Google Pixel 3a & 3a XL Review

This applies to Google as well, whose line of Pixel phones has always been sold at premium prices. With the smartphone space being so busy with $1000 phones these days, it finally seems like it's time for the mid-range category to receive some much-needed love. And guess what, it's Google again that is doing that with the new Pixel 3a and 3a XL phones – for the first time, the Pixel brand is expanding to a more affordable market segment!

The Pixel 3a and 3a XL are an off-shoot of the company’s flagship smartphones (3 and 3 XL) that are touted to deliver similar experiences at the fraction of the cost. Their prices are without question astounding (starting at $399 for the 3a and $479 for the 3a XL), which makes them far more obtainable by more people. By going with this strategy, Google is looking to get the Pixel brand more exposure – and potentially prove that we can, indeed, have a great phone experience at an affordable price.

In the box:

• Google Pixel 3a or Pixel 3a XL
• SIM removal tool
• Wall Charger
• USB Type-C Cable
• Quick Start Guide
• Pixel decals

Design

Toning it down in all the appropriate areas, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL for the most part embody the design language we’ve seen previously with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Obviously, the most apparent change with this new line is the plastic bodies they boast, which makes perfect sense in classifying them as mid-rangers. The two-toned finishes continue to make them distinctly Pixels, but even with their polycarbonate builds, they still look and feel solidly constructed! Between them, the smaller size of the Pixel 3a makes it so much easier to handle.

Sure, we’ve seen other phones in this price range sporting designs that are arguably more premium, but Google’s intent here instead is to maintain an identity. And you know what? It works out because you can easily tell it’s a Pixel! From the camera lenses protruding out to the fingerprint sensors on the back, the button placements, and Google logos, these new Pixels could easily be mistaken for their flagship counterparts – and that’s not a bad thing!

Display

The Pixel 3a comes with a 5.6-inch 1080 x 2220 AMOLED display, while the Pixel 3a XL maximizes things with a 6-inch 1080 x 2160 AMOLED panel. Both displays have almost identical resolution, meaning that the XL model has a slightly lower pixel density (because of the larger diagonal), but that's not a big deal in our opinion, as it still has more than enough resolution to make things look great on screen. In all honesty, both screens look really good, coughing up all the lovable aspects of any good OLED panel – like their wide viewing angles, deep blacks, and punchy colors. Even though they’re not as iridescent as the Super AMOLEDs in Samsung’s flagships, they still deliver some appealing qualities!

Interface and functionality

Uniformity, that’s the fundamental strategy at the heart of the experience with Google’s Pixel line. There’s no difference in what we see and get with the new Pixel 3a/3a XL and with the Pixel 3/3 XL. Running stock Android 9 Pie, they feature all the trimmings we’ve come to expect and love about the platform. From its gesture-based interface to the clean looks of the UI and the power of Google Assistant driving the experiences, it’s absolutely wonderful that the experiences here don’t differ at all!

Processor and performance

On the outside, it’s quickly perceptible that these are low-tier devices due to their polycarbonate frames, but it’s also evident when looking at what’s on the inside. These new Pixels are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 670 SoC and coupled with 4GB of RAM. Superficially, this package delivers the tight responsiveness we’ve come to expect from any Pixel-branded device – evident in how they’re very fluid looking when navigating around the interface or switching between apps. However, the most apparent difference is going to be experienced when playing games. Frame rates aren’t as smooth, so hardcore gamers may not find them suitable. For the casual gamer, however, they should more than suffice!
Another major thing worth mulling over when making a buying decision is that these new Pixels are offered in one single storage capacity, 64GB. With no expansion at your disposal, it means that you’re really going to need to rely on Google’s cloud services to ensure unnecessary content isn’t taking up space locally. We’re talking about things like leveraging unlimited storage with Google Photos or saving your documents in Google Drive. It’s a shame that there are no other storage options available, which means that you’ll need to monitor your usage – so you may want to refrain from shooting video in 4K resolution religiously!

Camera

You’d think that a mid-range phone would be given a less formidable camera, but if you’re to look at the specs of both phones, you may be intrigued by the reality that they’re identical to the flagship Pixels! We’re talking about a SINGLE 12.2MP camera paired with an f/1.8 lens. Around the front of both phones, however, we have an 8MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 lens, not the dual cameras of the Pixel 3 series.

Most of today’s phones, mid-range devices included, tend to offer at least dual cameras – with flagships getting treated to triple camera systems! Google’s confidence in its image processing and AI enhancements is apparent with this gesture, trying to show the masses that the single camera setup in these phones are equally capable! Best of all, the same features in the flagship Pixel line are here as well – consisting of portrait effects, HDR+, Night Sight for superior low-light performance, and Google Lens integration.

Image Quality

The only qualm we have with the experience of taking snapshots with these new Pixels is the image processing delay you get when you start shooting photos in succession. That’s a compromise one has to live with, of course, but we’ll gladly accept it given the excellent overall performance out of their cameras! There’s no shortage of details or punchy-looking colors under ideal lighting. Saturation may be a bit more aggressive under artificial lighting, but the end result still reels us in. Whatever magic is happening behind the scenes, we can’t complain because the results are pretty strong.

Even low-lit situations don’t faze these cameras, as they conjure up nicely lit compositions in an otherwise dark scene. Night Sight brings out some of the details that are sometimes lost in low-light scenes. Shadows are boosted to draw those details out, but it’s nice to see that the details in the shots aren’t softened to a larger degree. We’re even impressed by how Night Sight can bring out the colors too! Take for instance the red-colored bench and green grass behind it in one of the photos we snapped at night. In the standard shot, you can barely see the colors, but Night Sight bumps up the exposure – while also adding in a bit of saturation to enhance the overall look!