Does the Pixel 6a have an SD card slot? How the phone handles expandable storage

By Cristina Alexander Published August 1, 2022

In a perfect world, every smartphone would come with some form of expandable storage — including phones like the Google Pixel 6a. People take so many selfies, pictures, and videos on their phones, as well as download games and apps that can eat up a load of storage space. Unfortunately, as useful as expandable storage with SD cards can be, very few phones still have them today.

In the case of Google, specifically, it’s never supported MicroSD card expansion for its Pixel devices. Whether it be the original Pixel from 2016 or last year’s Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, we’ve never seen a Pixel with an SD card slot. Now that the Pixel 6a has been released into the wild, can you expect it to have an SD card slot that its predecessors were missing? Sadly, the answer is no. The Pixel 6a does not have an SD card slot.

Someone outside holding the Pixel 6a. We see the back of the phone. — Joe Maring/Digital Trends

The absence of a MicroSD card slot from the Pixel 6a shouldn’t come as a total surprise. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro don’t have that function either. Google leaving that function out of the 6a — and its predecessors — boils down to cost. Most Android smartphones used to support microSD cards a few short years ago, but in the last few years, the high cost of manufacturing and shipping phones with MicroSD support rendered it a rarity. In essence, Google (and other companies) sacrificed expandable storage for sleeker designs and lower costs.

Recommended Videos

All Pixels all the time

Storage-friendly alternatives to Pixel 6a

At $449, the Pixel 6a already has 128GB of internal storage space, so the absence of a microSD card slot is somewhat justified. However, if you really want more storage space for the untold amount of pictures, games, and other content you’re going to accumulate for the same price, the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G may be your best bet. It has 128GB of storage space like the Pixel 6a, but it managed to keep the microSD card so you can increase as much storage in the device as your heart desires. In fact, the A53 5G supports MicroSD cards all the way up to 1TB in size.

The OnePlus Nord N200 is also a great alternative. It carries 64GB of internal storage space, which isn’t much by today’s standards. However, it retains a microSD card slot so you can further increase storage for the modest price of $240.

Cristina Alexander

Gaming/Mobile Writer

Cristina Alexander is a gaming and mobile writer at Digital Trends. She blends fair coverage of games industry topics that…

Topics

Phones

I visited Infinix’s first global flagship store, and it’s unlike any phone store I’ve been to

Phones, coffee, and robots: Infinix's Bali concept store was a delightful surprise

Infinix Flagship Store

I've been to plenty of smartphone stores over the years, and I can't tell any of these experiences apart. Picture neatly arranged tables, rows of smartphones, and the occasional accessory tucked away in a corner. Honestly, this works for most people who show up knowing exactly what they need and just leave.

So, when Infinix invited me to Bali for the grand opening of its first global flagship concept store, I was curious to see what the company had planned. I expected an elaborate showroom and a few extra things, like eye-catching installations to celebrate the occasion. And while there were a few of these, a lot of the things that actually caught my eye were permanent parts of the store.

Phones

Apple’s supply chain power is legendary, but a new report says it’s downright brutal

Whatever you've heard before, the reality is a lot more shocking.

Teradown view of an iPhone.

Ever wonder just how powerful Apple’s market status is? To give you an idea, here’s a passage from a searing report published by The Wall Street Journal published a few days ago:

“Around the end of 2015, Sandisk refused Apple’s requests to send additional supply because it already had customers willing to pay more. Blevins threatened a Sandisk salesman with retaliation, saying he would have Sandisk’s chief executive, Sanjay Mehrotra, “crawl on his knees” back to Apple, according to a person familiar with the call."

Phones

Android’s new ‘SMS of Death’ exploit can crash your phone without you doing anything

A malicious text message can disrupt calls and leave an Android phone stuck in a reboot loop, without the owner knowing what happened.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphone in blue color.

A security researcher has uncovered a serious vulnerability in Android that allows an attacker to remotely crash a smartphone using a specially crafted text message. Dubbed "SMS of Death," the flaw can disrupt cellular services, disconnect ongoing calls, and even leave a phone stuck in a reboot loop. The troubling part is that the recipient doesn't have to interact with it at all.

The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-58882, was discovered by security researcher Mark Blaszczyk, who first notified Google about it in May. On October 29, he published his findings alongside a working demonstration, after successfully reproducing the attack on Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy smartphones. Google has already developed a fix, but its availability across Android devices is another matter.