The Pixel 6a is so cheap right now, it's the best Amazon Prime Day phone deal by far

(Image credit: Future)

The Google Pixel 6a has long been such a great phone for its low price that it earned a spot near the top of our best phones list. With a further $100 price cut on Amazon Prime Day, this $249 phone goes from being a great value to being one of the best bargains in mobile, maybe ever.

With the Google Pixel 6a, you aren't just getting a bargain phone. You're getting a bargain phone that is signature Google. It has Google's Android 13 operating system on board, and it should be eligible for a few more updates, even though it came out a year ago in July, 2022. It also uses Google's exclusive Tensor G1 chipset, the same platform found in the Pixel 6 Pro premium flagship phone.

Google's Tensor may not be the fastest platform around, but Pixel phones with Tensor chips get exclusive features that even the best iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phones envy. You get features like Photo Unblur in the Google Photos editor, as well as recording features that can identify individual speakers.

Plus, Google loves to drop features periodically for Pixel phones, and even older Pixel devices and the bargain phones get new features from time to time.

With Pixel phones it's all about the camera

While the best iPhones and the best Samsung phones rely on periscopic zoom, advanced sensors, and multiple camera lenses, Google Pixel phones tend to keep the technology simpler and rely on advanced computational processing to make great images. In short, this pays off big time no matter which Pixel phone you buy.

We were as surprised as anyone to find the Pixel 6a score highly on a blind image survey conducted by popular YouTube star Marques Brownlee (aka MKBHD). In a blind image survey, a whole bunch of people check out a ton of photos and vote on their favorites, without knowing anything about how they were taken. It's the most impartial way to judge camera quality.

The Pixel 6a produced images that beat phones twice and three times as expensive when it comes to everyday photography. There are more specialized cameras, for sure, but when you buy a Pixel 6a, you know you're going to get reliable shots. If you mess up, you have great editing tools to make your pics better.

All the Pixel phones on sale

Amazon has great deals on a bunch of the best Pixel phones, including the newest Pixel bargain phone, the Pixel 7a. That phone has even better cameras and a faster processor, but the improvement may not quite justify the higher price, even with the Pixel 7a's current $50 Prime Day discount.

Of course, the Pixel 7a is a year newer, which means it will get an extra year of major OS updates from Google, and that may justify spending more for some folks. If you have more to spend, the Pixel 7 Pro is at its lowest price ever right now, and that phone has some of the best cameras you can find on any smartphone, not just Pixel phones.

Phil Berne is a preeminent voice in consumer electronics reviews, starting more than 20 years ago at eTown.com. Phil has written for Engadget, The Verge, PC Mag, Digital Trends, Slashgear, TechRadar, AndroidCentral, and was Editor-in-Chief of the sadly-defunct infoSync. Phil holds an entirely useful M.A. in Cultural Theory from Carnegie Mellon University. He sang in numerous college a cappella groups.

Phil did a stint at Samsung Mobile, leading reviews for the PR team and writing crisis communications until he left in 2017. He worked at an Apple Store near Boston, MA, at the height of iPod popularity. Phil is certified in Google AI Essentials. He has a High School English teaching license (and years of teaching experience) and is a Red Cross certified Lifeguard. His passion is the democratizing power of mobile technology. Before AI came along he was totally sure the next big thing would be something we wear on our faces.