Pixel 6a

[J Dubbs]

LOOL I love this story!

I am the tech junkie in the relationship, so I have to try and convince my husband to look at phones for himself or kind of mention that the time *may* be nigh for Wifey to get a new phone! ������

LoL... it sounds like nigh time is here for Wifey to upgrade I think I see a pixel 7 in your future Although the sale right now on all the 6's is pretty good... and the 6a is a bargain even at it's normal price

I'm so glad I picked us up some new pixels

 

[Smokeaire01]

My impressions of the P6a after 3 days with yesterday being a work day (a day full of phone calls).
Overall this phone has been great.
Battery Life: Just as good as my Pixel 6 Pro, which surprised me. I start my work from home day at 6am with the phone charged to 100%. After a full workday ending at 3pm and an evening of use and bedtime at 8 pm and waking up at 3am my P6a was at 57%. Two hours later with heavy use it's now at 48%. I usually put it on the charger right about now (which I just did).
Size: A Perfect Goldilocks size. The Pixel 4a was too small, the Pixel 6 Pro too big, the Pixel 6a is just right. I've used my P6P to update apps and it seemed really heavy and a bit clumsily large to hold. The P6a is neither. Typing on this phone is easier and seems more efficient than on the Pixel 6 Pro.
Screen: As I was an offset pressman for over 10 years I have great visual detail and color acuity. I don't see any detrimental difference between the P6P and this phone. I don't game or watch movies on my phones, just the occasional YouTube videos. The P6a screen is just fine and full brightness allows easy reading in full sunlight.
I could go into other details but in short overall I don't see any negatives to this phone over my Pixel 6 Pro. I do prefer the P6P phones camera but only because of the telephoto lens so if I feel I need it I'll fire it up.
So in conclusion the P6a has replaced my P6P as my full-time phone.

 

[anthonium]

My first impressions of the Pixel 6A after 12 hours is better than I thought. I feared all the other comments made by reviewers particularly when it came to battery and fingerprint sensor.

Upon purchase, the first thing I did was update to the latest security patch available which took about half an hour and then rebooted, then ran system update again and now it was the android 13 update which took about 40 minutes. On both occasions the phone felt warm but nothing to cause alarm. I then factory reset the device and went through the setup process and was concerned during the fingerprint step the phone kept failing to recognize my fingerprint when pressing down. I continued the process and after some use I find the sensor to not be an issue for me at all and it does recognize it but it is not fast to actually unlock the phone. It’s not a concern at all though.

Overall with the system updates and setup and installing my apps the phone lost about 10% charge. This I consider normal for a Pixel device. Since then I’ve been using it for texting, YouTube, web browsing and it’s held up really well without getting hot at all. Overnight I lost about 2% charge on standby. So from the initial charge of 67% when I unboxed it at 6:30pm yesterday to today at 8am it is currently at 53%. I’m not wow’d by the battery but I’m not disappointed either. I’m assuming it’ll get even better after adaptive battery kicks in. Do note I don’t use Always On Display. I actually find that feature too distracting.

As for size, I agree this is the PERFECT size for me. I actually had the Pixel 6 which I found too large and heavy and sold it to switch over to iPhone for work purposes. Happy to have Android again but the Pixel will be my non work device and the iPhone will remain for work. Coming from the Pixel 6 aside from the higher refresh rate and slightly better camera modules I don’t feel I am missing anything. Once again I am impressed with the A line of Pixel devices and feel this line is what I will stick with going forward. “Budget” phones have vastly improved to the point flagships are just overkill for me now.

So in summary after less than a full day’s use, no issues with the device and so far I’m very happy with it!

 

[Morty2264]

LoL... it sounds like nigh time is here for Wifey to upgrade I think I see a pixel 7 in your future Although the sale right now on all the 6's is pretty good... and the 6a is a bargain even at it's normal price

I'm so glad I picked us up some new pixels

I have already put the bug in my husband's ear about a potential October upgrade, if you know what I mean! I have my eye on the Pixel 7! But you're right, there are some mighty good deals on the Pixel 6 line right now!

 

[Smokeaire01]

Just a battery usage update on my P6a. Yesterday was a busy work day with 17 phone calls, most averaging over 5-10 minutes each along with my usual daily app usage, Twitter, FB, AC, Banking, several news apps, app updating and more. I use the Plantronics 5200 Bluetooth for phone calls.
My work day starts at 6am with the phone at 100%, and ends at 3pm. At 6:45pm I noticed my battery was at 67%. That's a battery usage of only 33% over 12 hours and 45 minutes. That is the same average work day battery usage as I was getting on my Pixel 6 Pro. Absolutely nothing to complain about the P6a battery life.
Now to see how the P6a battery holds up over the weekend.
Edit: And I just noticed I don't have "Battery Saver" on.

 

[anon(50597)]

Just a battery usage update on my P6a. Yesterday was a busy work day with 17 phone calls, most averaging over 5-10 minutes each along with my usual daily app usage, Twitter, FB, AC, Banking, several news apps, app updating and more. I use the Plantronics 5200 Bluetooth for phone calls.
My work day starts at 6am with the phone at 100%, and ends at 3pm. At 6:45pm I noticed my battery was at 67%. That's a battery usage of only 33% over 12 hours and 45 minutes. That is the same average work day battery usage as I was getting on my Pixel 6 Pro. Absolutely nothing to complain about the P6a battery life.
Now to see how the P6a battery holds up over the weekend.
Edit: And I just noticed I don't have "Battery Saver" on.

I would consider that excellent!

