Question Pixel 6a Thoughts

[sic0048]

While I also bought (for my wife) a P6a due to the exaggerated preorder trade-in values and free earbuds, I agree that it's not worth the $450 retail price. I too would also recommend that people get the P6 over the P6a - either by sending a little more money for new stock, or by buying a used P6 which is about the same price as a new P6a at retail pricing.

The P6 isn't perfect, but the P6a is going to suffer from the same issues as the P6 and then have it's own issues on top of that. It's certainly worth the cost over the P6a.

 

[piperx]

I hate to say this but I got 300 trade-in for an old 3a plus free pixel buds on google's store.

Same here

 

[TechX1991]

Honestly it depends on what youre coming from. This is worlds more premium feeling vs the 3a and 4a. Never held the 4a 5g or 5a so I cant speak to those. I was also intending on just picking up a used 5a as I rarely ever buy the newest phone but the $300 trade in of my 3a + free buds was too good to pass up. The 3a XL was $479 new in 2019 and its no where near this nice or powerful.

Just my $.02 anyway

I only know all this stuff and have the experience because I work in a small warehouse/tech shop and get new and used phones constantly to resell. I've handled and messed with everything from pixel 1 to razer phones to essentials to fake galaxy s22's.

I'm sure some form of deal will come up for the 6a soon to lower the price

 

[ctfrommn]

I only know all this stuff and have the experience because I work in a small warehouse/tech shop and get new and used phones constantly to resell. I've handled and messed with everything from pixel 1 to razer phones to essentials to fake galaxy s22's.

I'm sure some form of deal will come up for the 6a soon to lower the price

The current trade in deal is the best Ive ever seen Google offer and Ive owned Google phones since the Nexus One.

 

[Proud2banoob]

Hey. Finally got my 6a delivered to my house and spent yesterday setting it up. I'm very happy. There were some tricky bits with setting up Nova, but that seems resolved, now. I'm coming from a P4a, and i love that the 6a inserts punctuation into my voice to text messages (sometimes). The size was the reason I got it and it's really hardly any bigger than the 4a. The fingerprint sensor is a little finicky, but no other fingers unlock the phone if they're not registered (i have both thumbs saved).

 

[kkjb]

I waited and waited for a P6, just for the camera. Been using Nexus 5, 5x, 2, 3, 3a, 4a 4a5g. Watching swap.a for months on a used P6, when the store deal was at its best $449, and trade in of P3 (my favorite but battery very weak: never 5g) @ $49 was a chance to get cheaper than used!
So on to the 6a....P6 is very nice to hold....but it's freaking huge (see my previous ones ..never xl's) and yes Camera was my worthwhile improvement.
So out of the blue here and on /And..id9-5/ saw the freaking trade in deals for preorder 6a.. almost dead battery 4a5g bought used a year earlier $175 ==>$300 !!!
6a immediate purchase.....yes it's cheaper feeling, it was cheaper. Could I complain about BL unlock issues.....no it's cheaper....and I corrected that. But wait....pixel a buds free? !!!!
I'm very happy with my P6 and P6a.
So don't hesitate to not buy a P6A...

 

[ap1618]

what are peeps doing about the overheating?
I worry for the battery longevity in terms of battery health if it's going to be in constant heat like this...

 

[ctfrommn]

what are peeps doing about the overheating?
I worry for the battery longevity in terms of battery health if it's going to be in constant heat like this...

Haven't had any heating issues. This phone runs cooler then my 3a did

 

[Mrwirez]

As a Pixel 6 user, I don't like it. The compromises aren't worth the $150 less. It doesn't even have the A-Series touches (headphone jack, rear-fingerprint, etc.) like the 5a did. Sure, it's a solid phone, but if you're buying a phone for more than a year, it's definitely worth the extra 33%. Then again people buy the iPhone SE and that's literally the iPhone 8 with the A15 appvalley tutuapp tweakbox.

Seriously, why would a "Pixel 6" user care that a stranger buys a cheaper Pixel?

Firstly, Google gave us $300 for our old Pixel 4a5g phones. We kept our 5a for backups. A free $100 pair of Pixel buds, and a $50 Google store credit. That adds up to $450, meaning essentially a free upgrade for me and my wife.

The Pixel 6a phone is fantastic. It is the best "a" series we have owned. The a series gained water resistance this time around. It has the same processor as the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, and a beautiful 60hz screen. The battery is getting 30 to 36 hours of charge. So far..

Wireless charging? We've had that before and rarely used it because it was slow.

Headphone jack? They gave us Pixel buds.

So, I fail to see what we gave up, for $150, or what the 6 has that makes it supreme...

After paying top buck for Pixel 2 XL and the Pixel 3, we made a decision to buy the cheaper model. Why not..

 

[arsenal74]

I am really enjoying my 6a but it is bitter sweet in a way in that I wish there was a flagship phone at this size. I do not miss 90 or 120hz at all which I was surprised about but little things like wireless charging are a miss. Also as someone who does not use cases I am worried as to how the plastic back will hold up in terms of scratches etc

 

[sic0048]

The 3a XL was $479 new in 2019 and its no where near this nice or powerful.

I understand your point and agree with it.

