It contends pretty well, I think, at least in this ultrawide angle shot of a moose statue placed in front of some colorful houseboats. Both photos have some bending around the edges, but it's less prominent in the Pixel 6a shot. I also think Google's did a better job keeping the moose in focus and making it stand out against the marina and the ice plants. In terms of color, it's pretty much a push, which I think speaks well of the Pixel 6a's photo processing capabilities. It's a handset we recommend to not only Android purists but also anyone tempted to make the jump from an Apple iPhone SE and even from the 6a's latest successor, the Pixel 7a.

The images are pretty evenly matched here, with both the Pixel 6a and the iPhone SE recreating the patterns on the sunflower petals and keeping the disc florets in the center nicely distinct. The iPhone SE photo is a little more vibrant, but I give the Pixel 6a points for more accurate colors. Tensor is the star of the show when it comes to special features, delivering capabilities to the Pixel 6a you'd expect from more premium phones. Magic Eraser makes the move from the Pixel 6 to the Pixel 6a, allowing you to remove unwanted bystanders and objects from your pictures with a tap, as I did with the two passersby in this selfie.As for video, the Pixel 6a is capable of recording up to a maximum 4K resolution at 60fps. All modes are fully stabilised, and footage looked very good in my tests, recording judder-free video with a good amount of detail, even in dark conditions. FDD 2100, FDD 1900PCS, FDD 1800, FDD 850, FDD 2600, FDD 900, FDD 800, FDD 700APT, FDD AWS-3, FDD 600, TDD TD 3700, TDD TD 3500, TDD 2300, FDD 1900, n12, TDD 3500, FDD 2300 Chipset is snappy. It does sometimes get warm while doing heavy duty tasks, but I've noticed it getting cooler with usage. On the flip side, there’s not a lot that’s new in terms of camera hardware. The Pixel 6a’s primary camera is the same 12.2MP (f/1.7) sensor previously used by the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5, while the 12MP (f/2.2) wide-angle unit is identical to the one found in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. An 8MP (f/2) selfie camera sits inside a central hole punch notch on the front of the phone.

Very few phones can match the calibre of images it’s capable of capturing, and those that can are typically flagships costing twice as much as the Pixel 6a. Performance is also spot-on, not to mention that it uses one of the most colour-accurate displays I’ve ever laid eyes on. The Pixel 6a has a 60Hz refresh rate, which means scrolling isn't quite as fluid compared to flagships — or, in fact, the Pixel 7a, which has increased the refresh rate to 90Hz. There are three display modes on offer – Natural, Boosted and Adaptive – and colour purists are going to want to enable the Natural setting at the first opportunity. With this mode selected, our colorimeter recorded a practically faultless average Delta E score of 0.73 when tested against the sRGB colour space – every single colour was bang on the money. You certainly don’t see that very often.So is it worth scrounging up the additional money to buy Google's more expensive — and more recent — smartphone? Our Google Pixel 7 vs. Pixel 6a comparisons looks at the phones side by side. While there a number of differences between the two devices, it boils down to a Pixel 7 vs. Pixel 6a camera face-off— and the Pixel 7 does take better photos than the 6a on average, particularly when it comes to night shots as you can see below.