Home > Smartphone comparison > Pixel 6a vs Pixel 3 – which one to choose?

Google Pixel 6a vs Pixel 3

56 out of 100
Google Pixel 6a
VS
42 out of 100
Google Pixel 3
Google Pixel 6a
Google Pixel 3

Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.1-inch Google Pixel 6a (with Google Tensor) that was released on May 11, 2022, against the Google Pixel 3, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and came out 3 years and 8 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory 6 / 128 GB
  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a
  • Delivers 121% higher peak brightness (882 against 399 nits)
  • Comes with 1495 mAh larger battery capacity: 4410 vs 2915 mAh
  • 80% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1015K versus 564K)
  • Has a 0.6 inch larger screen size
  • Shows 36% longer battery life (20:44 vs 15:14 hours)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
  • More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 12
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Tensor
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
  • The phone is 3 years and 8 months newer
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 3
  • Handles Qi wireless charging up to 10W
  • Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
  • Weighs 30 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 6a and Pixel 3 crucial features
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
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 82% Yes
Yes, this is a clear and meaningful upgrade.
Updating from Google Pixel 3 to Google Pixel 6a is a clear step forward, and the improvements should be easy to notice.
Main improvements: performance, battery life, and camera.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Pixel 6a
vs
Pixel 3

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.1 inches 5.5 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 1080 x 2160 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 18:9
PPI 429 ppi 439 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 500 nits 420 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1100 nits -
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, HDR10
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Screen-to-body ratio 82.2% 78.7%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 96.9% 99.6%
PWM 240 Hz 245 Hz
Response time 3 ms 4.4 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Screen space comparison
Pixel 6a
6.1″ (20:9 ratio) = 13.9 in2
Pixel 3
5.5″ (18:9 ratio) = 12.1 in2
~15% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Pixel 6a +121%
882 nits
Pixel 3
399 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) 145.6 mm (5.73 inches)
Width 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) 68.2 mm (2.69 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 7.9 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight 178 g (6.28 oz) 148 g (5.22 oz)
Waterproof IP67 IP68
Rear material Plastic Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors White, Black, Green White, Black, Pink
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Pixel 6a +4%
82.2%
Pixel 3
78.7%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 3
SoC
Chipset Google Tensor Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Max clock 2800 MHz 2500 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
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		 - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 385 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 4 cores at 2.8 GHz: Kryo 385 Gold (Cortex-A75)
L3 cache 4 MB 2 MB
Manufacturing Samsung Samsung
Lithography process 5 nanometers 10 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Tensor Processing Unit Hexagon 685
GPU
Graphics Mali-G78 MP20 Adreno 630
GPU shading units 640 512
GPU clock 850 MHz 710 MHz
FLOPS ~1085.4 GFLOPS ~727 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 3
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Pixel 6a +103%
1487
Pixel 3
734
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Pixel 6a +95%
3664
Pixel 3
1882
Compute Score (GPU)
Pixel 6a
9543
Pixel 3
n/a
Compute Score (GPU) 9543 -
Single-core score 1487 734
Multi-core score 3664 1882
Sources: Geekbench [3]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Pixel 6a +80%
1015493
Pixel 3
564887
CPU 425227 230869
GPU 126878 64444
Memory 171601 118989
UX 291787 150585
Total score 1015493 564887
Samples [20 tests] [2 tests]
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Pixel 6a +317%
1854
Pixel 3
445
Stability 57% 88%
Graphics test 11 FPS 2 FPS
Graphics score 1854 445
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
PCMark 3.0
Pixel 6a +16%
10455
Pixel 3
8977
Web score 7105 7215
Video editing 5884 6392
Photo editing 19072 18641
Data manipulation 10310 6714
Writing score 15550 9480
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Google Pixel 6a
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-26 -> Islom_1180AnTuTu 121235821
📘 2026-08-19 (duwi)AnTuTu 11774697
📘 2026-07-29 (Mimo)AnTuTu 111117985
📘 2026-07-28 (Hypermini)AnTuTu 111015541
📘 2026-07-27 (Ash)AnTuTu 11978066
Add View all (45)
Google Pixel 3
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-03-01 (Ivan)AnTuTu 11564887
📘 2026-01-31 -> GamingLuAnTuTu 11540317
Add View all (2)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory clock 3200 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 64 GB
Storage type UFS 3.1 UFS 2.1
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) Android 9.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 12)
ROM Stock Android Stock Android
OS size 14.3 GB 12 GB
OS updates 5 years -
Security updates 5 years -

Battery

Capacity 4410 mAh 2915 mAh
Max charge power 18 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No Yes, Qi (10 W)
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (42% in 30 min) Yes, Quick Charge 4 (50% in 40 min)
Full charging time 1:51 hr 2:00 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 08:25 hr 05:20 hr
Watching video 14:20 hr 09:37 hr
Gaming 05:34 hr 03:31 hr
Standby 89 hr 78 hr
General battery life
Pixel 6a +36%
20:44 hr
Pixel 3
15:14 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 12.2 megapixels 12.2 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4032 x 3024
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) 240 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens 114° -
Lenses 1) Standard: 12.2 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
1) Standard: 12.2 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution 12.2 MP 12.2 MP
Aperture f/1.7 f/1.8
Focal length 27 mm 28 mm
Sensor Sony IMX363 Sony IMX363
Sensor size 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch)
Pixel size 1.4 micron 1.4 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 12 MP -
Aperture f/2.2 -
Focal length 17 mm -
Sensor Sony IMX386 -
Sensor size 1/2.9" (≈ 0.34 inch) -
Pixel size 1.12 micron -
Stabilization Digital -

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Pixel 6a +29%
133
Pixel 3
103
Video quality
Pixel 6a +29%
126
Pixel 3
98
Generic main camera score
Pixel 6a +21%
122
Pixel 3
101
Bokeh 65 -
Preview 67 -
Zoom 74 -
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark Photo samples of Google Pixel 3 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 8 megapixels 8 megapixels
Image resolution 3840 x 2160 3264 x 2448
Aperture f/2.0 f/1.8
Focal length 24 mm 28 mm
Sensor Sony IMX355 Sony IMX355
Sensor size 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch) 1/3.2" (≈ 0.31 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1.4 micron
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Additional lens - 8 MP, f/19
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No
DxOMark front camera
Pixel 6a
n/a
Pixel 3
123
Photo - 124
Video - 121

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
Bluetooth version 5.2 5
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
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 1 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode - Standby
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* 20 16
5G support Yes No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos No No
Speakers test
Max loudness
Pixel 6a +3%
87.4 dB
Pixel 3
84.9 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Flagship
Announced May 2022 October 2018
Release date June 2022 November 2018
Launch price (MSRP) $449 $800
Successor - Google Pixel 10a - Google Pixel 10a
SAR (head) 0.99 W/kg -
SAR (body) 1.31 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 6a is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
35 (74.5%)
12 (25.5%)
Total votes: 47

Related comparisons

1. Google Pixel 6a vs Google Pixel 5 (2)
2. Google Pixel 6a vs Google Pixel 9
3. Google Pixel 6a vs Google Pixel 6 (2)
4. Google Pixel 6a vs Google Pixel 7a (1)
5. Google Pixel 3 vs Google Pixel 4a
6. Google Pixel 3 vs Google Pixel 5
Compare other phones (860+)

User opinions

You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
🌐 Register your profile and become part of NanoReview community!
EnglishРусский