Google has finally unwrapped its long-awaited budget smartphones – the Pixel 3a and 3a XL. Both can be seen as successors to the affordable Nexus series, which were the Google phones before the Pixels came to be. With a more affordable price tag and the same rear cameras, the new Pixel 3a and 3a XL aim to reach more markets.

Google Pixel 3a

The smaller Pixel 3a, it packs a notch-less 5.6-inch OLED panel with FHD+ (1080 x 2220px) resolution and Dragon Trail protection on top. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 670 chipset with Adreno 615 GPU. Interestingly, the handset also sports the same amount of memory as its more expensive sibling – 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. microSD card expansion isn’t an option though, as is usual the case with the Android purebreds.

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The camera setup is shared with the big Pixel 3 – 12.2MP Sony IMX363 main sensor on the back with f/1.8 aperture, 1.4µm pixels and optical image stabilization. In theory, the phone should be able to match the more expensive Pixel’s camera performance. The front camera is also the same – 8MP unit with f/2.0 aperture.

All the high-end camera features are available here as well – Night Sight, Top Shot, Super Res Zoom and HDR+.

The battery is rated at 3,000 mAh and supports 18W of fast charging over the USB Power Delivery standard.

Google Pixel 3a XL

The bigger Pixel 3a XL adopts the same hardware but in a slightly bigger package. The display is once again OLED with FHD+ (1080 x 2160px) resolution but it reaches 6.0-inch. It doesn’t have a notch like the Pixel 3 XL, but its bezels are notably thicker. Battery is bigger too – 3,700 mAh.

To keep the cost low, Google used plastic to build these phones so there’s no fancy frosted glass or metal this time around. And as we already noted, the front glass isn’t Gorilla Glass, but Dragon Trail instead.

Somewhat surprisingly though, we see the 3.5 mm audio jack make a comeback and the stereo loudspeakers along with it. The Active Edge feature is here to stay too.

The handsets come in three colours – Just Black, Clearly White and Purple-ish with all of them featuring colour accent power buttons. But they differ from the original Pixels’ so you can distinguish them easier.

Google Pixel 3a / Google Pixel 3a XL Full Specifications

Network Properties      

  • 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
  • CDMA 800 / 1900
  • 3G: HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
  • CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
  • 4G: LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 32(1500), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500), 66(1700/2100)
  • Speed: HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (3CA) Cat11 600/75 Mbps

Announcement

  • Announced: May, 2019
  • Status: Available. Released 2019, May

Design

  • Dimensions: 151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2 mm / 160.1 x 76.1 x 8.2 mm (Pixel 3a XL)
  • Weight 147 g / 167 g (Pixel 3a XL)
  • Build: Front glass, plastic body
  • Colours: Just Black, Clearly White, Purple-ish
  • SIM: Nano-SIM

Display

  • Type: OLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
  • Size: 5.6 inches, 79.6 cm2 (~75.0% screen-to-body ratio) / 6.0 inches, 92.9 cm2 (~76.3% screen-to-body ratio) (Pixel 3a XL)
  • Resolution: 1080 x 2220 pixels, 18.5:9 ratio (~441 ppi density) / 1080 x 2160 pixels, 18:9 ratio (~402 ppi density) (Pixel 3a XL)
  • Protection: Asahi Dragontrail Glass
  • Always-on display

Operating System

  • Android 9.0 (Pie)

Hardware

  • Chipset: Qualcomm SDM670 Snapdragon 670 (10 nm)
  • CPU: Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz 360 Gold & 6×1.7 GHz Kryo 360 Silver)
  • GPU: Adreno 615
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Internal Storage: 64 GB
  • External Storage: No

Camera

  • Main Camera: Single – 12.2 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, OIS, dual pixel PDAF
  • Features: Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama
  • Video: 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps
  • Selfie Camera: Single – 8 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1.12µm
  • Features: HDR
  • Video: 1080p@30fps

Multimedia

  • FM Radio: No
  • Loudspeaker: Yes, with stereo speakers
  • Audio 3.5mm jack: Yes
  • Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

Connectivity

  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
  • Bluetooth: 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
  • GPS: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
  • NFC: Yes
  • USB: 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector
Google Pixel 3a in colours

Other Feature

  • Sensors: Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

Battery

  • Battery Type & Capacity: Non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAh battery / Non-removable Li-Po 3700 mAh battery (Pixel 3a XL)
  • Charging: Fast battery charging 18W
  • USB Power Delivery 2.0

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Google Pixel 3a / Pixel 3a XL Price and Market Availability

The Pixel 3a costs $399, while the Pixel 3a XL is $479 and both are already available in all countries where Google sells its phones, save for India, where they’ll arrive on May 15.

In the US Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, Spectrum Mobile (Charter), C Spire and Google Fi will be offering the two phones.

Google Pixel 3a / Pixel 3a XL Review Rating

Not yet reviewed.

TellForce Blog Buyer’s Guide Verdict

Not available.

Disclaimer: While we take the pains to ensure accuracy, we can not guarantee that the specs and  information on this page about the Google Pixel 3a / Pixel 3a XL are 100% correct. If you think that any information for the current phone is wrong or missing, please contact us.

Our Buyer’s Guide Verdict is recommendation that we make based on our evaluation the specs of the device. It is a general guide designed to help you understand how much value a smartphone offers for its price. It is not a stamp of quality assessment or an endorsement of the device or of the manufacturers. Be sure to ask questions and use your judgement when buying any device, as TellForce Blog may not be held responsible for your buying decisions.

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