Google Pixel 3a XL review

07 May 2019


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Funny that the review complains about the plastic back. I, for one, will not buy a phone with a glass back in my lifetime. A glass back looks cheap, feels cheap and is also cheap to manufacture. And unlike glass, plastic doesn't really break under normal conditions.
Glass backs do pretty much require a case which in turn just shows how useless it is in the first place.

    Wonder what the design engineers in google are up to. They seem to be in a deep hibernation. This should be the ONLY phone to come up with such huge bezels in 2019. Even 100 $ phones from china have a much better physical appearance. Googles design and advert team has to learn from the saying, "the first impression is the best impression".

      If you were deciding between a last year flagship (like S8 or even S9 or Pixel 2 XL or something else) and Pixel 3a XL, would you still pick plastic Pixel? Or would you go with metal/glass body with all the bells and whistles for the same price?

      I'd pick an older flagship device over a new mid-ranger. I'd get water, dust resistance, metal / glass body, all the modern features at the price of a new mid-ranger. Phones didn't change all that much in the last 3 or 4 years. I'm still using Samsung Galaxy S7 and it still doesn't feel "old" - good performance, nice camera, I don't feel I'm missing something by not buying latest and greatest. Heck, I even have wireless charging in a device that cost me less than Pixel 3a.

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        • pankaj
        • KAC
        • 09 May 2019

        Despite the negative feedback, I like the phone very much.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 8ur
          • 09 May 2019

          soares, 08 May 2019I am interested in decent pictures, but also in gaming and ... more"And why do manufacturers think that people only want great battery life OR great camera OR gaming?"
          Because in order to keep it a budget phone you need to cut costs somewhere. The market is supersaturated with budget phones that has high end specs, but sacrifices in other areas: mostly the camera and the screen. Google flipped the scenario and made a phone that still has good specs (not the best), but offers an amazing camera and screen. You cannot have the performance of a Ferrari and expect to pay the price of a Dacia.

            pjcamp, 08 May 201964 GB but no SD slot? What are they smoking?What pixel have an SD card slot?
            I have a 64gb pixel and never reached 40GB used because of automatically unlimited backup's... and yes I need internet to view the photos only in maximum quality...

              • 3
              • 3p
              • pu4
              • 09 May 2019

              I personally hate "form over function" glass/metal phone trend, which makes people then keep phones in ugly latex phone-condoms, so I like return of plastic. But this phone does look rather ugly.

                • A
                • Alien
                • 3RM
                • 09 May 2019

                Who cares about the specs when the phone is so darn ugly?! I've seen better looking feature phones.
                This would have been a hit maybe 10 years ago, but today it is just ugly garbage..
                Bleah!

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • sxs
                  • 09 May 2019

                  Nice low light photos. Certainly not 'dSLR' quality --- not by a long stretch of the imagination, but good enough in as far as flagship smartphones go (and the Pixel 3a XL is NOT a flagship phone). You can of course, always get better low light photos than what the Pixel 3a XL's default night sight capable camera can offer you by using MANUAL camera modes and settings with the 'Open camera' app from Playstore (uses 'Camera2 API'). Google's Pixel phone cameras (as usual) never come with manual or 'Pro' modes that allow manual ISO, manual shutter speed, etc.

                  So are these midrange Pixel phones from Google worth it?
                  Seriously, NO.

                  Other options? PLENTY!

                  Want the night sight camera? It has been ported to the sub-$300 snapdragon 845 Pocophone F1 and MANY other lower cost phones from other brands that have waaay better specs (battery, processor, storage expansion, etc.) and just as fluid, fast and smooth (if not better).

                  Want fast android updates? Get it from a wide selection of even much cheaper Android One phones with better specs and feature set. But really, why bother about speedy updates when even Pixel phones don't receive any Android version updates after 2 years? Longevity (provision for expandable storage, 4000mAh++ batteries for longer phone life) is more important to have. Better to install custom ROM's than fall for the Pixel's promise of fast software updates but crippled phone features.

                  Night sight not ported to your desired phone model/brand/manufacturer? Who needs it if you know how to use manual camera settings and have the Open Camera app? More intelligent user control, more options, way much better in low light than any full auto night mode.

                  So, are these 'midrange' Pixel 3a phones another 'FLOP' in the making? With 100% CERTAINTY, YES!!!

                  ...Unless of course if Google sells them for $150 and below... a massive price drop given what they are only able to offer the user.

                  As often said, 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over (NO micro sd, NO dual sim, NO big 4000mAh++ battery, etc.) and expecting different results everytime.'

