Google Pixel 6a Budget Android Smartphone -- DEMO & REVIEW

Ready? Let's have a close look at the Google Pixel 6a

Dave Taylor here, and I'm checking out this. This is the Google Pixel 6a 5G smartphone

and there's a lot to like about this. Google has learned a lot in generating and producing a

variety of different Pixel phones over the years, and there's really a lot to like about this

There are, however, some issues. So I'm going to really dig into it. I got a ton of photos and

video footage to share. We're going to really look at the pros and the cons of this new phone

So I would suggest you pause and make yourself a cup of coffee and come back. You ready? Great

Now, let's start with the technical specs. This has a 6.1 inch FHD plus display at 24 by 1080

at 60 hertz. Now, some people have complained about that 60 hertz, so I'm going to bring you

over my shoulder and let you see what it looks like to scroll on the phone

Honestly, I don't think it's a big deal. I think that's something that people just are looking for

somebody to complain about, so that's what they complain about. Now, the front is also Gorilla

Glass 3, which is kind of a couple of generations back. I'm not sure why Google decided to do that

instead of a more modern glass covering, and the back looks like it's glass, but it's not. In fact

the back is a plastic with a coating. So the first thing I did is I got myself a case

and this is a case literally off of Amazon. Seven bucks fits it perfectly. It's a generic

no-name brand, but it solves the problem and it gives me some more protection for the phone

for an insanely small amount of money. So I recommend you consider doing the same. Now

it has 6 gig of RAM, 128 gig of storage. It is powered by the same Google Tensor CPU that's in

its bigger brother, the 6 and the 6 Pro. It's actually pretty darn fast. It also uses the

Titan M2 security core, so it is supposed to be pretty hacker-proof. Now, whether it's actually

hacker-proof will be something that we'll find out as it's in the field for a while, but it definitely

is very snappy, and you can see when I'm doing things, there's no delays at all. It just zips

right along, and that's true when you're in apps too. Now, it also supports dual SIM, which is nice

So you have a physical SIM and an eSIM. If you have two phone lines, this phone is ready for it

Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, 4,410 milliamp-hour battery, which will give you somewhere between

24 and 72 hours of use, and it's IP67, which means it's waterproof, not to stay immersed for a period

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

your towel, you're good, which is really nice because, man, those older smartphones, you could spend a

thousand bucks on a smartphone, and if it even got too, I don't know, too foggy, you'd have problems. So

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

has a fingerprint unlock, and of course, that's not the finger I used, so it worked correctly, but if I do

the right finger, actually, I think it was my thumb. Let's try that. There we go. Once I choose the right

finger, it unlocks correctly. Really, really nice feature. So, some limitations. The box that it comes

with is slimmer and slimmer. I really like the trend with these electronics that they have such slim boxes

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

but no power charger. So, you literally cannot charge your phone unless you have something to

plug this USB-C into. So, what Google recommends is a 30 watt charger. That's pretty easy to get a hold

of one, or you can just plug it into your computer or anything else with USB-C, and you're good, and

you're thinking, what about wireless charging? Well, one of the trade-offs that they made with this phone

is it doesn't support Qi wireless charging. I don't know that that's a big deal, but it's worth

mentioning. It also doesn't have a headphone jack. In fact, let me give you a tour of the four sides

and the front and the back. So, starting at the bottom, you can see that USB-C port and two little

speaker outlets, and then on the left side, there's the SIM slot, which you have the SIM removal tool

in the box. On the top, nothing. On the right hand side is power and volume up and down, very much a

classic Android design. Then on the back, you can see the very distinct stripe on the top that

contains all the camera sensors. So, all of that and the flash and everything is all neatly tucked

into that one area, which gives it a very attractive design, in my opinion. And then on the front

there's really nothing. There's no buttons, there's no areas, the screen comes almost right to the very

edge. And that fingerprint is actually the sensor is embedded in the screen, which is so cool

