Enlarge / The camera barroom returns but it's a batch shallower than the Pixel 6 version.

Ron Amadeo

So you privation to bargain a inexpensive Android phone, but you're overwhelmed by the countless options retired there. Let america constituent you successful the close direction.

First, though, you should fig retired if you adjacent privation to bargain a midrange oregon low-end phone. Getting a less-expensive instrumentality usually means giving up immoderate features, similar a higher-than-60 Hz show refresh rate, speedy charging, mmWave 5G, and wireless charging. On the different hand, you won't beryllium paying $1,000 for a top-of-the-line device.

You should wage adjacent attraction to the things immoderate manufacturers skimp retired on, similar update plans, a decent camera, cutting-edge performance, NFC support, and enactment for newer versions of Wi-Fi.

Luckily, our favourite cheaper phones negociate to clasp connected to a fewer items from this list.

A enactment connected 5G

There's besides a bully accidental you'll miss retired connected immoderate forms of 5G, but don't fto that impact your purchasing decision. Many carriers person started rebranding traditionally 4G technologies arsenic "5G," truthful you person to beryllium truly plugged successful to cognize the difference. And you mightiness drawback immoderate carriers, similar Verizon, offering a 5G mmWave upsell connected a telephone for an other $50, which is the lawsuit for the Pixel 6a.

mmWave is the super-fast mentation of 5G liable for record-breaking velocity tests, but you request to tally that velocity trial straight nether a mmWave installation. In the existent world, mmWave covers determination astir 1 percent of bearer networks. The much prevalent "5G" is sometimes slower than 4G. So instrumentality our advice: Don't wage an other cent for immoderate benignant of "5G."

The Ars Pick

The $449 Google Pixel 6a—sucking each the aerial retired of the room

Buy: $449 astatine Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Google

For a inexpensive Android device, you can't bash immoderate better than the Pixel 6a. The Pixel A bid is usually great, but the enactment is kicking things up a notch this twelvemonth with the inclusion of a flagship-class system-on-a-chip (SoC). Google has packed its midrange $449 smartphone with the aforesaid Google Tensor SoC you'll find successful the $600 and $900 Pixel 6 phones. That means this small instrumentality has astir the aforesaid show arsenic galore flagships. In our full review, you'll spot Pixel 6a benchmarks that are identical to the Pixel 6 successful CPU, GPU, and retention metrics.

In summation to not making you compromise connected performance, the Pixel 6a offers a ton of different benefits you usually wouldn't expect successful the midrange market. Google's Android update programme mightiness not beryllium the best anymore, but it's beauteous bully for a midrange phone—you'll get three years of large OS updates and 5 years of information updates. Most of the different phones successful this people person thing to connection erstwhile it comes to bundle updates.

SPECS AT A GLANCE: Google Pixel 6a SCREEN CPU RAM STORAGE NETWORKING PORTS CAMERA SIZE WEIGHT BATTERY Price (MSRP) OTHER PERKS

6.1-inch, 60 Hz, 2400×1080 OLED

Google Tensor

6GB

128GB

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC

USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 with 18 W USB-PD 3.0 charging

Rear:12.2 MP main, 12.2 MP wide-angle Front: 8 MP camera

152.2×71.8×8.9 mm

178 g

4410 mAh

$449

in-screen fingerprint reader, IP67 h2o and particulate resistance

Companies don't truly put overmuch wealth successful the camera hardware for midrange phones, but the bully quality is that Google's camera bundle tin present fantastic results adjacent from the cheap, aging 12.2 MP Sony IMX363 connected the Pixel 6a. This is the aforesaid sensor from the Pixel 2, 3, 4, and 5, and it's reliably 1 of the champion cameras you tin get astatine this price.

A big-ticket point is the Pixel's IP67 h2o absorption rating. This means you tin submerge the telephone successful h2o for 30 minutes and it should beryllium OK. It's large to not person to interest astir utilizing a telephone with bedewed hands—or being capable to conscionable lavation the telephone successful the descend erstwhile it gets dirty. It's a bully diagnostic for bid of mind, and you usually won't find it connected cheaper devices.

The show connected cheaper phones volition ever beryllium a compromise, and we deliberation Google makes the close prime with the 6a's screen. The show is simply a 60 Hz OLED, portion immoderate phones successful the midrange marketplace opt for 90 Hz LCDs. We similar the 60 Hz OLED due to the fact that these inexpensive phones often can't render thing astatine 90 fps anyway. Also, utilizing OLED implicit LCD means Google tin present an always-on display.

An always-on show is 1 of the champion features you tin get connected an Android phone. When the surface is expected to beryllium "off," it goes into a low-power mode alternatively and displays the clip and immoderate notifications you whitethorn get. OLED lets you bash this without draining excessively overmuch of the battery, and it's large to ever beryllium capable to spot the 2 astir often checked items connected a telephone without adjacent touching it.

Another astonishment astatine this terms constituent is Wi-Fi 6E compatibility. If you bargain a caller entree point, this compatibility volition fto you leap connected the recently disposable 6 GHz spectrum for location Wi-Fi, which is large if you unrecorded adjacent to your neighbors and person Wi-Fi problems. Everyone has to stock the airways, and successful dense areas, Wi-Fi tends to autumn implicit owed to a deficiency of spectrum.

New 6 GHz cogwheel volition fto you leap into a portion of spectrum that your non-early-adaptor neighbors aren't using, which should greatly amended your connectivity. 6E enactment is fundamentally exclusive to flagship phones close now, and this is simply a bully perk of getting a instrumentality with a Tensor chip.

You whitethorn oregon whitethorn not beryllium a instrumentality of the in-screen fingerprint reader. These readers are a bushed slower than the rear capacitive scanners you'll get connected astir midrange phones. Google besides axed the headphone jack this year, which is thing you mightiness attraction about. Finally, there's nary expandable storage. These are features you tin inactive find successful different midrange phones.

None of those items truly strikes america arsenic being a large problem, though. With cheaper phones, you person to compromise somewhere, and the Pixel 6a's deficiency of superior downsides is truly remarkable. The telephone is truthful bully that immoderate different Android telephone wrong the terms scope of the Pixel A bid is beauteous overmuch dormant connected arrival.

We're not adjacent definite we would urge a Pixel 6 erstwhile the Pixel 6a exists. With the Pixel 6 Pro, you get a dramatically bigger, dramatically faster display, but determination is not $150 worthy of quality betwixt the Pixel 6 and 6a. The Pixel 6a is conscionable excessively good.

The good

• The Tensor SoC provides flagship-class show without the cash
• The camera tin adjacent basal up to immoderate flagships
• Google's 3 years of day-one updates are beauteous bully for this price
• IP67 h2o resistance
• A accelerated physique of Android with nary other crapware
• Always-on show mode makes it truthful you tin ever spot the clip and your notifications, adjacent erstwhile the surface is "off"

The bad

• No expandable storage
• No headphone jack
• Iffy fingerprint reader