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Ready? Let's have a close look at the Google Pixel 6a
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Dave Taylor here, and I'm checking out this. This is the Google Pixel 6a 5G smartphone
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and there's a lot to like about this. Google has learned a lot in generating and producing a
0:23
variety of different Pixel phones over the years, and there's really a lot to like about this
0:30
There are, however, some issues. So I'm going to really dig into it. I got a ton of photos and
0:36
video footage to share. We're going to really look at the pros and the cons of this new phone
0:42
So I would suggest you pause and make yourself a cup of coffee and come back. You ready? Great
0:49
Now, let's start with the technical specs. This has a 6.1 inch FHD plus display at 24 by 1080
0:58
at 60 hertz. Now, some people have complained about that 60 hertz, so I'm going to bring you
1:04
over my shoulder and let you see what it looks like to scroll on the phone
1:13
Honestly, I don't think it's a big deal. I think that's something that people just are looking for
1:17
somebody to complain about, so that's what they complain about. Now, the front is also Gorilla
1:22
Glass 3, which is kind of a couple of generations back. I'm not sure why Google decided to do that
1:29
instead of a more modern glass covering, and the back looks like it's glass, but it's not. In fact
1:37
the back is a plastic with a coating. So the first thing I did is I got myself a case
1:45
and this is a case literally off of Amazon. Seven bucks fits it perfectly. It's a generic
1:52
no-name brand, but it solves the problem and it gives me some more protection for the phone
1:58
for an insanely small amount of money. So I recommend you consider doing the same. Now
2:04
it has 6 gig of RAM, 128 gig of storage. It is powered by the same Google Tensor CPU that's in
2:12
its bigger brother, the 6 and the 6 Pro. It's actually pretty darn fast. It also uses the
2:18
Titan M2 security core, so it is supposed to be pretty hacker-proof. Now, whether it's actually
2:25
hacker-proof will be something that we'll find out as it's in the field for a while, but it definitely
2:30
is very snappy, and you can see when I'm doing things, there's no delays at all. It just zips
2:37
right along, and that's true when you're in apps too. Now, it also supports dual SIM, which is nice
2:43
So you have a physical SIM and an eSIM. If you have two phone lines, this phone is ready for it
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Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, 4,410 milliamp-hour battery, which will give you somewhere between
2:57
24 and 72 hours of use, and it's IP67, which means it's waterproof, not to stay immersed for a period
3:07
of time, but if it falls in the pool, and you grab it, and you pull it back out, and you dab it off with
3:13
your towel, you're good, which is really nice because, man, those older smartphones, you could spend a
3:18
thousand bucks on a smartphone, and if it even got too, I don't know, too foggy, you'd have problems. So
3:25
it's really nice to have that, and it also has, I'm going to show you this nice and quick, on the front, it
3:32
has a fingerprint unlock, and of course, that's not the finger I used, so it worked correctly, but if I do
3:38
the right finger, actually, I think it was my thumb. Let's try that. There we go. Once I choose the right
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finger, it unlocks correctly. Really, really nice feature. So, some limitations. The box that it comes
3:52
with is slimmer and slimmer. I really like the trend with these electronics that they have such slim boxes
4:00
but what is in the box is a USB-C to USB-C and a USB-C, hold it this way, USB-C to USB-A adapter
4:12
but no power charger. So, you literally cannot charge your phone unless you have something to
4:17
plug this USB-C into. So, what Google recommends is a 30 watt charger. That's pretty easy to get a hold
4:25
of one, or you can just plug it into your computer or anything else with USB-C, and you're good, and
4:30
you're thinking, what about wireless charging? Well, one of the trade-offs that they made with this phone
4:36
is it doesn't support Qi wireless charging. I don't know that that's a big deal, but it's worth
4:41
mentioning. It also doesn't have a headphone jack. In fact, let me give you a tour of the four sides
4:47
and the front and the back. So, starting at the bottom, you can see that USB-C port and two little
4:56
speaker outlets, and then on the left side, there's the SIM slot, which you have the SIM removal tool
5:03
in the box. On the top, nothing. On the right hand side is power and volume up and down, very much a
5:11
classic Android design. Then on the back, you can see the very distinct stripe on the top that
5:19
contains all the camera sensors. So, all of that and the flash and everything is all neatly tucked
5:25
into that one area, which gives it a very attractive design, in my opinion. And then on the front
5:30
there's really nothing. There's no buttons, there's no areas, the screen comes almost right to the very
5:36
edge. And that fingerprint is actually the sensor is embedded in the screen, which is so cool
5:42
So, there's all that. And dimensions wise, 6 inches by 2.8 inches by 0.35 inches thick, 6.3 ounces. So
5:55
