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.
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.
Recommended Videos
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.
I love the Google Pixel 8 Pro — except for one thing
Google Pixel 8 Pro Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
I really like the Google Pixel 8 Pro, but it does not feel like a $1,000 smartphone. It makes me miss the Pixel 7 Pro and pine to return to the unbelievably high-quality Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra that I left behind little more than a week ago.
The Galaxy S24 is stealing one of my favorite Google Pixel 8 features
We're barely two weeks into 2024, but it's already time to talk about three of the biggest smartphone releases of the entire year. Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy S24 family, including the typical trio of phones. This year, it's the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra.
There's plenty to discuss with these phones — from the refined designs to Samsung's new Galaxy AI features. But there's another detail I want to shine the spotlight on, one that was barely mentioned during my pre-briefing with Samsung. We're talking about software updates.
These are the 5 worst Pixel Watch 2 problems. Here’s how to fix them
Last year, the Google Pixel Watch 2 launched alongside the Google Pixel 8 series. The watch has been much better received than the first-generation model and is one of the best smartwatches released in the past year. The Pixel Watch 2 offers longer battery life, faster operation, reduced weight, and other improvements.
Despite these positives, the Pixel Watch 2 isn't perfect. As such, you may run into some problems with the wearable device. Here are some common Pixel Watch 2 issues and how to fix them.
Pixel Watch 2 is not charging correctly