Google Pixel 6a vs. Pixel 3a: Time to upgrade?

• Offer: Google

  Google Pixel 6a

  A return to fabricate

  $299 $349 Keep $50

  The Pixel 6a isn’t upright the superb smartphone it is advisable to fetch for $350; it’s per chance the superb-valued Android phone with an limitless digital camera, upright performance, and amazing utility parts.

  Professionals

  • Identical SoC as long-established Pixel 6
  • Water and mud-resistant IP67 ranking
  • Twin cameras

  Cons

  • No headphone jack
  • Unreliable fingerprint scanner
  • Fully one measurement

• 

  Google Pixel 3a

  The keep aside it started

  The Pixel 3a takes the absolute most attention-grabbing of the Pixel 3 and 3XL and pairs it with a mid-vary processor and plastic physique to develop an less pricey smartphone with the total Google smarts. Even supposing this phone has several successors, it would per chance per chance be fondly remembered for years but to attain because the beginning of a important lineage of mid-vary phones.

  Professionals

  • Better fingerprint scanner
  • Headphone jack
  • Two sizes to opt from

  Cons

  • Worse rep-quality
  • No IP ranking
  • Mid-vary SoC

The Google Pixel 3a has completed fundamental web site in its existence cycle, though it’s not on our record of popular Android phones. At the time of its free up, it used to be a welcome step by Google in the direction of an less pricey version of its flagship phone that sacrificed small to decrease the label level. It maintained the pleasing cameras, Google Assistant parts, and utility give a lift to that we would per chance attain to companion with the Pixel phone whereas a chunk lowering overall performance by choosing a lesser processor.

Now the Pixel 7a is available, and by formula of utility give a lift to, the 3a has been formally sunsetted. This furthermore formula that the Pixel 6a is drastically extra life like than when it used to be the main mid-vary Pixel. So is there any label in sticking with (or buying old) a 3a at this level, or is the 6a the obvious winner?

Mark, availability, and specs

Discovering a brand new Pixel 3a at this stage isn’t capacity, and Google has formally retired the mannequin from all of its retail stores. It furthermore appears to be like to be to be unavailable from all foremost carriers, so your most attention-grabbing wager for sourcing one at this level is to salvage a renewed mannequin at Amazon or one other foremost online retailer (where they’re available). The upright recordsdata is that the 3a is available at good purchase-basement prices — it is advisable to normally salvage them refurbished for below $100, and it is advisable to fetch the XL version for below $140.

The Google Pixel 6a, on the a lot of hand, has attain down in label, however not nearly as dramatically as we would per chance per chance also’ve hoped. While the MSRP at free up used to be $400, it’s now had an official label tumble to $350, and is automatically available on Amazon for round $300.

Particularly, the processor in the 6a isn’t a mid-vary Snapdragon SoC. The 6a runs the identical first-generation Google Tensor chipset because the long-established Pixel 6 and 6 Professional, making it a solid 5G phone, though not considered one of many most attention-grabbing 5G phones available.

• 	Google Pixel 6a	Google Pixel 3a
  SoC	Google Tensor	Snapdragon 670
  Label	6.1” 2400×1080 (20:9) 60Hz OLED	5.6″ 1080×2220 18:9/6.0″ 1080×2160 18:9 60Hz OLED
  RAM	6GB	4GB
  Storage	128GB	64GB
  Battery	4,400mAh	3,000/3700mAh
  Ports	1x USB Kind-C	1x USB Kind-C, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack
  Running Machine	Android 13	Android 12
  Entrance digital camera	8MP f/2.0 IMX355 84°FOV	8 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (huge), 1/4″, 1.12µm
  Rear cameras	12MP f/1.73 IMX 363 w/OIS 77° FoV; Extremely-huge: 12MP f/2.2 IMX386 114° FoV	12.2 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (huge), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS
  Dimensions	152.2mm x 71.8mm x 8.9mm, 178g	151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2 mm, 147g/160.1 x 76.1 x 8.2 mm, 167g
  Weight	6.72 oz	5.18 oz.5.8 oz
  Charging	18W USB PD	18W USB PD
  Mark	Starting at $450	$100

Invent

Both phones share the make of the flagship they’re in accordance to, and whereas the 3a is restful a aesthetic-taking a look phone, it would not uncover a candle to the queer make the Pixel 6 series has adopted. The 3a is all plastic, however the 6a adopts a steel frame for additional sturdiness whereas keeping the plastic aid, which is now gleaming relatively than matte.

Both devices mutter the make of the flagship they had been launched alongside, and whereas the Pixel 3 series is restful a nice-taking a look keep aside of devices, they are able to’t uncover a candle to the new make language old on the Pixel 6a. The two-tone make and digital camera bar kind the phone stand out in a sea of identical-taking a look Android phones.

The Pixel 3 series had an nearly two-tone make, with the cessation section of the phone surrounding the digital camera being a comparatively varied shade from the rest of the phone. The 6a leans into this extra heavily, with a murky digital camera bar collectively with distinction to all items and a queer shade of whichever shade you choose flanking it.

