Google's A-series Pixel phones have routinely ranked among the most popular devices from the company, with affordable prices, intelligent features, and long software support lifespans. And based on what we learned about the Pixel 6a at Google I/O 2022, the newest Google budget phone could be its best yet.

The Pixel 6a will use the same Google Tensor hardware and distinctive camera bump as the Pixel 6, trumping the Snapdragon 765G and ultra-boring design of the Pixel 5a. Despite some key downgrades compared to the Pixel 6, the Pixel 6a will offer tools and speed you rarely find on a mid-range device.

Set to launch next month, the Google Pixel 6a is likely to challenge popular mid-range phones like the iPhone SE and Galaxy A series. But is it worth the wait? Or should you wait even longer for the upcoming Pixel 7? 

We have the complete spec sheet on performance and cameras, plus a clear look at the design, to help you decide. Here's everything we know about the Google Pixel 6a.

Pixel 6a: Release date, price, and colors

During Google I/O 2022, the company announced that the Pixel 6a would cost $449, the same as the Pixel 5a before it. Considering it shares many features and specs with the $599 Pixel 6, the Pixel 6a is arguably a steal at that price. Verizon customers will have to pay $499 in exchange for mmWave, however.

As for pricing in other countries, the complete list is below:

• Canada: CA$599
• United Kingdom: £399
• Australia: AU$749
• France: €459
• Germany: €459
• Ireland: €459
• Italy: €459
• Spain: €459
• Japan: ¥53,900
• Singapore: S$749
• Taiwan: NT$13,990

The Pixel 6a will ship in three colors: Charcoal, Chalk, and Sage. Compared to the Pixel 5a, which only shipped in Mostly Black, you have more of a chance to show your personality with these colors. All three models have a matte black camera bar, whereas the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 have unique camera bar colors.

Google will open Pixel 6a pre-orders on July 21, with phones shipping on July 28 in the twelve countries listed above, as well as India later in 2022.

Design

The Pixel 6a borrows heavily from the Pixel 6 in its design, particularly its wide camera bar housing two lenses and a flash LED. It'll make the recognizable Pixel design more widespread, given the Pixel A series has traditionally sold in much higher numbers than the flagship Pixels.

YouTuber Fazli Halim recently acquired a Pixel 6a early and unboxed it, showing off how it looks compared to the Pixel 6. From his video and the screenshot below, you can see that the camera bar on the 6a is far less pronounced, likely due to smaller camera sensors. But considering the Pixel 6 bar frequently catches on pocket hems and fingers, a smaller bump may be preferable. 

One negative of the shift to the Pixel 6 design is that the 6a abandoned the 3.5mm headphone jack found on the Pixel 5a. 

Unlike the 6.4-inch Pixel 6, the Pixel 6a will have a 6.1-inch display and will measure 2.8 x 6.0 x 0.35in. This will hit a compact sweet spot for people that prioritize one-handed scrolling over a large display. The display will also feature Gorilla Glass 3 for solid scratch protection, though it lacks the improved GG Victus found on the Pixel 6.

Like its predecessor, the Pixel 6a has an IP67 rating, just slightly below the IP68 found on the Pixel 6. 

Specs and Google Tensor

As leakers predicted for month, the Google Pixel 6a will use the same Google Tensor chipset as the Pixel 6, paired with 6GB/128GB memory. The latter spec matches the Pixel 5a and many mid-range phones, but the addition of Google Tensor will ensure that RAM is put to much better use.

A recent Pixel 6a Geekbench score appeared to show that the budget phone performed on par with the Pixel 6 in both single- and multi-core performance. While benchmarks aren't always reliable for real-world results, it's possible the Pixel 6a will feel like a steal for this price range, comparable to the iPhone SE (2022). We'll know more when we can test it for ourselves.

In terms of overall Pixel 6a specs, we've collected them in the table below:

As for real-life upgrades, the Pixel 6a will support camera AI tools like Magic Eraser for removing unwanted people and objects from photos; Face Unblur for clearer shots when a subject is moving; Real Tone machine learning tools for better lighting quality for photo subjects with darker skin tones; and Night Sight for better photography in low light.

The only Pixel 6 feature the 6a lacks is Motion Mode, the awesome computational tool for taking fast-moving photos. But that's likely due to limitations with the camera hardware, whereas the other AI-backed tools work perfectly well thanks to Tensor.

Google gave the Pixel 6a a 12.2MP ƒ/1.7 main sensor and 12MP ƒ/2.2 ultrawide sensor with 114º FOV, plus an 8 MP ƒ/2.0 front-facing camera. Those numbers don't appear to offer much upside over the Pixel 5a, so it's clear Google Tensor will do all of the heavy lifting for the new camera features.

Outside of camera tools, Google promised the Pixel 6a can handle Live Translate and fast speech-to-text transcription, as well. And the company made sure to note that Tensor's Titan M2 security chip made the 6a "more resilient to attacks" than the 5a.

In terms of display quality, the Pixel 6a will have a 6.1-inch AMOLED with FHD resolution and an in-display fingerprint sensor. Unfortunately, it will stick to a 60Hz refresh rate, while other similarly priced budget Android phones like the Galaxy A53 5G jump up to 120Hz.

On the subject of the Pixel 6a fingerprint sensor, Google confirmed to us that it uses a different sensor than the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, which had notorious fingerprint issues for months. Another leaked 6a unboxing video showed the phone unlocking much more quickly and effortlessly, which gives us hope this will be a decent upgrade over last year's Google flagships.

For battery life, the Pixel 6a apparently will fall to 4,410mAh typical or 4,306mAh minimum. That, combined with Tensor, will certainly cause the 6a battery life to dip compared to the two-day Pixel 5a. 

Google itself claims the Pixel 6a lasts an average of 29 hours in testing "across a mix of talk, data, standby, and use of other features" while running on a sub-6 GHz 5G network. The mmWave variant will likely have a shorter battery life.

The 6a will recharge at just 18W and doesn't include wireless charging. For connectivity, it'll support Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

Software

Thanks to Google Tensor, the Pixel 6a is likely to receive three OS updates to Android 15 and security updates through the summer of 2027, giving it a ridiculously long shelf life for a budget phone.

It will ship with Android 12, giving it access to Material You and enhanced privacy tools. And it'll receive Android 13 this fall, giving it access to better theming and some minor UI tweaks, among many other new features.

Pixel 6a accessories

The Pixel 6a won't arrive until July 28, but accessories for the phone are already available. We've rounded up the best Pixel 6a cases from reliable brands that emphasize protection and style, the best choices if you don't care about seeing the phone's back. 

Or, if you prefer to accentuate the Sage or Chalk color you picked and the Google logo, we've gathered the top Pixel 6a clear cases that protect the phone without obscuring it.

Lastly, because we know the phone charges at 18W and comes with a cable but no charging adapter, we've collected all of our recommended Pixel 6a chargers with Programmable Power Supply (PPS) fast charging, so you don't have to wait around too long for your Pixel 6a to recharge.

We think the Google Pixel 6a will be the mid-range Android phone to beat, a phone that beat Apple at its own game by offering near-flagship performance and a more stylish option than the iPhone SE with its archaic design. But we'll have to wait until late July to get a proper look at the phone for ourselves. In the meantime, we'll keep this page updated with all the latest info on Google's next mid-range phone.