What you need to know
- The Google Pixel 6a managed to survive JerryRigEverything's durability test.
- Google's new mid-ranger held out against a harsh bend test.
- It is made of a plastic back panel and its screen protection is a 10-year-old Gorilla Glass version.
The Pixel 6a is just as durable as its more expensive siblings based on JerryRigEverything's new durability test, in which the phone survived without any issues.
Unlike some of the best Android phones that failed several trials performed by YouTuber Zack Nelson, the Google Pixel 6a stood up to scratches on the screen and survived the concerted bend test. As usual, the test started with Nelson scraping his razor blade across the Pixel 6a’s display. Scratches began to manifest at level 6 on the Mohs hardness scale, with deeper grooves appearing at level 7. It's not surprising, given that the $450 handset uses Corning's 10-year-old Gorilla Glass 3, though this can be remedied thanks to many of the best Pixel 6a screen protectors. Fortunately, the fingerprint sensor remains functional.
The blade test also confirms that its frame is made of metal, resisting Nelson's extreme scraping and scratching. The back is plastic, though, which gave Nelson the perfect material to showcase his artistic skills unlike anything you've seen before.
Like the rest of Google's Pixel phones, the glass protecting the camera lenses on the back held out against scraping. However, the plastic material housing the rest of the camera lens didn't survive Nelson's gauntlet as expected.
Then comes the most anticipated part of Nelson's test, a defining factor of a phone's structural integrity. Despite the YouTuber's efforts to snap the phone in half with his bare hands, the Pixel 6a remained intact, unlike the OnePlus 10 Pro and 10T that followed it.
Overall, the phone emerged unscathed in JerryRigEverything's usual litmus test, like the Google Pixel 6 Pro, which went through the same beating late last year. With the phone having a plastic back, though, you'll want to protect it with one of the best Pixel 6a cases.
The Pixel 6a, a powerhouse of a phone with an amazing camera and a flagship-level Google Tensor processor, redefines expectations for phones under $500.
