Rumors have been flying about the Pixel 6a for months now, and today at Google I/O 2022, the company officially lifted the covers off its next mid-range smartphone. The Pixel 6a is essentially a watered-down version of the Pixel 6, offering some of the noteworthy features from the flagship offering at an affordable price tag.

Pixel 6a: Specifications

Specification

Pixel 6a

Dimensions and Weight

  • NA

Display

  • 6.1-inch AMOLED
  • FHD+
  • 60Hz
  • 20:9 aspect ratio
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 3
  • Always on Display

SoC

  • Google Tensor SoC

RAM and Storage

  • 6GB RAM
  • 128GB flash storage

Battery & Charging

  • 4,306mAh

Rear Camera

  • Primary: 12.2MP main
  • Secondary: 12MP ultra-wide

Front Camera

  • 8MP

Ports

  • USB Type-C port

Connectivity

  • Wi-Fi 6/6E
  • Bluetooth 5.2

Other features

  • Stereo speakers
  • Titan M2 security chip
  • 2 microphones
  • In-display fingerprint scanner

Software

  • Android 12
  • 5 years of minimum security updates

Starting with the display, the Pixel 6a flaunts a 6.1-inch FHD+ AMOLED display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It’s a 60Hz panel, just like the Pixel 5a. As seen in leaked renders, the overall design of the phone looks a lot like the vanilla Pixel 6.

Pixel 6a shown on a big display

The biggest upgrade is in the chipset department, with the new model swapping the Snapdragon chipset for the in-house Google Tensor SoC, which first debuted with the Pixel 6 series. The chipset is paired with 6GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB UFS 3.1 flash storage.

Pixel 6a in three colors

The camera hardware is seemingly unchanged from the Pixel 5 series. You get a dual-camera setup on the back consisting of a 12.2MP main shooter and a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and an 8MP selfie shooter on the front. While the hardware is mostly unchanged, Google has managed to backport some cool camera features from the Pixel 6 series. These include Magic Eraser, Real Tone, and Face Unblur.

The Pixel 6a packs a 4,306mAh battery with fast charging support. Other notable highlights include an in-display fingerprint scanner, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6, and stereo speakers. On the software front, the phone runs Android 12 out of the box.

Pricing & Availability

Priced at $449, the Pixel 6a will be available for pre-order starting July 21, with official sales commencing from July 28.