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Google Pixel 6a vs Pixel 3a

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Google Pixel 6a vs Pixel 3a

70 out of 100
Google Pixel 6a
VS
47 out of 100
Google Pixel 3a
Google Pixel 6a
Google Pixel 3a

Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.1-inch Google Pixel 6a (with Google Tensor) that was released on May 11, 2022, against the Google Pixel 3a, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 and came out 36 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a
  • Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
  • 3.7x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (914K versus 250K)
  • Comes with 1410 mAh larger battery capacity: 4410 vs 3000 mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
  • Has a 0.5 inch larger screen size
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Google Tensor
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
  • Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
  • The phone is 3-years newer
  • More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 12
  • Thinner bezels – 8% more screen real estate
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 3a
  • Weighs 31 grams less
  • Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 6a and Pixel 3a crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk ( * ) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Pixel 6a
vs
Pixel 3a

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.1 inches 5.6 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 1080 x 2220 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 18.5:9
PPI 429 ppi 441 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 500 nits -
Max rated brightness in HDR 1100 nits -
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ No
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Dragontrail
Screen-to-body ratio 83% 75%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display 		- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 96.9% -
PWM 240 Hz -
Response time 3 ms -
Contrast ∞ Infinity -
Peak brightness test (auto)

Design and build

Height 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) 151.3 mm (5.96 inches)
Width 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) 70.1 mm (2.76 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 8.2 mm (0.32 inches)
Weight 178 g (6.28 oz) 147 g (5.19 oz)
Waterproof IP67 No
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Metal Plastic
Colors White, Black, Green White, Black, Purple
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, rear
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 3a in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Google Tensor Qualcomm Snapdragon 670
Max clock 2800 MHz 2000 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55
- 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1 		- 6 cores at 1.7 GHz: Kryo 360 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2 GHz: Kryo 360 Gold (Cortex-A75)
L3 cache 4 MB -
Lithography process 5 nanometers 10 nanometers
Graphics Mali-G78 MP20 Adreno 615
GPU shading units 1280 256
GPU clock 848 MHz 700 MHz
FLOPS ~2170.9 GFLOPS ~358.4 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Pixel 6a +180%
1467
Pixel 3a
524
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Pixel 6a +129%
3611
Pixel 3a
1575
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
Pixel 6a +265%
914585
Pixel 3a
250565
CPU - 83481
GPU - 37768
Memory - 61127
UX 913000 67796
Total score 914585 250565
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Pixel 6a +831%
6194
Pixel 3a
665
Max surface temperature 41.4 °C -
Stability 56% 99%
Graphics test 37 FPS 3 FPS
Graphics score 6194 665
PCMark 3.0
Pixel 6a +35%
9859
Pixel 3a
7296
Web score 6177 6083
Video editing 5806 5751
Photo editing 17969 12766
Data manipulation 9425 5778
Writing score 15432 7872

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory clock 3200 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 64 GB
Storage type UFS 3.1 UFS 2.1
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) Android 9.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 12)
ROM Stock Android -
OS size 14.3 GB -

Battery

Capacity 4410 mAh 3000 mAh
Max charge power 18 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (42% in 30 min) Yes, Quick Charge 4.0 (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:51 hr 1:20 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 10:54 hr -
Watching video 16:44 hr -
Gaming 06:05 hr -
Standby 91 hr -
General battery life

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 12.2 megapixels 12.2 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4032 x 3024
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 30FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 120FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens 114° -
Lenses 2 (12.2 MP + 12 MP) 1 (12.2 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 12.2 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7
- Focal length: 27 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
- 12.2 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 28 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Focal length: 17 mm
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.9", Sony IMX386 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
-
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support 		- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark Photo samples of Google Pixel 3a from DxOMark
Selfie camera
Megapixels 8 megapixels 8 megapixels
Image resolution 3840 x 2160 3264 x 2448
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.0
Focal length 24 mm 24 mm
Pixel size 1.12 microns 1.12 microns
Sensor type Exmor-RS CMOS BSI CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.8" 1/2.8"
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display 		- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.2 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG 		- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC * Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM * 1 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode - Standby
eSIM support * Yes No
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat * 20 11
5G support Yes No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No Yes
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

Category Flagship Mid-range
Announced May 2022 May 2019
Release date June 2022 May 2019
SAR (head) - 0.39 W/kg
SAR (body) - 0.9 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint 		- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Not included -
* Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Google Pixel 6a is definitely a better buy.

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