The Google Pixel 6a is still a month away from hitting the shelves, but the phone has already been listed on Best Buy, complete with pricing, financing plans, pictures, and shipping date in tow. The listing carries a lot of weight, as it fixes one of Pixel 5a’s biggest mistakes – extremely limited availability worsened by constrained sales channels.
The Pixel 5a, which arrived in August last year, was only sold via the official Google Store. No carrier stores had it, and neither did any third-party retail partners. On top of it, the phone was only available in the U.S. and Japan, skipping markets like India where its predecessor had done quite well.
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It appears that Google wants to rectify those mistakes with the ambitious Pixel 6a. At Best Buy, the Pixel 6a is listed in all three colors – Charcoal, Sage, and Chalk – all of which are priced at $449 for the unlocked version with 128GB of onboard storage. Carrier-locked versions for T-Mobile and Verizon are also on offer, but the latter comes at a $50 premium.
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Best Buy’s 12-month installment plan is priced at $37.42 per month. The release date is listed as July 28, which matches what Google had originally announced at its I/O 2022 event a few weeks ago. Pre-orders for the Pixel 6a will open a week earlier on July 21 via the official Google Store. However, it is unclear if other outlets like Amazon and B&H will also carry the phone in the coming months.
Coming to the regional availability part, aside from the U.S., Google previously confirmed that the Pixel 6a will be up for grabs in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, and the U.K. It appears that Google is bullish about the Pixel 6a’s market uptake prospects, and it actually makes sense.
For that asking price, the Pixel 6a offers a standout design with a flagship-tier Tensor chip inside. The phone will get at least three Android OS upgrades, with timely software updates on a monthly basis and a healthy number of exclusive features. The dual-camera setup with the famed Pixel formula is another draw for potential buyers, as is the relatively compact build compared to the Pixel 6 series flagships.
As far as OnePlus goes, there is no phone in its portfolio to challenge the Pixel 6a head-on. There was some hope that the Nothing Phone 1 would shake things up a little bit, but the Carl Pei-led upstart has decided to skip a U.S. launch for its first phone. In a nutshell, Google has a very realistic chance of making a solid dent in the market with the Pixel 6a, and less frustrating retail availability is definitely going to help achieve that goal.
OnePlus is about to put the Google Pixel 8 Pro to shame
Two of the brightest smartphone displays on the market are featured on the Google Pixel 8 Pro and the OnePlus Open. However, in the ever-changing world of technology, there is always something better on the horizon.
On Tuesday, October 24, Chinese-based OnePlus and its parent company, Oppo, will announce "a new dawn" for smartphone screens. According to messages posted on Weibo by OnePlus and Digital Chat Station, the announcement is that BOE will manufacture a 3,000-nit panel for smartphones, which could be a game changer for the smartphone market. The soon-to-be-revealed display will offer 1440p resolution and support 2160Hz pulse width modulation (PWM) dimming.
Some Pixel 8 Pro owners are reporting a display color issue
Google’s new Pixel phones started shipping last week but there are already concerns over an apparent issue with the display on the Pro version of the new device.
According to various reports, some owners of the Pixel 8 Pro are seeing a yellow or pink tint on parts of the screen -- usually near the top or sides -- which apparently only shows up only when the device’s Always On Display is activated.
Don’t buy the Google Pixel 8 — 5 reasons to wait for the Pixel 9
Google has unveiled the next generation of Pixel devices at its “Made by Google” event in New York. This new lineup includes the Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 8 Pro, the Google Pixel Watch 2,
The Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro definitely have some nice upgrades this year. The designs of both phones have subtle changes like more ergonomic rounded corners, flat displays, and symmetrical bezels. The Pixel 8 has a 6.2-inch AMOLED display with a 60-120Hz refresh rate and up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness, while the Pixel 8 Pro has a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 1-120Hz refresh rate and 2,400 nits of peak brightness. That’s the brightest screen on a smartphone yet!