My only comment is that you really need to compare the 3a to the 6a. The 3a price was $399 at release. The extra $80 that the 3a XL cost was simply for the large screen and battery and doesn't correlate to the 6a screen or battery size.

So while the 6a is clearly a much nicer phone that the 3a, it does costs $50 more than the 3a did at release.

 

[arsenal74]

There was a 3a XL ???? How did I miss that one!

 

[sic0048]

Seriously, why would a "Pixel 6" user care that a stranger buys a cheaper Pixel?

.......

So, I fail to see what we gave up, for $150, or what the 6 has that makes it supreme...

First, people who haven't used both phones will want to know which one to buy. For those of us that have both, the nearly unanimous consensus is that the P6 is "worth" spending $150 more if you are paying full retail value for both. (Obviously presale trade in values and freebees affected the overall price and made the 6a much more attractive during that limited time - it's why I own one now myself instead of two P6).

So it's not that Pixel 6 users care that a stranger buys, but we are trying to give honest opinions to people that will read these threads and what to know what phone to buy.

Second - here are all the reasons why I feel the P6 is worth the extra money:
- Larger screen with a 90hz refresh rate
- Better cameras (taking pictures with my phone is a huge part of my phone experience).
- Two way wireless charging - I don't normally wirelessly charge my phone, but I do wirelessly charge accessories.
- Higher water resistance rating (IP68 vs IP67) - I've taken my P6 in the ocean (to take pictures), had it fully submerged for long periods of time and had no issues.
- Higher screen scratch resistance rating - I've never had a screen protector on my P6 (which I got at release) and there isn't a single scratch on the screen yet. No other phone I've ever owned has been so scratch resistant

 

[antonio_d25]

Currently using a pixel 5 and it has been the only phone thus far that I have had longer than a year. I've always been a power user and have always bought the expensive intl. unlocked behemoths from Samsung ( Note and the S-series).

Main reason why I've kept the pixel 5 longer than usual is the size and weight - this phone feels amazing in the hand and is very light. Camera is good but can be very good with the different GCam mods.

WAs thinking to give the 6a a try since the size is perfect also but not sure if it's worth switching the 5 for that. What are the current best deals to switch if they still offer them ? The performance of the 5 is decent but the 6a has the upgraded chips so that's what making me consider switching

 

[ctfrommn]

Currently using a pixel 5 and it has been the only phone thus far that I have had longer than a year. I've always been a power user and have always bought the expensive intl. unlocked behemoths from Samsung ( Note and the S-series).

Main reason why I've kept the pixel 5 longer than usual is the size and weight - this phone feels amazing in the hand and is very light. Camera is good but can be very good with the different GCam mods.

WAs thinking to give the 6a a try since the size is perfect also but not sure if it's worth switching the 5 for that. What are the current best deals to switch if they still offer them ? The performance of the 5 is decent but the 6a has the upgraded chips so that's what making me consider switching

If you can still get the $300 trade in plus free buds thats a pretty unbeatable deal. Not sure if Google is still offering it though.

 

[jawiler]

Google just started the $300 trade in again, but no free pixel buds this time. It goes until sometime in September Still a good deal.

 

[antonio_d25]

Google just started the $300 trade in again, but no free pixel buds this time. It goes until sometime in September Still a good deal.

I think they just literally started the trade in again a few minutes ago. I was trying all day clicking the trade-in option and it kept redirecting me to the main google page... Tried from multiple devices also

No buds - but on the flips side - they decreased the price by ~$50 for the pixel 6a.

Tough decision to make now...

 

[UberFiend]

I picked this one up because I could trade in my 5a for $300 and I really didn't like it compared to my old 4a. I only got the 5a because Google stopped selling the 4a and my mom needed a phone. Even though they ditched the superior fingerprint reader location and headphone jack, I'm liking this more than the 5a. The size of that thing made it annoying to hold. Albeit there's three things the previous generations had that beats this iteration; the fingerprint reader, headphone jack, and plastic back. I LOVED using my 4a and 5a naked, but this fake glass back is gross. It's slippery and a fingerprint magnet.

Google's phones need to go back to their roots, and bring back the aforementioned features along with an SD card slot.

 

[ctfrommn]

The only Google phone that's ever had an SD card was the Nexus One. I'm almost certain at least.

Headphone jack is unneeded. I love and will continue using wired headphones but since I discovered dongle dacs I can't imagine ever using a phone DAC again. It's night and day better sound for very little money.

I definitely liked my FPR on my 3a vs this under screen one but this, the plastic back, and the headphone jack all equal no waterproofing which is more important vs the features.

Plastic back can be fine and I've never liked thick glass backs so I can understand wanting to go back to the 3a/4a style plastic and this phone is definitely slippery when naked.

 

[Proud2banoob]

Hello, Pixel 6a thread!

I just wanted to add a trend i have noticed about the dreaded fingerprint sensor. Now that I've had the phone for a week, i can usually unlock it first try. The sensor seems to be quite picky about how I touch the screen. If I use the tip of my thumb, it opens right up. If I use other parts of my thumb, it doesn't. That's only for the right thumb, though. The left is happy unlocking for the flat part of the thumb (and no, no other fingers unlock my phone).

Now, if I can just get signal to work right, we'll be golden.