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Google Pixel 6 vs Pixel 3a

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Google Pixel 6 vs Pixel 3a

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

Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.4-inch Google Pixel 6 (with Google Tensor) that was released on October 19, 2021, against the Google Pixel 3a, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 and came out 30 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 6
  • Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
  • 3.3x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (835K versus 250K)
  • Comes with 1614 mAh larger battery capacity: 4614 vs 3000 mAh
  • Has a 0.8 inch larger screen size
  • Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
  • Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
  • Handles wireless charging up to 21W
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Google Tensor
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
  • Thinner bezels – 8.4% more screen real estate
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 3a
  • Weighs 60 grams less
  • Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 6 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 6
vs
Pixel 3a

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.4 inches 5.6 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 1080 x 2220 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 18.5:9
PPI 411 ppi 441 ppi
Refresh rate 90 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 500 nits -
Max rated brightness in HDR 800 nits -
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ No
Screen protection Gorilla Glass Victus Dragontrail
Screen-to-body ratio 83.4% 75%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display 		- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 99.8% -
PWM 397 Hz -
Response time 5 ms -
Contrast ∞ Infinity -
Peak brightness test (auto)

Design and build

Height 158.6 mm (6.24 inches) 151.3 mm (5.96 inches)
Width 74.8 mm (2.94 inches) 70.1 mm (2.76 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 8.2 mm (0.32 inches)
Weight 207 g (7.3 oz) 147 g (5.19 oz)
Waterproof IP68 No
Rear material Glass Plastic
Frame material Metal Plastic
Colors Black, Blue, Yellow White, Black, Purple
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Pixel 6 +11%
83.4%
Pixel 3a
75%

Performance

Tests of Google Pixel 6 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 6 +161%
1367
Pixel 3a
524
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Pixel 6 +98%
3121
Pixel 3a
1575
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
Pixel 6 +233%
835401
Pixel 3a
250565
CPU 232971 83481
GPU 264190 37768
Memory 150880 61127
UX 181239 67796
Total score 835401 250565
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Pixel 6 +859%
6379
Pixel 3a
665
Max surface temperature 42.1 °C -
Stability 56% 99%
Graphics test 38 FPS 3 FPS
Graphics score 6379 665
PCMark 3.0
Pixel 6 +46%
10617
Pixel 3a
7296
Web score 7569 6083
Video editing 6393 5751
Photo editing 17623 12766
Data manipulation 10303 5778
Writing score 15037 7872

Memory

RAM
RAM size 8 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory clock 3200 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128, 256 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 17.6 GB -

Battery

Capacity 4614 mAh 3000 mAh
Max charge power 30 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (21 W) No
Reverse charging Yes, (wireless) No
Fast charging Yes (41% in 30 min) Yes, Quick Charge 4.0 (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:53 hr 1:20 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 08:58 hr -
Watching video 16:38 hr -
Gaming 05:24 hr -
Standby 92 hr -
General battery life

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 50 megapixels 12.2 megapixels
Image resolution 8192 x 6144 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 (50 MP + 12 MP) 1 (12.2 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 50 MP
- Aperture: f/1.9
- Focal length: 25 mm
- Pixel size: 1.2 micron
- Sensor: 1/1.31", Samsung GN1 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS)
- Laser autofocus
- 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
-
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support 		- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 6 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 CMOS BSI CMOS
Sensor size - 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 October 2021 May 2019
Release date October 2021 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 6 is definitely a better buy.

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