New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on August 8, 2022) follows:

Google has been trying so hard over the years to grab a piece of the smartphone market with its Pixel phones, and the Pixel 6a is the company’s latest attempt.

Like previous A series phones, the Pixel 6a isn’t focusing on the premium market. That’s reserved for the upcoming Pixel 7, or at least the current Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.

At $449, Google Pixel 6a comes with a couple of “downgrades” over the standard Pixel 6. And some have expressed their displeasure at the 60Hz display refresh rate and lack of wireless charging as major deal breakers.

Google-Pixel-6a-wireless-charging
(Source)

Heck, even the 18W fast charging seems like a joke when compared to the 125W of the recently unveiled OnePlus 10T. But the latter costs $200 more than the Pixel 6a and ships with a 120Hz display.

While I agree the Pixel 6a’s 60Hz screen could be a turn-off especially at this price point, the lack of wireless charging shouldn’t be a deal breaker.

As noted earlier, the Pixel 6a’s target market isn’t high end. In fact, it’s likely that anyone looking into buying a Pixel 6a is coming from an older Pixel A device or from an equally budget, but older phone.

And for most budget phones, old or new, wireless charging is never a guaranteed spec. Granted, it won’t be high on their shopping list when going for the Pixel 6a.

Instead, things like speedy updates, stock Pixel experience, the tried and tested Pixel camera, Pixel-exclusive features, and a clean UI will be high on their list of top features they are looking for – all of which the Pixel 6a offers.

Another reason the lack of wireless charging shouldn’t be a deal breaker for potential Pixel 6a buyers is the persisting issues Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro users have had with wireless charging.

It is even more concerning that these issues are still present in recent Android 12 stable and even Android 13 beta builds.

Pixel-6-July-update-wireless-charging-issues
(Source)

I am on the Android 13 beta and have this issue. I assumed it was a beta only issue. I got it around android 13 beta 2 (or beta 3, I forgot). None of the subsequent patches have fixed it for me and while I was hoping beta 4 would have the fix, I still have the same problem.

For me, once I place the phone on my Pixel stand, I get the fancy charging animation but the charging message disappears after a minute. I have another Samsung wireless charger. When I place it on this, same fancy animation but no charging message at all. When I open the battery page, it says “not charging”.
Source

Wireless charging technology is synonymous with premium phones because of the extra costs of equipping any device with the best version of it.

If wireless charging is to be part of a sub-$500 phone, even more corners must be cut in the engineering process to keep the price as low as possible. For instance, slower speeds and using low-end heat dissipation mechanisms.

These corners are often the reasons behind issues like overheating during wireless charging, and devices that take ages to fill up the battery.

Considering the Pixel 6a has 18W wired fast charging, Google would’ve never opted for faster wireless charging. Granted, it would have taken ages to fill up the 4410mAh battery on the 6a with, say, a 5W wireless charger.

By missing out, the Pixel 6a is able to keep a $449 price tag, otherwise, it would have been more expensive with wireless charging present. It also saves buyers from potential overheating cases when charging like with the Pixel 6.

Pixel-6-overheating-during-wireless-charging
(Source)

I was wirelessly charging my Google Pixel 6 through out the night, and It got very hot this morning. The screen won’t turn on (as In It stays black) but I can still feel the vibrations when It gets a notification. Why did this happen and should I visit Google Pixel tech support?
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While lack of wireless charging is unlikely to affect the market performance of the Pixel 6a in the U.S. due to low competition at its price point, the phone may struggle against the competition in India, where it costs INR 43,999.

Here, there are devices like Nothing Phone (1) that come at a cheaper price, support wireless charging and even much faster wired charging than the Pixel 6a.

But as always, it all boils down to preference, because the best phone is the one in your hand at any given moment, with or without wireless charging.

Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section. As for the Twitter poll below, the results will be updated after a week.

Update 1 (August 11)

12:57 pm (IST): A developer (TheLunarixus) has managed to unlock 90Hz refresh rate on Pixel 6a that only supports 60Hz. This could be possible as Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a share the same display.

However, users shouldn’t get too excited as other developers were not able to run their Pixel 6a at 90Hz. This could mean that it only functions on select units.

Also, a developer pointed out that the display panel on Pixel 6a shouldn’t be mistaken with that of Pixel 6. The device does not officially support a high refresh rate and users shouldn’t get their hopes up.

Update 2 (August 15)

The results are out, and indeed a majority (66.7%) agree that lack of wireless charging isn’t a deal breaker for them, but 33.3% won’t buy the Pixel 6a for this reason.

Featured image source: Google Store

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Hillary Keverenge
2031 Posts

Tech has been my playground for over a decade. While the Android journey began early, it truly took flight with the revolutionary Lollipop update. Since then, it's been a parade of Android devices (with a sprinkle of iOS), culminating in a mostly happy marriage with Google's smart home ecosystem. Expect insightful articles and explorations of the ever-evolving world of Android and Google products coupled with occasional rants on the Nest smart home ecosystem.

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