Google equips $449 Pixel 6a with flagship SoC

Google I/O today, and much of the keynote was the official confirmation of the Pixel 6a, Google’s next mid-range smartphone. The Pixel A series has been a great option since its inception in 2019, but this year is different. The Pixel 6a, which is confirmed to be $449 today, comes with a flagship SoC — the same Google Tensor chip that comes in the $600 Pixel 6 and $900 Pixel 6 Pro. Apple regularly ships its flagship SoC in the $400 iPhone SE, but for most Android markets, especially in the US, such hardware at this price point is unheard of.

For $449, you get a 6.1-inch 2400×1080 60Hz OLED display, Google’s flagship Tensor SoC, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 4306mAh battery. It looks like the goal here is to create a “third flagship”and now all three Pixel phones are the same distance apart. Each tier costs about $150-$200 more and goes up 0.2-0.3 inches, 30Hz, and 2GB (RAM): $449 Pixel 6a with 6.1-inch 60Hz display and 6GB RAM; $600 Pixel 6 with 6.4-inch 90Hz display and 8GB of RAM; and then the $900 Pixel 6 Pro with a 6.7-inch 120Hz display and 12GB of RAM.

Just as the spec sheet makes this smaller flagship pixel phone, the design also follows that motif. The Pixel 6a looks just like the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, with an all-screen design, center front camera, and an in-screen optical fingerprint reader. There is a signature Pixel 6 main camera panel on the back. We have been big fans of this design with the Pixel 6, both for being very distinctive and beautiful, and for giving the phone a stable base to sit on when you put it down and start tapping it. Many phones wobble on the table, but not the Pixel 6.

Inside this camera panel, you’ll find two cameras, one of which is the tried and true 12MP Sony IMX363 sensor that Google has been using on Pixel phones since the Pixel 2. That’s a bit short of the updated Pixel 6 sensor, but we’ve never seen a huge the difference between them in the photos side by side. This is a good camera for this price range. The second camera is a 12MP wide-angle lens. You will also lose the water resistance of large devices.

Like the Pixel 6, Google says the phone will get “five years of security updates”and three years of major OS updates. The phone will go on sale on July 28, with pre-orders starting on July 21.