Google has announced the Pixel 6a as a powerful new budget phone with its Tensor chip onboard — but don’t expect much from its battery life.
Google finally announced the Pixel 6a today at Google I/O. Following up on both the Pixel 5a and Pixel 6, the new Pixel promises to bring the best of what Google has offered in the past year at a lower price. With Tensor powering the 6a, this is set to be the most powerful cheap Pixel yet. But despite what Google says, the Pixel 6’s battery life for many is bad — and the same Tensor that’s in the Pixel 6a could be to blame. When I reviewed the Pixel 6 over a long-term period for Digital Trends, I noticed that the battery life was not as good as advertised. This held on my Pixel 6 Stormy Black, as well as the Sorta Seafoam model that replaced it. As the weather warmed up and I started spending more time outdoors and less time at home, it became clear to me that the Pixel 6 was incapable of lasting the promised 24 hours from a charge, frequently losing 15% to 20% before stepping off a train after just listening to music and reading via the Kindle app. I’m not alone on this. Early reviews for the Pixel 6 noted wildly differing battery claims, with some reviewers seeing fantastic battery life while others noted average to poor battery life.