The valid capacitive fingerprint reader on the aid of the 3a is gone on the more moderen phone, which has an optical scanner below the picture. It’s slower and no more legit than the one demonstrate in the ragged 3a, however it completely restful does the job successfully. The headphone jack is furthermore missing, however that’s inevitable.

The Pixel 3a is a ecstatic phone to raise, particularly even as you happen to would per chance per chance also rep the smaller one, and the white mannequin has outmoded impeccably with none marks, however there could be not any denying the make of the 6a.

Label

The Pixel 3a has a 1080p, 5.6-high-tail OLED picture that runs at 60Hz and can attain a peak brightness of 442 nits, which is relatively sad. There used to be furthermore an limitless 6.0-high-tail mannequin, however the rest of the specs remain the identical.

The picture on the 6a isn’t that varied. It is available in a single measurement, using a 6.1-high-tail 1080p OLED running at 60Hz and reaching a max brightness of 500 nits, which is a chunk brighter as a minimum. The foremost upgrade is the flexibility to picture HDR screech on YouTube and varied streaming services, where the picture will seemingly be boosted to 800 nits. While those on-paper specs are seemingly to be not noteworthy varied, the 6a is noteworthy nicer to mutter in the true world, due to the the tiny bezels and gap punch digital camera. These enable the 6a to rep the next picture than the larger Pixel 3a XL whereas handiest being 1mm taller and wider than the small 3a.

While you possess a Pixel 3a, the shroud shroud by myself per chance isn’t enough to warrant upgrading to the new phone, however the enhancements made are spectacular however.

Performance

Right here is where the Pixel 6a begins to pull a foremost lead over the 3a. The 4GB of RAM and Snapdragon 670 had been upright aid in 2019, however those specs don’t attain shut to the main-generation Tensor SoC paired with 6GB of RAM in the 6a.

The Pixel 6 and 6 Professional rep ultimate machine discovering out parts esteem Magic Eraser, lightning-like a flash tell-to-textual screech, and upright Tensor performance; the 6a gets the total identical tricks. The 60hz picture makes the phone in fact feel a chunk gradual in locations, however the 6a is considered one of many smoothest phones it is advisable to salvage, no matter label.

One other part on this improved performance is storage. The 3a uses gradual eMMC storage, whereas the 6a beneficial properties UFS (ultrafast storage) 3.1, which makes downloading files and opening huge apps noteworthy smoother than before. You might leer this every single day, particularly when downloading apps, which is nearly fast on the 6a.

Despite the 3a and 6a having the identical foremost front and rear cameras, the 6a takes better photos due to the the improved computational pictures the Tensor is capable of. It furthermore advantages from an ultrawide lens, which provides extra flexibility than the older mannequin. While the new digital camera parts, esteem Motion Pan, are good, the diversities overall are minor.

Utility

The Pixel 6a used to be launched with the identical Android 12 at this time running on the Pixel 3a, however it completely used to be updated to Android 13 in August 2022. There are restful not too many differences between the two, given that Android 13 is a smaller update. On the opposite hand, Android 13 provides opt upgrades such as per-app languages, extra granular permissions, and small Fabric You and UI enhancements.

The Pixel 3a reached its stop of existence (EOL) in Could well 2022 and can’t search for a utility update ever again — it’s stuck on Android 12 with out a sign of ending. In the meantime, the Pixel 6a can already hasten the Android 14 beta. The more moderen phone will search for as a minimum three Android upgrades up to Android 15 and fetch two extra years of security patches. Right here lies the main reason to upgrade.

As time goes on, the 3a will turn into extra at risk of online threats, whereas the 6a will seemingly be kept updated and safe except 2027. Every month and twelve months, the 6a will whisk away its older sibling in the aid of.

Could well restful you upgrade?

At this level, even as you happen to would per chance per chance also very successfully be restful keeping on to a 3a, upgrading to a Google Pixel 6a is successfully worth the barely minor investment. The 3a used to be a market leader at the time of its free up in the Android mid-vary, however it completely isn’t any doubt starting to picture its age, and if nothing else, the scarcity of continued updates and utility give a lift to is a foremost label in opposition to it. On condition that its performance wasn’t elite at free up, it feels even extra gradual by contemporary standards. Even extra importantly, security patches are seemingly to be not any longer coming to the 3a, and keeping your phone salvage has by no formula been extra important.

On the a lot of hand, even as you happen to would per chance per chance also very successfully be having a search for a low label first phone for a toddler, or one thing person-friendly and competent for one other member of the family, the 3a stays a solid possibility. It restful bears the total hallmarks of Google’s thoughtful make philosophy, and despite the truth that it feels gradual when put next to stylish flagships, it’s not so plodding as to be a real hindrance. For below $100, it’s a drastically better label than many brand-new phones in that label vary even as you happen to would per chance per chance also very successfully be not ready to shell out a chunk extra for considered one of many most attention-grabbing budget Android phones on our record.

The superb eventualities where we would per chance suggest buying a Pixel 3a are even as you happen to would per chance per chance also very successfully be buying a “disposable” phone for a kid or loved one or desire a low label media participant. The 64GB would per chance per chance also restful uncover your complete Spotify playlists, and the included headphone jack is one thing quite a lot of different folks omit having on their phones. For decrease than $100, the 3a would per chance per chance also restful aid that function successfully.