So, there's all that. And dimensions wise, 6 inches by 2.8 inches by 0.35 inches thick, 6.3 ounces. So

it's about the same weight as all the other Android phones I've tried that are at this size

So, what I want to do is I want to get into the photography side of it. So, first off, let me tell

you that the rear facing, there are two different camera sensors. There's a 12.2 megapixel f1.7 with

a 77 degree field of view. And then, I guess the next one over is a 12 megapixel f2.2. So, it's

slightly slower, but that gives you a whopping 114 degree ultra wide view. So, that's everything

you got facing the back. The front facing camera is also very impressive. It's an 8 megapixel f2.0

with an 84 degree field of view. So, having said that, let's look at some images. This first photo

is night view. And you can see it did a nice job. This was taken at around midnight on my street

And there's some issues with the edges of the trees. So, there's a little artifacting going on

but still pretty darn impressive for otherwise a very dark street. The next shot is a wide angle

view. And this is that 114 degree field of view. But it's really this standard shot that shows off

just how good the camera sensor is. This is a crystal clear, beautiful photo with so much

nuance and so many different tones. The camera just did a great job of capturing this

which then fails when you get to the zoom. I will tell you the biggest issue with this is that there

is a software zoom system that just needs some work. As you can see here, this zoom is pretty

underwhelming at best. It looks like something from like 10 years ago. Now, we jump to my selfie

And again, the standard views, this is of course the front facing camera. This is a beautiful

photo. This is a really good photo here. And they're using the real tone for skin tones

So, regardless of your skin color, you're going to get that beautiful nuanced face. And it's just

it does a really nice job with that. Final photo is a closeup. And you can see just it's crisp

There's so much detail. This is such a beautiful photo. So, everything on this from a camera

perspective with photos is terrific, except for that zoom. So, let's switch to videos

This first video, I actually have four levels of zoom that I'm going to demonstrate

It's a little bit of a period between level three and level four, but you'll see that jump in

Then this next footage is actually a time lapse and you can see it's actually pretty cool

The third footage is slow motion. And again, because I was zoomed in

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

So, hopefully you can hear me, but you can see the video looks terrific

Ultimately, there's a lot to like about the Pixel 6a. I think that the cameras do a beautiful job

with everything except zoom. And this camera setup, the way they have the sensors put in here

is there's not much going on with the zoom. That's not just software. So, one possibility is that

there are going to be some software updates that will improve that zoom performance

But otherwise, what you can do is just don't zoom in all the way like I did

And then you can always crop it and you'll get the same sort of image, but you'll get a better

quality of it. That's something fixable. Honestly, if nothing else, they could make maximum zoom

a little lower so that you don't experience this level of artifacting. Otherwise, there's really

a lot to like. And I think that photographs and video are such an important part of the camera

experience that for an under $500 Android smartphone, it does entirely well. And in fact

as I said, my biggest complaints are around power and lack of headphone jack, which I know most

people are going to be like, whatever, I don't care about that. And that zoom performance on

the camera. I don't think that 60 hertz screen refresh is a big deal. You might, but otherwise

but otherwise that's really it comes in three different colors and it's really competitively

priced. But before I get to the price, let me ask you if you could subscribe to my channel

click or tap on that red subscribe button. We're connected. Awesome. And turn on notifications. So

you know about my new videos as I post them. Great. This, as I said at the beginning, and I'll

say again, is the Google pixel six, a five G smartphone. It comes in Sage and chalk and charcoal

This is the charcoal color and it is $449 at amazon.com and everywhere else that you can pick

up some of this Google hardware. They work really well with the Google buds, which are their little

earbuds. And honestly, when I drop it in the case and everything, this is a budget Android phone

to beat. If you're looking for something and you don't want to drop a thousand dollars on your

smartphone, this is definitely one to check out. That's all I got. I'm going to go back

to my little river spot and take some more photos. So I'll have to catch you in my next video