The Google Pixel 6a was announced at Google IO in May, but it won’t go on sale until July. While we wait, more promotional images of the mid-range device have leaked, giving us yet another look at the device’s hardware and software.
These photos are courtesy of a well-known informant. Evan Blass (opens in new tab) on Twitter, and they look exactly like Google’s official promotional photos. All three colors are on display – chalk (white), sage (green) and charcoal (grey) – and there are some lifestyle shots to pore over too.
While the images don’t tell us anything we don’t know about these phones, there’s a lot of it. If you’re planning to buy a Google Pixel 6a in late July, these photos should keep you going until then.
Some 6A pix to enjoy. pic.twitter.com/2jsMK8Y5FGJune 14, 2022
what do we know
The Google Pixel 6a will go on sale on July 28, with pre-orders opening a week earlier. It costs $449 / £399 / AU$749, and there’s a spec configuration, which offers 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
Powering it all is the same first-gen Tensor chipset that runs inside the Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro, so performance should be top notch. We also know that the phone will have a 6.1-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a refresh rate of 60Hz.
For cameras, Google has opted for a 12.2MP main camera and a 12MP ultrawide camera on the back, with an 8MP camera on the front for selfies. The battery capacity is 4,410mAh and you will be able to charge it at a rate of 30W.
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Google took the somewhat unusual step of announcing the Pixel 6a and indeed the Google Pixel 7 for a significant period of time before they actually went on sale – and we’re not sure it’s a particularly good approach.
The company has a prior form for this. Remember when Google told us the Pixel 4a with 5G and Pixel 5 were coming, months before the phones actually went on sale. This was around the same time the Google Pixel 4a was introduced to the world, so Google likes to advertise phones in batches.
On the one hand, it gives consumers plenty of warnings about what to expect. Money can be saved, plans can be made and that means you won’t get caught buying an old device days before a new one appears out of nowhere. Knowing more about what’s to come makes purchasing decisions easier.
However, that means the phones can already look old and out of date by the time they can be bought – and there’s a danger of showing your cards too soon. We’ll have to wait and see how successful the approach is in terms of sales for the Pixel 6a.