 

[PowrDroid]

My work day starts at 6am with the phone at 100%, and ends at 3pm. At 6:45pm I noticed my battery was at 67%. That's a battery usage of only 33% over 12 hours and 45 minutes. That is the same average work day battery usage as I was getting on my Pixel 6 Pro. Absolutely nothing to complain about the P6a battery life.

Nope, nothing to complain about with the 6a battery.

What is your brightness set at?
Looks like you use dark theme. Is that correct?

 

[Smokeaire01]

I do use Dark Theme on both Pixels along with Adaptive Brightness (set at about middle brightness for most situations). I do have both Adaptive Battery features turned on. I also use wifi calling when I'm home, and since I do work from home, that is the main way I make and receive phone calls.

 

[Morty2264]

Just a battery usage update on my P6a. Yesterday was a busy work day with 17 phone calls, most averaging over 5-10 minutes each along with my usual daily app usage, Twitter, FB, AC, Banking, several news apps, app updating and more. I use the Plantronics 5200 Bluetooth for phone calls.
My work day starts at 6am with the phone at 100%, and ends at 3pm. At 6:45pm I noticed my battery was at 67%. That's a battery usage of only 33% over 12 hours and 45 minutes. That is the same average work day battery usage as I was getting on my Pixel 6 Pro. Absolutely nothing to complain about the P6a battery life.
Now to see how the P6a battery holds up over the weekend.
Edit: And I just noticed I don't have "Battery Saver" on.

WOW! What great stats! Keep us posted on how the Pixel 6a holds up over the weekend!

 

[Smokeaire01]

WOW! What great stats! Keep us posted on how the Pixel 6a holds up over the weekend!

I'll be just as interested myself. Considering my weekend days differ dramatically from my work days I probably should lower my expectations. As long as it keeps pace with my P6P I'll be thrilled.
Today I had more and longer phone calls, a lot of app updates and the usual phone use and presently at 4:56pm my phone battery is at 71% with starting 100% at 6am. So it seems consistent.

 

[cache11]

I love my 6a and hate my P6. I used my P6 for 2 weeks and put it in a drawer hoping Samsung or Google would offer a trade deal and they never did and sill don't and I understand why. The 6a is everything the 6 should have been. Great form factor, relatively light, better battery life, better fingerprint sensor, as good if not better haptics, better cell reception, no glass back and cheaper. I have an S22 and Flip 4 and my sim is spending more time in the 6a. The FP scanner could be better, but at this price point it is perfectly fine.

 

[Morty2264]

I'll be just as interested myself. Considering my weekend days differ dramatically from my work days I probably should lower my expectations. As long as it keeps pace with my P6P I'll be thrilled.
Today I had more and longer phone calls, a lot of app updates and the usual phone use and presently at 4:56pm my phone battery is at 71% with starting 100% at 6am. So it seems consistent.

That sounds like a really strong, intuitive battery!

 

[Smokeaire01]

That sounds like a really strong, intuitive battery!

I agree Morty2264. To say I'm impressed with the battery life is a bit of an understatement.
Right now it's 2:18am and the battery is at 57% with the phone being off the charger since 6am yesterday. This weekend will be interesting.

 

[Chuck Finley69]

For me, even though I'm on the 5a, one major draw of the "a" series has been the battery life. My first was 3a, then current 5a which if the lineup continues, will hopefully be followed by 7a next year.

I'm a fan of mid-tier devices and these have so far been a great value.

 

[Morty2264]

I agree Morty2264. To say I'm impressed with the battery life is a bit of an understatement.
Right now it's 2:18am and the battery is at 57% with the phone being off the charger since 6am yesterday. This weekend will be interesting.

Wow! What phenomenal stats!

 

[anthonium]

I'm no longer having any issues with the fingerprint sensor and it recognizes both my thumbs on the first try. Phone isn't heating up and just getting slightly warm if watching YouTube videos for a while and the battery is lasting me two days with my usage consisting of web browser surfing, YouTube videos, texting and emailing.

I'm loving this device more than the Pixel 6 I used to have. The camera on the 6A is more than enough for me.

 

[Smokeaire01]

There is one area I believe the P6a is superior to the "flagship" Pixel 6 series. NO GLASS BACK!! Now I don't know who thought glass was even a good idea as a great or even "premium" material for the back of a device that people continually drop. It's not! It is a marketing success story that convinced people a glass back is a must have if a phone is to be labeled "Premium". Of course there are those who declare "put a case in it". Really? Then what's the point of a glass back if you also have put a case on it to keep it from being broken. It certainly doesn't improve the function and performance of the phone.
The “3D thermoformed composite back”of the Pixel 6a feels "premium" without being fragile and requiring a case other than protecting it from possible scratches. It would allow for wireless charging as well. I definitely prefer the P6a back material then the ultra slippery glass back of my P6P.

 

[Smokeaire01]

For me, even though I'm on the 5a, one major draw of the "a" series has been the battery life. My first was 3a, then current 5a which if the lineup continues, will hopefully be followed by 7a next year.

I'm a fan of mid-tier devices and these have so far been a great value.

I totally agree about waiting to see what the P7a offers. I even thought a P7ProA line would be of interest. It could have all the top of the line components but in the size along with the “3D thermoformed composite back” of the P6a. Not sure the camera modules of the P7P would fit though.
Time will tell.

 

[Smokeaire01]

Interesting camera update notification on my P6a when I opened the camera last night to take a picture. Updating the camera app through the camera...that's a first.
I just fired up my P6PRO and opened the camera and..... nothing. Went to Play store to update apps that needed updating but nothing for the camera. Maybe sometime today or in the next few days.
My wife opened the camera in her Pixel 4a and had the update notification.
I'm not sure what's in the Camera update.

 

[rvbfan]

I've had Google photos do that to me a couple of times.