My new Pixel 6a is VERY good.

And naturally, the camera is top notch. Look at its DXO ratings.  Though I don't really understand how it can be 2nd in ranking in high end phones and 20th in ranking globally.

6a DXO ratings page

We, my wife and I, each bought one and both are excellent smartphones for the casual user.

All the "power users" seem to be slinging a lot of hate its way and I'm not sure why. No, I do understand their talking points, I just don't find them relevant. Basically, they seem to be complaining that it isn't as powerful as the Pixel 6 Pro ($900+ USD)

Granted, Google shot itself in the foot, by releasing it with a 4 month old v12 OS release, but the intermediate June release installed yesterday seems to have fixed the software issues, and the V13 Beta users (now available for 6a) report an even better experience.

I upgraded from the 3a, which until now, had been the best phone I've ever used. The 6a has provided all the things i had wished for in the 3a. It is like 3a on steroids.

Glen Barrington wrote:

And naturally, the camera is top notch. Look at its DXO ratings. Though I don't really understand how it can be 2nd in ranking in high end phones and 20th in ranking globally.

6a DXO ratings page

We, my wife and I, each bought one and both are excellent smartphones for the casual user.

All the "power users" seem to be slinging a lot of hate its way and I'm not sure why. No, I do understand their talking points, I just don't find them relevant. Basically, they seem to be complaining that it isn't as powerful as the Pixel 6 Pro ($900+ USD)

Granted, Google shot itself in the foot, by releasing it with a 4 month old v12 OS release, but the intermediate June release installed yesterday seems to have fixed the software issues, and the V13 Beta users (now available for 6a) report an even better experience.

I upgraded from the 3a, which until now, had been the best phone I've ever used. The 6a has provided all the things i had wished for in the 3a. It is like 3a on steroids.

Thanks Glen for sharing your information and experience with the new Pixel 6a, which should be helpful for anyone interested in buying it or at least curious about it.

The global rating seems to include Chinese phones including the banned Huawei, so it seems that pushes the 6a down in ranking there. 2nd ranking on the high end phones list is impressive, especially with the lower price advantage.

I'm surprised no one else responded here, most of the activity seems to be in the Mobile Photography forum about the Xiaomi 12s Ultra.

redtailboas wrote:

I also have 6a. Good phone. Note that the rankings include a lot of ties. 21st is actually like 10th or something like that in terms of score.

In regards to how it's 2nd in high end... There are various classes above this, Premium, Ultra-Premium. So in it's price class it's 2nd.

Ahh!  So it's like at a fast-food joint, when I want a medium Coca-Cola, I have to order a large, and if I want a large, I have to order a "Giganto-slurp-a-thon"!

sqn888 wrote:

Is there any difference in terms of picture quality between 6a and 3a?

I used to have 3a and wasn't terribly impressed with it - heavy HDR, noisy and somewhat smeared details of face and leaves

For me, the smartphone is a camera of convenience.  I use different cameras for 'serious' stuff.  However, I'd say while the cameras built into the phone are 'older', they do benefit greatly from the improved computational enhancement that the new Tensor chip allows for.

I think color management is quite good, as is dynamic range.  It's still a rather tiny 12 mp sensor. but Google really knows how to make the most of it.  Tomorrow, I might have some time to go out and take some comparative photos.

I got two 6as for free by switching from Verizon to T-Mobile (one for me and one for my wife), so I didn't have to do a trade in.  The way I look at it, T-Mobile paid me $900 US to use their service.  That's more than Verizon ever did for me!