(Pocket-lint) – Google introduced the Pixel 6a throughout its I/O developer convention on 11 Might, following within the footsteps of the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional that launched in October 2021.
Providing the identical design language because the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional, in addition to the identical processor, what do you miss out on choosing the “a” machine and the way does it evaluate to the flagship fashions?
We have in contrast the variations between the Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional beneath that will help you work out which is the best Pixel for you.
Worth
- Pixel 6a: £399 / $449 – obtainable from 21 July
- Pixel 6: £599 / $599 / €649
- Pixel 6 Professional: £849 / $899 / €899
There’s a reasonably large distinction in value between these three fashions, with the Pixel 6a coming in at a fairly inexpensive value. It is a smaller machine and does make some compromises on what it provides, particularly within the show and digital camera as we element beneath. It is also not obtainable till July.
The Pixel 6 is barely costlier, sitting in the course of the Pixel 6a and the Pixel 6 Professional by way of value and options. It too makes some compromises in comparison with the 6 Professional, however it provides greater than the Pixel 6a.
The Pixel 6 Professional steps up in value, however provides much more. Evaluating with different flagship smartphones from the likes of Samsung or Apple, it truly seems prefer it’s competitively priced, as is the Pixel 6.
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Design
- Pixel 6a: 152.2 x 71.8. x 8.7mm (TBC)
- Pixel 6: 158.6 x 74.8 x 8.9mm, 207g
- Pixel 6 Professional: 163.9 x 75.9 x 8.9mm, 210g
- Pixel 6a: Black, White, Inexperienced
- Pixel 6: Stormy Black, Sorta Seafoam, Kinda Coral (restricted version)
- Pixel 6 Professional: Stormy Black, Cloudy White, Sorta Sunny (restricted version)
The Google Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 and 6 Professional all share the same design, although there are some variations between the three fashions, as you’d anticipate.
All have a distinguished horizontal digital camera housing that spans all the width of the rear, however the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 have a twin digital camera whereas the 6 Professional has a triple digital camera. The flash module sits on the best of the lenses inside the housing on all three fashions.
The design on all three sees a central alloy core which wraps across the edges and frames the digital camera bar. That is polished on the 6 Professional and matte on the Pixel 6, so the Professional seems just a little extra premium. For the Pixel 6a, the rear is composite, whereas for the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional it’s completed in glass, with the Pixel 6 getting Gorilla Glass 6, and the Pixel 6 Professional Gorilla Glass Victus, so the Professional ought to provide higher stratch resistance. All three are available in a variety of colors.
All three additionally sport an under-display fingerprint sensor, together with a centralised punch gap digital camera on the prime of the show, however the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 have a flat display screen, whereas the 6 Professional has a slight curve to its show.
The Pixel 6a is IP67 water and mud resistant, whereas the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional are IP68 water and mud resistant. When it comes to measurement, the Pixel 6 Professional is the biggest of the three gadgets and the heaviest, with the Pixel 6a the smallest and the Pixel 6 sitting in between.
Show
- Pixel 6a: 6.2-inch, Full HD, OLED, 60Hz
- Pixel 6: 6.4-inch, Full HD+, OLED, 90Hz
- Pixel 6 Professional: 6.7-inch, Quad HD+, LTPO OLED, 120Hz
The Google Pixel 6a has a 6.1-inch OLED show which is barely smaller than the Pixel 6’s display screen, which is a 6.4-inch OLED show.
Each gadgets have a flat show they usually each provide a Full HD+ decision at 2400 x 1080 pixels, which delivers a pixel density of 411ppi on the Pixel 6 and 429ppi on the Pixel 6a. Which means the Pixel 6a is sharper however you will not discover a distinction this minimal.
What chances are you’ll discover is the Pixel 6 has a 90Hz refresh charge in comparison with the Pixel 6a’s 60Hz refresh charge.
The Pixel 6 Professional in the meantime, comes with a 6.7-inch curved LTPO OLED show, which makes it just a little larger than the Pixel 6, and rather a lot larger than the Pixel 6a. It is also extra distinctive than each due to the curved show.
The Pixel 6 Professional has a Quad HD+ decision at 3120 x 1440 pixels, providing a pixel density of 512ppi, and there’s a variable refresh charge between 10Hz and 120Hz.
All three fashions provide HDR help they usually additionally each include a excessive brightness mannequin, always-on show, Now Taking part in and At a look options so you do not miss out on any options no matter mannequin you go for.
The very last thing price mentioning is the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional each have Gorilla Glass Victus safety, whereas the Pixel 6a is Gorilla Glass 3, which can imply the flagship fashions can be extra proof against scratches.
{Hardware} and specs
- Pixel 6a: Google Tensor, 6GB RAM, 12GB storage, 4410mAh
- Pixel 6: Google Tensor chip, 8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage, 4614mAh
- Pixel 6 Professional: Google Tensor chip, 12GB RAM, 128/256GB storage, 5003mAh
The Google Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 and 6 Professional all characteristic the corporate’s personal system-on-chip, known as Tensor, together with the Titan M2 safety coprocessor. The Tensor chip has been designed with safety in thoughts, and all the synthetic intelligence and machine studying functions run on it – from computational images to actual time translation.
