There are two kinds of people in the world: those who like big phones, and those who like small
phones. Pixel 6A is definitely geared towards the people who want a pocket sized cell phone.
It's a littler phone in a little box, with a USB-C charging cable and a USB-A adapter,
along with a circular SIM card removal tool, and some instructions or something. Today we're going
to find out if this new inexpensive Pixel 6A, costing only $450, is durable. Let's get started.
[Intro]
The Google lineup of phones is easy to identify due to their large rectangular camera lens
traversing the entire back panel. This remains true for the Pixel 6A as well as its larger
sibling which costs twice as much, the Pixel 6 Pro. Personally though, I think the design is
ripe for a little spice. They always look so much cooler when my Teardown Skin is installed. And
don't worry little buddy, you'll get one as well, you just have to go through some things first.
Let's start with the scratch test. No pre-installed screen protector this time
around. And since it's not scratching at a level 2 or 3, we know it's not plastic. 5 or 6 would
be glass, and level 8 or 9 would be sapphire. Google says they are using Gorilla Glass 3,
interestingly enough. GG3 was released about 10 years ago,
and of course still being tempered glass, scratches at a level 6 with deeper grooves
at a level 7. I'm not too concerned with Google using decade-old glass chemistry in my opinion.
Glass is glass. It's never really a matter of if it cracks, more like when it will crack. Cases
are always a good thing. The scratch resistant glass also protects the 8 megapixel circular
hole punch camera which is right below the earpiece slit, between the frame and the glass.
Speaking of frame, it is made from metal. Kind of nice. The volume rocker and power button,
though, are both made from plastic. The top of the phone has more metal,
along with two antenna lines. And the right side of the Pixel 6A has even more metal,
along with a SIM card tray. This guy only has room for a singular SIM card with no expandable memory,
but does have the black rubber ring around the opening to keep things watertight. The 6A is IP67.
The bottom of the phone next to the 18 watt USB-C port and lower stereo speaker
is also metal. One of the things Google has been good at over the years,
besides collecting every minuscule detail of our lives, is their camera quality. I'll leave
the images to other reviewers of course, but the 12 megapixel ultra wide angle camera, and the 12
megapixel regular camera are both protected by an oval of glass. The rest of the rectangular
camera lens housing is made from plastic, which includes the singular LED flash. At first touch,
pulling this phone out of the box, the Pixel 6A did feel like it had a glass back panel. However,
as we can see from the razer blade of truth, the top portion is indeed made from plastic.
A 3D thermoformed composite to be exact. It still does feel pretty good though to be honest.
At first glance, the gray gleams and glistens like glass. But with my gleeful grin and gentle
graze of my guillotine, the goods are gouged with a grating groan. You get the gist. The goal of the
game, always a gamble, is to gain ingress to the galleries of greatness through graphic genius.
I gladly inaugurate George the Giraffe,
whose glamorous gallivanting glow now gathers glory galloping through the galactic giganticness
of Google. And thus concludes Art Class with Jerry. Pretty good if I do say so myself. There is
quite a lot of static on the back which collects quite a bit of dust. But if you keep the phone
carving to a minimum you should be just fine. Fingerprint-wise, I was pleasantly surprised,
with an optical underscreen fingerprint scanner it was able to read my fingerprint. And even after
some level 7 deeper groove, I was able to unlock the phone every single time. Thumbs up for that.
The display of the Pixel 6A is another place Google managed to bring down the price,
with a 6.1 inch, 60 hertz, and 1080p resolution. It's a decent step down from the 120 hertz,
1440p display of the Pro. But to be honest, sometimes it's way nicer to have a dense wallet
instead of dense pixels. It does last for 10 seconds under the heat from my lighter though,
which also doesn't really matter much, but don't tell anyone. I've just been igniting phones for
so long the burn test is cannon. Structural integrity, however, does matter quite a bit.
And it's a valid prerequisite when purchasing a new phone, especially when it will be living
in your pocket for the next 2, 3, or if you're incredibly good, even 4 years.
Bending from the front, this $450 smartphone doesn't give us much flex. Flipping around
to the back and applying pressure, we do see the display start to lift out of the Pixel 6A housing,
but then locks out leaving us with no cracks, kinks, or breaks of any kind. Not too shabby.
Nice work, Google. The Pixel 6A passes my durability test. George says it's time to hit
that subscribe button if you haven't already and come hang out with us on Instagram and Twitter.
And now I think Geroge is ready for his well earned award – some brand new clothes. If you
want your own phone to look as cool as George does, I'll leave a link for my Teardown Skin
in the video description. We're basically covering all the mainstream phones at this
point and yours is probably in there. As always, leave any questions or phones you
want to see tested next down in the comments. And thanks a ton for watching. I'll see you around.