Pixel 6a vs. Pixel 6 camera test has a clear winner

Before digging into the photos themselves, let’s take a look at what we’re working with. The Pixel 6a is equipped with a 12.2-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and an f/1.7 aperture. It’s the exact same camera sensor Google’s been using since the Pixel 2! Additionally, the Pixel 6a has a 12MP ultrawide camera with an f/2.2 aperture and 114-degree field-of-view, along with an 8MP selfie camera.

The one difference with the Pixel 6 is its main camera. It swaps out the Pixel 6a’s 12.2MP camera for a 50MP one. It has an f/1.85 aperture, OIS, and laser-detect autofocus (versus phase-detect autofocus on the 6a). The 12MP ultrawide camera and 8MP selfie camera are identical between the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a.

We’ll kick things off with a test of the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6’s main camera. The first photo of the car is an easy shot for both phones. It was taken on a cloudy day around 5:00 p.m., but there was ample outdoor lighting. Both photos look very good at first glance. The color profile in both is nearly identical, which is true-to-life and pleasing to the eye.

There’s also good detail in both shots, with both the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 capturing smaller details in the car’s grille and headlights. The only perceivable difference is the added natural bokeh of the Pixel 6’s shot. It’s most noticeable with the red house in the background. The Pixel 6a tries to keep the details of the panels in focus, while the Pixel 6’s larger sensor blurs them to make the car pop just slightly more.

This is even more noticeable in the photo of the white flower. Even though this was not taken in portrait mode, the larger sensor of the Pixel 6’s 50MP camera allows it to naturally blur the background more for a strong depth of field. The Pixel 6a also tries to do this, but the strands of grass in the background are much more distracting. That said, the Pixel 6 also blurs the edges of the flower, while they look sharper in the Pixel 6a’s shot.

In almost all of my shooting with the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6, the phones produce nearly identical colors. However, I captured an interesting difference between them with the below shot of an eerie sky right before a rainstorm. The Pixel 6a gives the sky a stronger blue tone, while the Pixel 6 shows it with a purple tint. The Pixel 6a also retains more of the green in the leaves of the three. Comparatively, the Pixel 6 chose to darken the leaves for a more intense look.

But, as mentioned above, the 50MP main camera is the only hardware difference between the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6. When it comes to the 12MP ultrawide camera, both phones have the exact same sensor. And it shows!

We’ll start with the photo of the pond. While there are no challenging lighting conditions, there is a lot happening here. We have a bright blue sky, a couple of white clouds, a flowing fountain in the middle of the water, and an abundance of trees and bushes surrounding it.

After closely examining both photos next to each other, I struggle to notice any clear difference between the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6’s images. The trees in the background of the Pixel 6a’s photo are slightly brighter than they are in the Pixel 6 photo, but that’s about it. Each one did a great job handling the various colors, though I would have liked some extra detail in both shots.

Moving on to the photo of yellow flowers, we end up with about the same conclusion. These are both good photos, featuring vibrant, accurate colors and a wide view that doesn’t succumb to distortion. In this instance, however, the Pixel 6 has more detail in the center of each flower — despite being taken at a slightly further angle away. It’s a nice advantage for this particular photo, but I’ve been equally happy with both ultrawide cameras in my testing.

Winner: Tie

Neither the Pixel 6a nor Pixel 6 have a dedicated telephoto camera. However, the camera app for both phones shows a prominent 2x button — encouraging you to snap digitally-zoomed photos. As such, it’s only fair we put that to the test too.

Starting with the photo of the outdoor bird decoration, the Pixel 6 captures a little more detail in the bird’s metal construction than the Pixel 6a is capable of. The difference isn’t huge, but when zooming in closely on the bird’s face, it looks a bit softer in the Pixel 6a’s shot.

The Pixel 6 again captures more detail in the photo of the baby Grogu figurine. It’s hard to notice a difference at first, but zooming in on Grogu’s face, the Pixel 6 image is sharper than the Pixel 6a’s. But that’s not the only advantage it has. The Pixel 6a creates a green halo around Grogu’s head and ears, while the Pixel 6 separates them from the background more clearly. As we saw in the main camera test, the added bokeh from the larger 50MP camera can be a big advantage.

Winner: Google Pixel 6

As mentioned at the beginning of this camera test, the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 share many of the same camera features — portrait mode included. Shooting in portrait mode uses the main camera on each phone. That means the 12.2MP camera on the Pixel 6a and the 50MP camera on the Pixel 6.

Last but certainly not least, let’s take a look at the selfie camera. As previously mentioned, the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 use the same 8MP selfie camera. And as expected, the results are very similar.

So, where does that leave us? Of the six categories I tested, the Pixel 6 won four, there were two ties, and the Pixel 6a won zero outright. It’s no surprise that the Pixel 6 won, but considering the lesser camera hardware and lower price of the Pixel 6a, it is impressive just how closely it was able to keep up with its more expensive sibling.

The biggest advantage of the Pixel 6 is the added detail and natural bokeh you get from its 50MP main camera. These benefits aren’t always immediately visible, but upon closer inspection, they are present. The Pixel 6a takes great photos, but the Pixel 6’s images are just a little better.