                  It's ironic that Google, the maker of the largest, most popular operating system in the world doesn't have the slightest idea why their Pixel phones aren't selling... or do they really?... A planned business decision? - a conspiracy theory of sorts: Google doesn't want its Pixel phones to compete with Samsung and Huawei by offering a Pixel phone with 4000mAh ++ battery, dual SIM, headphone jack and storage expansion for fear of eating into the same android market Samsung and Huawei are in. Rather, Google probably wants to make the Pixel phone an iPhone killer instead: so absolutely NO storage expansion, NO huge 4000mAh battery, NO dual sim, NO headphone jack - everything the iPhone is, but with android as an operating system. We'll probably see a more and more locked up android system in the future if that is Google's playbook.

                    • G
                    • Gg bruh
                    • KZ8
                    • 09 May 2019

                    Kangal, 08 May 2019I have to agree with the fellow commenters here, and disagr... moreSomeone please give this man/woman a medal of honour. Well said bruv. Anyhow, I'm using a pocophone running lineage 16 and used gcam...and since the pocophone are using the same imx363 sensor as the 3as, and the 3as doesn't have pixel visual core, i expected pretty similar quality. (Note that poco has no ois, smaller aperture, and different lens array)

                      Im really excited about this device to be released because of the gcam port. Finally, BSG/Arnova et. al. can now lay hands on this device and finally port a more stable Google cam to SD670 devices. I want to thank Google for that.

                      And one thing, this device doesn't have a visual core chip like the other pixel flagships. This means that the Google cam port will be more compatible and stable to OEM android phones (like Oneplus, Xiaomi, Redmi, Poco) who dont have Google's visual core chip. We can now expect more similar results to the pixel cameras.

                      Thank you Google for making this devices. Really excited to port its gcam with triple camera support to my Mi9. Love from India.

                        • C
                        • CoolZone
                        • mEA
                        • 09 May 2019

                        The missing critical ingredient here is the lack of Dual SIM capabilities. If 2xnanoSIM was possible, most people that look for an affordable smartphone and use both personal and work SIM in the same device would have looked at the 3a as a solid contender.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 7tV
                          • 09 May 2019

                          ithehappy, 09 May 2019Hmm. Long time since I have read a review in detail, but re... moreThis review is biased...the colour temperature of this phone is very close to the Pixel 3/3XLs.
                          There is a constant unnecessary comparison to the iPhone which, overall, actually shools less pleasing images than the 3a/3aXL in daylight. And the night-sight destroys the iPhone in challenging light conditions.

                          Pixel 2XL would be a risky buy. Not only the display properties except the resolution are inferior, but the display panel itself had many quality issues since its time of inception.
                          There are numerous issues with the vibration motor, stereo speakers etc. And these are the issues listed for a brand new unit. Wonder what horrors a used Pixel 2XL might bring to the table.

                          Lastly, the 3a/3aXL will receive software support(and more importantly, security updates) for a longer period than the 2XL.

                            • R
                            • Rip Van Winkle
                            • E8H
                            • 09 May 2019

                            Ah Google, it's 2019 not 2015

                              Hmm. Long time since I have read a review in detail, but read it nonetheless. I think Google went a bit too overboard with cost cutting for this phone. I mean the rear camera seems to be identical to the Pixel 3s but the cooler tone is absolutely despising, it should match the tone of the Pixel 3s, no matter what. And nothing to say about that front camera, while I don't care about it, who knows when it might come handy and that is one below average front camera there! So the total camera package on this device is nowhere near as identical to the Pixel 3s, that's a shame.

                              Then there are the factors of no IP67 (really, not even splash resistant?), no unlimited uncompressed photo backup to Photos (really?), and obviously that chipset, which seems to be worse than Pixel 2 XL at almost everything.

                              So considering all, I think a Pixel 2 XL is a better value for money than this. I don't think the camera on the P2XL is that off from the Pixel 3 cameras.

                                Fearghast, 07 May 2019Stereo recording? Samples kinda sounds like a garbage we h... morePixels have the worst audio recording of any device.

                                  mitau, 07 May 2019Maybe I'm in the minority bit big thumbs up for the plastic... morePlastic should really be on some flagship devices. Or, better still, go exotic. Most premium looking devices I have seen have a cork back. Truly beautiful.bor even ceramic. check out Ikimobile devices, they look way better than the glass rubbish that ruins every flagship.

                                    • b
                                    • bot!
                                    • tRs
                                    • 09 May 2019

                                    AnonD-784107, 08 May 2019Personally its over priced I can go get a Pixel 2 XL. For t... morethe only spec which is better on 2xl is the PPI (not a big deal)
                                    cameras are exactly the same
                                    CPU and GPU are better on 3a

                                      • s
                                      • someone
                                      • Bct
                                      • 08 May 2019

                                      instead pf 670 .. could they have gone with a 2 year old flagship chip ??? may be 835 ???

                                        • s
                                        • someone
                                        • Bct
                                        • 08 May 2019

                                        pjcamp, 08 May 201964 GB but no SD slot? What are they smoking?What are u smoking for past 6 years ... Google phones never had Sd cards .. lol

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