Home > Smartphone comparison > Pixel 9 vs Pixel 6a – which one to choose?

Google Pixel 9 vs Pixel 6a

73 out of 100
Google Pixel 9
VS
56 out of 100
Google Pixel 6a
Google Pixel 9
Google Pixel 6a

Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.3-inch Google Pixel 9 (with Google Tensor G4) that was released on August 13, 2024, against the Google Pixel 6a, which is powered by Google Tensor and came out 2 years and 4 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 9
  • Delivers 156% higher peak brightness (2217 against 867 nits)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Has 2x more RAM: 12GB versus 6GB
  • 54% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1561K versus 1015K)
  • Shows 8% longer battery life (22:26 vs 20:44 hours)
  • Handles wireless charging up to 12W
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
  • The phone is 2 years and 4 months newer
  • The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a
  • Weighs 20 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 6a 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 88% Yes
Yes, this is a clear and meaningful upgrade.
Updating from Google Pixel 6a to Google Pixel 9 is a clear step forward, and the improvements should be easy to notice.
Main improvements: display, camera, and performance.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Pixel 9
vs
Pixel 6a

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.3 inches 6.1 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2424 pixels 1080 x 2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
PPI 422 ppi 429 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max rated brightness 2700 nits 500 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1800 nits 1100 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection Gorilla Glass Victus 2 Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Screen-to-body ratio 87.1% 82.2%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 99% 96.9%
PWM 120 Hz 240 Hz
Response time 1 ms 3 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
Pixel 9 +156%
2217 nits
Pixel 6a
867 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 152.8 mm (6.02 inches) 152.2 mm (5.99 inches)
Width 72 mm (2.83 inches) 71.8 mm (2.83 inches)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) 8.9 mm (0.35 inches)
Weight 198 g (6.98 oz) 178 g (6.28 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP67
Rear material Glass Plastic
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors White, Black, Green, Pink White, Black, Green
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, in-display
Repairability Good (3.5/5) -
Drop resistance Excellent (A) · 270 drops -
Screen-to-body ratio
Pixel 9 +6%
87.1%
Pixel 6a
82.2%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Google Pixel 9 and Google Pixel 6a
SoC
Chipset Google Tensor G4 Google Tensor
Max clock 3100 MHz 2800 MHz
CPU cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (2 + 2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.92 GHz: Cortex-A520
- 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A720
- 1 core at 3.1 GHz: Cortex-X4		 - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55
- 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1
L3 cache - 4 MB
Manufacturing Samsung Samsung
Lithography process 4 nanometers 5 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Yes Tensor Processing Unit
GPU
Graphics Mali-G715 MC7 Mali-G78 MP20
GPU shading units 896 640
GPU clock 940 MHz 850 MHz
FLOPS ~1684.4 GFLOPS ~1085.4 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Google Pixel 9 and Google Pixel 6a
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Pixel 9 +15%
1707
Pixel 6a
1487
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Pixel 9 +21%
4431
Pixel 6a
3664
Compute Score (GPU)
Pixel 9
7536
Pixel 6a +27%
9543
Compute Score (GPU) 7536 9543
Single-core score 1707 1487
Multi-core score 4431 3664
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Pixel 9 +54%
1561427
Pixel 6a
1015493
CPU 576617 425227
GPU 410060 126878
Memory 210177 171601
UX 364573 291787
Total score 1561427 1015493
Samples [4 tests] [20 tests]
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Pixel 9
1047
Pixel 6a
n/a
Stability 74% -
Graphics test 8 FPS -
Graphics score 1047 -
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Pixel 9
n/a
Pixel 6a
1854
Stability - 57%
Graphics test - 11 FPS
Graphics score - 1854
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
PCMark 3.0
Pixel 9 +22%
12789
Pixel 6a
10455
Web score 10043 7105
Video editing 7463 5884
Photo editing 21077 19072
Data manipulation 13349 10310
Writing score 15810 15550
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Google Pixel 9
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-18 -> Oleg 16 cmAnTuTu 111423579
📘 2026-06-13 (Plotwa)CPU Throttle82%
📘 2026-04-14 (LymXT)AnTuTu 111577137
📘 2025-12-09 (enigma)AnTuTu 111519937
📘 2025-11-28 (W1TRAY)AnTuTu 111561427
Add View all (8)
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)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 12 GB 6 GB
Memory type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory clock 4200 MHz 3200 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 128 GB
Storage type UFS 3.1 UFS 3.1
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 17)
ROM Stock Android Stock Android
OS size 19 GB 14.3 GB
OS updates 7 years 5 years
Security updates 7 years 5 years

Battery

Capacity 4700 mAh 4410 mAh
Max charge power 27 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (12 W) No
Reverse charging Yes, (wireless) No
Bypass charging No -
Fast charging Yes (55% in 30 min) Yes (42% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:25 hr 1:51 hr
Battery cycles 1000 cycles -
Battery life tests
Web browsing 10:01 hr 08:25 hr
Watching video 13:38 hr 14:20 hr
Gaming 05:41 hr 05:34 hr
Standby 98 hr 89 hr
General battery life
Pixel 9 +8%
22:26 hr
Pixel 6a
20:44 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 50 megapixels 12.2 megapixels
Image resolution 8160 x 6144 4032 x 3024
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED Dual 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 123° 114°
Lenses 1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 48 MP
1) Standard: 12.2 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution 50 MP 12.2 MP
Aperture f/1.7 f/1.7
Focal length 24 mm 27 mm
Sensor Samsung GNK Sony IMX363
Sensor size 1/1.31" (≈ 0.76 inch) 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch)
Pixel size 1.2 micron 1.4 micron
Autofocus Laser autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 48 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/1.7 f/2.2
Focal length - 17 mm
Sensor - Sony IMX386
Sensor size 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) 1/2.9" (≈ 0.34 inch)
Pixel size - 1.12 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Pixel 9 +21%
161
Pixel 6a
133
Video quality
Pixel 9 +19%
150
Pixel 6a
126
Generic main camera score
Pixel 9 +26%
154
Pixel 6a
122
Bokeh 75 65
Preview 83 67
Zoom 132 74
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 9 from DxOMark Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 10.5 megapixels 8 megapixels
Image resolution 3648 x 2736 3840 x 2160
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 20 mm 24 mm
Sensor CMOS Sony IMX355
Sensor size 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch)
Pixel size 1.22 micron 1.12 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
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 5.3 5.2
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes -
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 1 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* - 20
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 9
87.7 dB
Pixel 6a
87.4 dB

Other

Category Flagship Mid-range
Announced August 2024 May 2022
Release date August 2024 June 2022
Launch price (MSRP) $799 $449
Successor - Google Pixel 10 - Google Pixel 10a
SAR (head) 0.99 W/kg 0.99 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.4 W/kg 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 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 9 is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
25 (56.8%)
19 (43.2%)
Total votes: 44

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