What you need to know

• An early video review of the Google Pixel 6a seems to prove one major improvement to the upcoming budget phone.
• The video shows that the Pixel 6a recognizes your fingerprint more quickly than the Pixel 6 Pro.
• Google has already confirmed that its upcoming mid-range phone will have a different fingerprint scanner than its more expensive siblings.

The Google Pixel 6 series' fingerprint sensor was one of its major drawbacks despite several efforts to remedy the hit-or-miss scanner. Fortunately, the company's upcoming Google Pixel 6a seems to be poised to fill this void.

Courtesy of Malaysian YouTuber Fazli Halim, we now have more evidence that Google's next contender for the best cheap Android phones will have a faster fingerprint sensor (via 9to5Google (opens in new tab)). The video comes a month after Google France accidentally published an unboxing video on its YouTube channel, showing off the Pixel 6a's fast biometric reader.

In the new video, the YouTuber compares the phone's fingerprint scanner to that of the Pixel 6 Pro. As you can see below (at the 4:55 minute mark), the former's fingerprint sensor works much faster and more consistently than the one built into one of Google's best Android phones. On the other hand, its more expensive sibling keeps telling the user to "hold a little longer."

If the video is any indication, the Pixel 6a's security feature will be vastly improved over that of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.

However, it should be noted that the Pixel 6a in the video is running an unfinished software version. This means that the comparison may differ from the actual user experience when the phone is released on July 28.

That said, it still puts the Pixel 6 Pro to shame. In the months following their release, the Pixel 6 phones were plagued by a number of bugs, including a slow fingerprint scanner. Google has since released several updates to improve its speed and performance, but the biometric feature hasn't seen any huge improvement.

Hopefully, Pixel 6a owners won't have the same problem, if the video is anything to go by. After all, Google confirmed during I/O 2022 that the device would ship with a different in-display fingerprint sensor than its pricier siblings.

It's safe to assume that Google has sorted out its fingerprint reader issues and is ready to ship a new affordable phone with a more reliable sensor.

Google Pixel 6

Google's Pixel is a masterwork in many ways, providing an incredible value for only $600. It's a great buy thanks to a cutting-edge Google-designed processor, excellent new 50MP camera sensors, and a stunning 90Hz AMOLED display.