The Pixel 6a has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and that is it – only one possibility. The Pixel 6 comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB or 256GB storage choices, whereas the Pixel 6 Professional has 12GB RAM and storage choices of 128GB or 256GB.
When it comes to battery, the Pixel 6a has a 4410mAh battery, which is barely smaller than the Pixel 6’s 4614mAh battery. The Pixel 6 Professional has a barely bigger 5003mAh battery than each however keep in mind it has a bigger display screen to energy.
The Pixel 6a provides as much as 72 hours on Excessive Battery Saver mode, whereas the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional are half this at 48 hours. The Pixel 6 and 6 Professional have Quick Cost although, which guarantees 50 per cent cost in half-hour, although the charger is offered individually.
The Pixel 6 and 6 Professional additionally each help wi-fi charging and Battery Share, which is extra generally generally known as reverse wi-fi charging. The Pixel 6a provides neither.
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Cameras
- Pixel 6a: Twin digital camera (12.2MP + 12MP), 8MP entrance
- Pixel 6: Twin digital camera (50MP + 12MP), 8MP entrance
- Pixel 6 Professional: Triple digital camera (50MP + 48MP + 12MP), 11.1MP entrance
The digital camera division is the place you will expertise the larger distinction between all three of those gadgets.
The Google Pixel 6a has the identical digital camera setup because the Google Pixel 5 and the Pixel 5a 5G – which isn’t any dangerous factor. You may discover a 12.2-megapixel fundamental digital camera with f/1.7 aperture and 1.4µm pixels, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide digital camera with f/2.2 aperture and 1.25µm pixels. The principle digital camera has a 77-degree subject of view and the ultra-wide sensor has a 114-degree subject of view.
By comparability, the Google Pixel 6 comes with a twin digital camera with a 50-megapixel fundamental digital camera, with an aperture of f/1.85 and 1.2µm pixels, and a 12-megapixel extremely wide-angle sensor, with an apeture of f/2.2 and 1.25µm pixels. The principle digital camera has a 82-degree subject of view, whereas the extremely vast sensor has a 114-degree FOV.
The Pixel 6 Professional comes with a triple rear digital camera, which provides the identical 50-megapixel fundamental sensor and 12-megapixel extremely wide-angle sensor because the Pixel 6, however it provides a 48-megapixel telephoto sensor to the combination. This third sensor provides 4x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom, and it options 0.8µm pixels and an aperture of f/3.5.
There is a large distinction right here in telephoto. The Pixel 6 provides as much as 7x Tremendous Res Zoom (which is digital) from the primary digital camera, however the Professional provides 4x optical after which as much as 20x Tremendous Res Zoom, that means the Professional is be way more versatile in providing these lengthy vary photographs.
Each the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional have laser detect auto-focus, and optical and electrical picture stabilisation, whereas the Pixel 6a has commonplace auto-focus with dual-pixel part detection, although it too has OIS and EIS.
When it comes to options, all three provide most of the identical options – Magic Eraser, Actual Tone, Face Unblur, Night time Sight, Cinematic Pan and Portrait mode, to call just a few. The truth is, the one characteristic the Pixel 6a would not provide that the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional do is Movement Blur.
When it comes to the entrance cameras, the Pixel 6a and 6 have an 8-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and 1.12µm pixels with an 84-degree subject of view. The Pixel 6 Professional has an 11.1-megapixel sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 1.22µm pixels, and a 94-degree subject of view.
The Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional all help 4K video recording from their rear cameras, although solely the Pixel 6 Professional helps 4K video recording from the entrance digital camera. The Pixel 6a and 6 provide 1080p video recording from its entrance digital camera.
Conclusion
The Google Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional sport very related designs, although the Professional mannequin provides a barely extra premium end with a curved show, in addition to triple rear digital camera in comparison with the Pixel 6, whereas the Pixel 6 provides a extra premium end in comparison with the Pixel 6a.
As you step up within the Pixel 6 fashions, you step up in sure options, like display screen measurement and refresh charge, digital camera capabilities, RAM and storage and battery capacities. You after all pay for these step ups although and also you may discover you do not want a few of them, or that you simply’re pleased to compromise on sure elements to save lots of money.
For some, the Google Pixel 6 Professional can be price each penny and it is a wonderful machine however so is the Pixel 6 and let’s not neglect that whereas the Pixel 6a makes just a few compromises right here and there, it’s nonetheless providing the identical design, identical chipset and 5G for a really inexpensive value.
Extra about this story
After we write versus options, we aren’t simply evaluating what the spec sheets say. We herald our expertise of the merchandise and machine sbeing in contrast within the characteristic, in addition to our information of the market they sit inside.
On this case, now we have reviewed each the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional in full, and whereas we’ve not had an opportunity to make use of the Pixel 6a as but, now we have used data obtainable within the public area with a view to run up a comparability.
The concept is to focus on the variations between the merchandise and what these variations imply that will help you make an knowledgeable choice as to which is the best Pixel mannequin for you.
Writing by Britta O’Boyle.
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