Google Pixel 6a may lack a nifty camera feature of Pixel 6

The Pixel 6a may not ship with the Pixel 6's nifty camera feature called the Motion Mode. This is essentially a mode available only on Pixel 6 for now that lets you add blurs to the moving objects in an image.

Google Pixel 6a is expected to arrive at the Google IO 2022 that kicks off on May 11. There has been a lot said about the Pixel 6a, but one thing that is certain is that this upcoming Pixel phone is likely a trimmed-down version of the Pixel 6, which was launched last year. That means the Pixel 6a is not going to have certain features. For instance, according to a new report, the Pixel 6a may not ship with the Pixel 6's nifty camera feature called the Motion Mode. This is essentially a mode available only on Pixel 6 for now that lets you add blurs to the moving objects in an image.

XDA Developers has reported that the code that displays Pixel Tips about Motion Mode does not carry the name "bluejay," which is the codename for the Pixel 6a. That means Google has made some compromises with the Pixel 6a, possibly to bring down the price relative to the mid-range. The speculation why the Pixel 6a would lack that feature is the lack of the 50-megapixel camera on the Pixel 6a. According to rumours, the Pixel 6a will not come with a 50-megapixel camera, which is required by the Motion Mode feature to work effectively. The Pixel 6a is expected to come with a 12.2-megapixel camera on the back - similar to previous Pixel phones.

Not just the camera resolution, the Motion Mode feature also requires the processing to a higher level, which is currently offered by the Pixel 6. The Google Pixel 6 uses the custom Tensor chip. Rumours suggest the Pixel 6a would also use the Tensor chip, so it is a little odd for the phone not to have Motion Mode, considering the performance of the upcoming Pixel 6a may mostly be on par with the flagship Pixel 6. Even though the camera sensor of the Pixel 6a may not have as much resolution, Google's software is famous for making dramatic changes to photos using machine learning and computational photography.

The Pixel 6a is said to come with the same design as the Pixel 6. That means it will have a visor on the back with camera sensors housed in it. It may come with a 6.2-inch display, but whether or not it will have a higher refresh rate is not clear at the moment. The Pixel 6a may come with at least 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but possibly without support for a microSD card.