Home > Smartphone comparison > Pixel 6a vs Pixel 5 – which one to choose?

Google Pixel 6a vs Pixel 5

56 out of 100
Google Pixel 6a
VS
50 out of 100
Google Pixel 5
Google Pixel 6a
Google Pixel 5

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 5, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G and came out 1 year and 7 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments (2)

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a
  • 63% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1015K versus 622K)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
  • More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 14
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Delivers 25% higher peak brightness (867 against 696 nits)
  • The phone is 1 year and 7 months newer
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 5
  • Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
  • Handles wireless charging up to 12W
  • Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
  • Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
  • Reverse charging feature
  • Weighs 27 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 6a and Pixel 5 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
πŸ“± Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

To get an accurate value-for-money index, update the default prices with actual prices from your country’s retailers (for the selected memory configs) and press the "Calculate" button.
Currency
6 / 128 GB
VS
8 / 128 GB
64.4
(Average)
Value Index
79.4
(Good)

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Pixel 6a
vs
Pixel 5

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.1 inches 6 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 1080 x 2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
PPI 429 ppi 432 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 90 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 500 nits 700 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1100 nits -
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Screen-to-body ratio 82.2% 86.8%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 96.9% 97.4%
PWM 240 Hz 367 Hz
Response time 3 ms 5 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
Pixel 6a +25%
867 nits
Pixel 5
696 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) 144.7 mm (5.7 inches)
Width 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) 70.4 mm (2.77 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 8 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight 178 g (6.28 oz) 151 g (5.33 oz)
Waterproof IP67 IP68
Rear material Plastic Metal
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors White, Black, Green Black, Green
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Pixel 6a
82.2%
Pixel 5 +6%
86.8%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 5
SoC
Chipset Google Tensor Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
Max clock 2800 MHz 2400 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 8 (1 + 1 + 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 475 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 1 core at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 475 Gold (Cortex-A76)
- 1 core at 2.4 GHz: Kryo 475 Prime (Cortex-A76)
L3 cache 4 MB -
Manufacturing Samsung Samsung
Lithography process 5 nanometers 7 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Tensor Processing Unit Hexagon 696
GPU
Graphics Mali-G78 MP20 Adreno 620
GPU shading units 640 384
GPU clock 850 MHz 750 MHz
FLOPS ~1085.4 GFLOPS ~480 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 5
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Pixel 6a +94%
1487
Pixel 5
765
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Pixel 6a +88%
3664
Pixel 5
1944
Compute Score (GPU)
Pixel 6a
9543
Pixel 5
n/a
Compute Score (GPU) 9543 -
Single-core score 1487 765
Multi-core score 3664 1944
Sources: Geekbench [3]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Pixel 6a +63%
1015493
Pixel 5
622520
CPU 425227 247674
GPU 126878 68842
Memory 171601 129273
UX 291787 176731
Total score 1015493 622520
Samples [20 tests] [2 tests]
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Pixel 6a
1854
Pixel 5
n/a
Stability 57% -
Graphics test 11 FPS -
Graphics score 1854 -
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
PCMark 3.0
Pixel 6a
10455
Pixel 5
n/a
Web score 7105 -
Video editing 5884 -
Photo editing 19072 -
Data manipulation 10310 -
Writing score 15550 -
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Google Pixel 6a
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-26 -> Islom_1180AnTuTu 121235821
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-19 (duwi)AnTuTu 11774697
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-29 (Mimo)AnTuTu 111117985
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-28 (Hypermini)AnTuTu 111015541
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-27 (Ash)AnTuTu 11978066
Add View all (45)
Google Pixel 5
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-23 (Guitar91)AnTuTu 11622520
πŸ“˜ 2025-11-22 (Artreg)AnTuTu 11566323
Add View all (2)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 8 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory clock 3200 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128 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 17) Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 14)
ROM Stock Android Stock Android
OS size 14.3 GB 16.6 GB
OS updates 5 years -
Security updates 5 years -

Battery

Capacity 4410 mAh 4080 mAh
Max charge power 18 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No Yes (12 W)
Reverse charging No Yes
Fast charging Yes (42% in 30 min) Yes (30% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:51 hr 1:45 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 08:25 hr 07:33 hr
Watching video 14:20 hr 13:33 hr
Gaming 05:34 hr 04:59 hr
Standby 89 hr 98 hr
General battery life
Pixel 6a +1%
20:44 hr
Pixel 5
20:28 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 12.2 megapixels 12.2 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4290 x 2800
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens 114Β° 107Β°
Lenses 1) Standard: 12.2 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
1) Standard: 12.2 MP
2) Ultrawide: 16 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/1.7
Focal length 27 mm 27 mm
Sensor Sony IMX363 Sony IMX363
Sensor size 1/2.55" (β‰ˆ 0.39 inch) 1/2.55" (β‰ˆ 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 16 MP
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 17 mm 24 mm
Sensor Sony IMX386 Sony IMX481
Sensor size 1/2.9" (β‰ˆ 0.34 inch) 1/3.09" (β‰ˆ 0.32 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Pixel 6a +12%
133
Pixel 5
119
Video quality
Pixel 6a +19%
126
Pixel 5
106
Generic main camera score
Pixel 6a +12%
122
Pixel 5
109
Bokeh 65 60
Preview 67 58
Zoom 74 71
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark Photo samples of Google Pixel 5 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

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
Sensor Sony IMX355 CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.8" (β‰ˆ 0.36 inch) 1/4.0" (β‰ˆ 0.25 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1.12 micron
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No
DxOMark front camera
Pixel 6a
n/a
Pixel 5
126
Photo - 117
Video - 142

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 MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
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
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
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 15
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos No No
Speakers test
Max loudness
Pixel 6a
87.4 dB
Pixel 5 +5%
91.9 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Flagship
Announced May 2022 September 2020
Release date June 2022 October 2020
Launch price (MSRP) $449 $700
Successor - Google Pixel 10a - Google Pixel 10 Pro
SAR (head) 0.99 W/kg 0.96 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.31 W/kg 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 6a is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
268 (46.9%)
304 (53.1%)
Total votes: 572

Related comparisons

1. Google Pixel 5 vs Google Pixel 6
2. Google Pixel 5 vs Google Pixel 5a 5G
3. Google Pixel 5 vs Google Pixel 8a
4. Google Pixel 6a vs Google Pixel 7a (1)
5. Google Pixel 6a vs Google Pixel 9
6. Google Pixel 6a vs Google Pixel 6 (2)
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!
Avatar
Rery Ro August 25, 2022 at 09:06 PM
You should learn the difference between peek and peak. Take a peek at a dictionary if you want to be at the peak of your writing abilities.
+22 Reply
Avatar
root August 26, 2022 at 02:21 PM
Thanks, it was a typo :) Now we have fixed it.
+17 Reply
EnglishРусский