a surprising amount of features over its bigger sibling, though a few downgrades in select areas mean the Pixel 6 will remain a prime member of the line.

The release date of this phone is quite far away, but before we get our hands on it, here’s what you need to know about the Google Pixel 6a.

price and availability

The Google Pixel 6a costs $449 / AU$749 – which translates to around 360, though we’re waiting to hear about when the thing will go on sale.

Pre-orders in the US and Australia will begin on July 21 and will go on sale from July 28. It’s far away, so it’s surprising we’re hearing about it so quickly.

It comes in white, green and black.

design and performance

The Google Pixel 6a sports a 6.1-inch screen with a punch-hole cut-out like other Pixel 6 phones. It has FHD+ resolution but only 60Hz refresh rate, which may disappoint some.

At least the display supports Always-On Display, a feature that is not available to all mid-range handsets.

The phone’s design is similar to that of its siblings with the same camera bar, but with a smaller lens cut-out – making it look a bit more discrete in our eyes.

We haven’t heard what material the phone is made of, but based on the previous phone, we can guess that it is plastic. This at least makes it more resistant to drops.

(image credits: future)

Camera and Battery Life

The Google Pixel 6a cameras are 12MP main and 12MP ultra-wide, sitting in that chunky bar. The front-facing is only 8MP, so don’t expect to take any super-high-res selfies here.

Some camera features are carried over from the Pixel 6 including the Magic Eraser to remove annoying extras in photos, and Real Tone to more accurately balance out Portrait Mode for non- fair skinned people.

What is the battery capacity here? 4,800mAh, which according to Google will last more than a day of use. Charging speed is 30W.

display and specs

The Google Tensor chip is carried over from the older phone to the Pixel 6a – this should make the Pixel 6a just as powerful as those other devices, and it explains why they get similar camera features.

Beyond that, you’re getting 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, both of which are pretty standard for such a mid-range phone.

The software is Android 12 – unfortunately, the handset is too early for Android 13, although it is likely to receive that update in due course.

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