Motorola Moto G (2023) vs Google Pixel 6a
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.5-inch Motorola Moto G (2023) (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 Plus) that was released on May 2, 2023, against the Google Pixel 6a, which is powered by Google Tensor and came out 12 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Motorola Moto G (2023)
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
- Has a 0.4 inch larger screen size
- Comes with 590 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 4410 mAh
- The phone is 1-year newer
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a
- Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
- 59% higher pixel density (429 vs 270 PPI)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- Optical image stabilization
- Ability to record video in 4K resolution
- 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
- OLED display (versus competitor''s IPS LCD)
Review
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.
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | IPS LCD | OLED |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 270 ppi | 429 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1100 nits |
| HDR support | No | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 82.9% | 83% |
| Display features | - |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 96.9% |
| PWM | - | 240 Hz |
| Response time | - | 3 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 163.94 mm (6.45 inches) | 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) |
| Width | 74.98 mm (2.95 inches) | 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.39 mm (0.33 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 189 g (6.67 oz) | 178 g (6.28 oz) |
| Waterproof | Yes | IP67 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | Blue | White, Black, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 Plus | Google Tensor |
| Max clock | 2200 MHz | 2800 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 460 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 460 Gold (Cortex-A76) |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55
- 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| L3 cache | - | 4 MB |
| Lithography process | 8 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 619 | Mali-G78 MP20 |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 1280 |
| GPU clock | 950 MHz | 848 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~486.4 GFLOPS | ~2170.9 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | - | 41.4 °C |
| Stability | - | 56% |
| Graphics test | - | 37 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 6194 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 6177 |
| Video editing | - | 5806 |
| Photo editing | - | 17969 |
| Data manipulation | - | 9425 |
| Writing score | - | 15432 |
Memory
| RAM size | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | - | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 13 | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | My UX | Stock Android |
| OS size | - | 14.3 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 4410 mAh |
| Max charge power | 15 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (25% in 30 min) | Yes (42% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:00 hr | 1:51 hr |
| Web browsing | - | 10:54 hr |
| Watching video | - | 16:44 hr |
| Gaming | - | 06:05 hr |
| Standby | - | 91 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | - | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | - | 114° |
| Lenses | 2 (48 MP + 2 MP) | 2 (12.2 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7 - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Phase autofocus |
- 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 |
| 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) |
| Macro lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 |
- |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | - | 3840 x 2160 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | - | 24 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.12 microns | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | - | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/4" | 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 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.1 | 5.2 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 3.1 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC * | No | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 18 | 20 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Flagship |
| Announced | May 2023 | May 2022 |
| Release date | May 2023 | June 2022 |
| Sensors |
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - 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.