(NEW) Google Pixel 6a 5G (128GB) (Fully Unlocked)

Overall I am very happy with the Pixel 6a which I finally purchased as a replacement for my Pixel 3a which I’ve had since 2019 and served me very well but lost support for updates over a year ago. I was targeting getting a phone for under $400 and this meets that requirement. For me it was a choice between the Pixel 6a and the Samsung A54 5G but in the end I got the Pixel 6a 5g because my experience with the Pixel 3a was so good. This is a review after having the Pixel 6a phone for a month. Yes, I am experiencing similar issues others are with the fingerprint sensor but it doesn’t appear to be as bad for me as it has been for others. For me the transition of apps and data from my previous phone to this one was fairly seamless once of course I moved the sim card from my 3a to the 6a. I think any phone you get today is well served to have a case so I did purchase one for this phone as well. I’m not experiencing the network connectivity issues others have, either with wifi or mobile and it runs very well on the Mint Mobile network I have been using since 2018. In fact bluetooth, which is my preferred mode of conversation on the phone and I use quite a bit, noticeably clearer for me on the 6a than it was on the 3a. Plus others seem to hear me better when I’m on bluetooth on the 6a than when I was on the 3a. The phone connects to 5g on mobile very reliably and works very well. For me with my usage battery life is more than sufficient. For me I only need it to hold a charge during the day and on the charger at night. If it can do that I’m happy and so far it’s met that requirement. Keep in mind that I do not use the phone to play games although I do watch YouTube videos and TV on the device. There have been widespread reports of this phone getting warm and in some cases getting hot. That I have not experienced so far in my month of usage. Some have reported not being able to see the screen very well in strong sunlight. So far that has not been an issue for me. The Pixel 3a had a maximum nits rating of 442 nits and the Pixel 6a has maximum nits rating of 785 so there is in fact a vast improvement in brightness in the 6a, In all fairness, since I was used to the brightness of the Pixel 3a, the Pixel 6a was much brighter to me. Then there’s the camera. For me the quality of the camera is a very important factor since I use it quite a bit to photograph friends and family for social occasions. I was very happy with the camera on the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 6a has not disappointed since the Pixel 6a comes with two rear cameras instead of just one. Although many of the new phones come with higher megapixel cameras I feel the software that the Pixel 6a offers more than makes up for that. It still has exemplary low light capability that is not matched by other mid to low cost phones. In particular, the night site mode it now has enables taking pictures in lighting that other phones simply could not handle I feel. Then there’s the matter of this phone not having a headphone jack which for me again is not an issue since I prefer bluetooth but that’s just me. To be fair, it seems there is a big trend towards phones not having a headphone jack so it’s not just the Pixel 6a that is going in this direction. I find being chained to a physical cable attached to the phone to be annoying and inconvenient. Also, with the move to bluetooth 5 and above, I feel the sound quality has improved to the point where the sound quality is as good as a physical connection but that’s just me. Then there’s the matter of this phone now having an ip67 rating which should give it a good degree of protection against getting wet. This is an improvement from the Pixel 3a which did not have an ip rating. To summarize, so far this Pixel 6a has served me very well for the month I have owned it although I realize my positive experiences with it do not match others who have experienced issues I have not. I do not doubt the issues others have experienced with this phone. It’s just that so far I have not.