it's about the same weight as all the other Android phones I've tried that are at this size
6:00
So, what I want to do is I want to get into the photography side of it. So, first off, let me tell
6:07
you that the rear facing, there are two different camera sensors. There's a 12.2 megapixel f1.7 with
6:16
a 77 degree field of view. And then, I guess the next one over is a 12 megapixel f2.2. So, it's
6:25
slightly slower, but that gives you a whopping 114 degree ultra wide view. So, that's everything
6:31
you got facing the back. The front facing camera is also very impressive. It's an 8 megapixel f2.0
6:38
with an 84 degree field of view. So, having said that, let's look at some images. This first photo
6:47
is night view. And you can see it did a nice job. This was taken at around midnight on my street
6:53
And there's some issues with the edges of the trees. So, there's a little artifacting going on
7:00
but still pretty darn impressive for otherwise a very dark street. The next shot is a wide angle
7:06
view. And this is that 114 degree field of view. But it's really this standard shot that shows off
7:14
just how good the camera sensor is. This is a crystal clear, beautiful photo with so much
7:21
nuance and so many different tones. The camera just did a great job of capturing this
7:28
which then fails when you get to the zoom. I will tell you the biggest issue with this is that there
7:36
is a software zoom system that just needs some work. As you can see here, this zoom is pretty
7:43
underwhelming at best. It looks like something from like 10 years ago. Now, we jump to my selfie
7:50
And again, the standard views, this is of course the front facing camera. This is a beautiful
7:56
photo. This is a really good photo here. And they're using the real tone for skin tones
8:02
So, regardless of your skin color, you're going to get that beautiful nuanced face. And it's just
8:09
it does a really nice job with that. Final photo is a closeup. And you can see just it's crisp
8:18
There's so much detail. This is such a beautiful photo. So, everything on this from a camera
8:24
perspective with photos is terrific, except for that zoom. So, let's switch to videos
8:32
This first video, I actually have four levels of zoom that I'm going to demonstrate
8:36
It's a little bit of a period between level three and level four, but you'll see that jump in
8:49
Then this next footage is actually a time lapse and you can see it's actually pretty cool
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The third footage is slow motion. And again, because I was zoomed in
9:03
you're getting that artifacting again, which is something that's really disappointing. But finally, here's my last snippet. Here I am under the bridge, right by this moving water
9:14
So, hopefully you can hear me, but you can see the video looks terrific
9:18
Ultimately, there's a lot to like about the Pixel 6a. I think that the cameras do a beautiful job
9:24
with everything except zoom. And this camera setup, the way they have the sensors put in here
9:31
is there's not much going on with the zoom. That's not just software. So, one possibility is that
9:37
there are going to be some software updates that will improve that zoom performance
9:42
But otherwise, what you can do is just don't zoom in all the way like I did
9:47
And then you can always crop it and you'll get the same sort of image, but you'll get a better
9:52
quality of it. That's something fixable. Honestly, if nothing else, they could make maximum zoom
9:58
a little lower so that you don't experience this level of artifacting. Otherwise, there's really
10:04
a lot to like. And I think that photographs and video are such an important part of the camera
10:11
experience that for an under $500 Android smartphone, it does entirely well. And in fact
10:20
as I said, my biggest complaints are around power and lack of headphone jack, which I know most
10:26
people are going to be like, whatever, I don't care about that. And that zoom performance on
10:31
the camera. I don't think that 60 hertz screen refresh is a big deal. You might, but otherwise
10:38
but otherwise that's really it comes in three different colors and it's really competitively
10:44
priced. But before I get to the price, let me ask you if you could subscribe to my channel
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click or tap on that red subscribe button. We're connected. Awesome. And turn on notifications. So
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you know about my new videos as I post them. Great. This, as I said at the beginning, and I'll
11:01
say again, is the Google pixel six, a five G smartphone. It comes in Sage and chalk and charcoal
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This is the charcoal color and it is $449 at amazon.com and everywhere else that you can pick
11:18
up some of this Google hardware. They work really well with the Google buds, which are their little
11:23
earbuds. And honestly, when I drop it in the case and everything, this is a budget Android phone
11:33
to beat. If you're looking for something and you don't want to drop a thousand dollars on your
11:38
smartphone, this is definitely one to check out. That's all I got. I'm going to go back
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to my little river spot and take some more photos. So I'll have to catch you in my next video
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