Google Pixel 6 vs Pixel 4a
70
out of 100
VS
53
out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.4-inch Google Pixel 6 (with Google Tensor) that was released on October 19, 2021, against the Google Pixel 4a, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G and came out 15 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 Google Pixel 6
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- 2.3x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (720K versus 316K)
- Comes with 1474 mAh larger battery capacity: 4614 vs 3140 mAh
- Has a 0.59 inch larger screen size
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Shows 12% longer battery life (30:01 vs 26:51 hours)
- Handles wireless charging up to 21W
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4a
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Weighs 64 grams less
- Better grip in hands – the body is 5.4 mm narrower
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
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
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.
Value for money
You can enter your local prices of these phones (in USD or other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.4 inches | 5.81 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 411 ppi | 443 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 90 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 500 nits | 700 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 800 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83.4% | 83.3% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.8% | 95.3% |
| PWM | 397 Hz | 255 Hz |
| Response time | 5 ms | 6.2 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 158.6 mm (6.24 inches) | 144 mm (5.67 inches) |
| Width | 74.8 mm (2.94 inches) | 69.4 mm (2.73 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 207 g (7.3 oz) | 143 g (5.04 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | No |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Plastic |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Yellow | Black |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, rear |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Google Tensor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G |
| Max clock | 2800 MHz | 2200 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) | 8 (2 + 6) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55 - 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76) |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 8 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP20 | Adreno 618 |
| GPU clock | 848 MHz | 825 MHz |
| FLOPS | - | ~422 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 187698 | 101186 |
| GPU | 298218 | 79209 |
| Memory | 100887 | 59587 |
| UX | 137683 | 78244 |
| Total score | 720896 | 316201 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 42.1 °C | 41.4 °C |
| Stability | 56% | 99% |
| Graphics test | 38 FPS | 6 FPS |
| Graphics score | 6385 | 1003 |
| Web score | 7576 | - |
| Video editing | 6351 | - |
| Photo editing | 17599 | - |
| Data manipulation | 10314 | - |
| Writing score | 15163 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 3200 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 2.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | Stock Android | Stock Android |
| OS size | 17.6 GB | 15 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4614 mAh | 3140 mAh |
| Max charge power | 30 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (21 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (41% in 30 min) | Yes (50% in 25 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:53 hr | 1:27 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:58 hr | 08:45 hr |
| Watching video | 16:38 hr | 11:16 hr |
| Gaming | 05:24 hr | 04:05 hr |
| Standby | 92 hr | 99 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 120 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 114° | - |
| Lenses | 2 (50 MP + 12 MP) | 1 (12.2 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 25 mm - Pixel size: 1.2 micron - Sensor: 1/1.31", Samsung GN1 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Laser autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 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 |
- |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Google Pixel 6 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Google Pixel 4a from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3840 x 2160 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 24 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.12 microns | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | - | 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 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 - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | - | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 20 | 15 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | Yes |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | October 2021 | August 2020 |
| Release date | October 2021 | October 2020 |
| SAR (head) | - | 1.37 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 1.39 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - 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 6 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 47
