Home Phone comparison Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 3a - Which is better?

Google Pixel 6 vs Google Pixel 3a

65 out 100
Google Pixel 6
VS
41 out 100
Google Pixel 3a
Google Pixel 6
Google Pixel 3a

Compared 2 smartphones : Google Pixel 6 Manufactured in October, 2021, with display 6.4 with chipsetGoogle Tensor, vs Google Pixel 3a, Manufactured in May, 2019with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 670. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Google Pixel 6
  • Larger display: 6.4in
  • Higher refresh rate: 90Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 4614mAh vs 3000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.1 vs 2
Reasons to choose Google Pixel 3a
  • Higher pixel density: 441ppi
  • Lighter design: 147g vs 207g
  • Includes charger

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB		 4/64 GB

Review

Key Specs Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 3a
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Google Pixel 6
vs
Google Pixel 3a

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.4 in 5.6 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2220 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 18.5:9
Pixel density 411 ppi 441 ppi
Refresh rate 90 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 500 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ No
Screen-to-body ratio 83.3 % 75 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Google Pixel 6
843 nits
Google Pixel 3a
n/a
sRGB gamut99.8 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)397 Hzn/a
Response time5 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Google Pixel 6]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 158.6 mm (6.24 in) 151.3 mm (5.96 in)
Width 74.8 mm (2.94 in) 70.1 mm (2.76 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 8.2 mm (0.32 in)
Weight 207 g (7.3 oz) 147 g (5.19 oz)
Water resistance IP68 No
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Yellow		 - White
- Black
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Google Pixel 6
83.3 %
Google Pixel 3a
75 %

Performance

Testing Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 3a In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Google Tensor Qualcomm Snapdragon 670
Max Frequency 2800 MHz 2000 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex A55)
- 2/2.25 (Cortex A76)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-X1)		 - 6/1.7 (Kryo 360 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 2/2 (Kryo 360 Gold (Cortex-A75))
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Tensor Processing Unit Hexagon 685
Graphics Mali-G78 MP20 Adreno 615
GPU Cores 1280 256
GPU Frequency 848 MHz 700 MHz
FLOPS 2170.9 GFLOPS 358.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Google Pixel 6
1363
Google Pixel 3a
519
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Google Pixel 6
3100
Google Pixel 3a
1564
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1363519
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)31001564
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Google Pixel 6]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Google Pixel 6
895119
Google Pixel 3a
250172
CPU24352483481
GPU30879037768
Memory13964361127
UX20316267796
NanoReview Score895119250172
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Google Pixel 6
6379
Google Pixel 3a
665
Max Surface Temp.42.1 °Cn/a
Stability56 %99 %
Graphics Test38 fps3 fps
Graphics Score6379665
Sources: 3DMark [Google Pixel 6], [Google Pixel 3a]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Google Pixel 6
10663
Google Pixel 3a
7363
Writing score143838149
Web score76906044
Video editing66125761
Data manipulation102935686
NanoReview Score106637363

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		64 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1eMMC 5.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 15) Android 9.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12)
OS Size 17.6 GB n/a
UI Skin Stock Android n/a

Battery

Volume 4614 mAh 3000 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable 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 Charge Time 1:53 h 1:20 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Google Pixel 6
18:55
Google Pixel 3a
n/a
Web Browsing07:07 hn/a
Video Playback13:13 hn/a
Games05:02 hn/a
Standby Mode85 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 122 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 114 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 12.2 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP122 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.8
Focal length25 mm28 mm
SensorSamsung GN1Sony IMX363
Sensor size1/1.311/2.55
Pixel size1.2 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length17 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX386 Exmor RSn/a
Sensor size1/2.9n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Google Pixel 6
136
Google Pixel 3a
n/a
Video quality
Google Pixel 6
133
Google Pixel 3a
n/a
Overall camera score
Google Pixel 6
126
Google Pixel 3a
n/a
Bokeh65n/a
Preview65n/a
Zoom79n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Google Pixel 6], [Google Pixel 3a]

Front camera

Matrix 8 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 3840x2160 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.0
Focal length 24 mm 24 mm
Sensor CMOS Sony IMX355
Sensor size n/a 1/2.8
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Google Pixel 6
130
Google Pixel 3a
n/a
Video quality
Google Pixel 6
127
Google Pixel 3a
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version 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
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+ 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B46/B48/B66/B71)LTE (B(22/B)/B3/B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE category2011
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Google Pixel 6
86.3 dB
Google Pixel 3a
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced October, 2021 yr May, 2019 yr
Release Date October, 2021 yr May, 2019 yr
Launch Price ($) 600 400
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No Yes 18 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Google Pixel 6 the clear winner in this comparison.

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