After failing to make a big dent in the high-end smartphone market, Google is playing its card to have significant exposure for its Pixel devices in the mid-range segment. Going “BIG” with its superior camera, in a small package, Google during the I/O 2019 has unveiled Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL android smartphones.
We couldn’t say it’s a budget-friendly mid-range smartphone, as it sits top of the mid-range android smartphone market. With a price starting at Rs 39,999 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage Pixel 3a model, it’s competing with OnePlus. The bigger Pixel 3a XL smartphone with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage configuration comes with a price tag of Rs 44,999.
Both Google Pixel 3a and Google Pixel 3a XL will be available exclusively through Flipkart. You just can’t grab one today, as the sale would only start on 15th May 2019.
Google Pixel 3a and Google Pixel 3a XL Specifications
Coming to the hardware and design specifications of both Google Pixel 3a and Google Pixel 3a XL. Both these smartphones have a carbon copy design of its bigger sister, the Google Pixel 3. But instead of glass finish on both the front and the back, Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL have monocoque made of polycarbonate body which is even scratch resistant.
The Pixel 3a flaunts a 5.6-inch full-screen FHD+ OLED display with a screen resolution of 2220 by 1080 pixels at 441 dpi. It has an 18:9 aspect ratio with support for always-on mode (which don’t require much power and could display time, battery status and notifications). However, Google Pixel 3a XL got a bigger screen with 6-inch full-screen FHD+ OLED display having 2160 by 1080 pixel resolution. Both the displays are protected with Dragon Trail glass.
Under the hood, the Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL feature a 2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 64-bit octa-core processor coupled with Adreno 615 and 4GB of RAM. For storage, you should be happy with 64GB of internal storage as there won’t be any microSD card slot for storage expansion on both the phones. For added security, there is a fingerprint scanner at the back of the device along with enterprise-grade Titan M security chip.
The phones will run Google Android 9.0 Pie out-of-the-box. You will get at least 3 years of software updates from Google, though it will only warranty the phone itself for 2 years.
The Google AI Camera
As for cameras on Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, we’re looking at pretty much the same module found on the original Pixel 3. You get a 12.2-megapixel double pixel back camera featuring autofocus, optical and electronic image stabilization, f 1.8 aperture and 76-degree field of view. Coming to the front, you’re getting only a single 8-megapixel fixed focus camera sensor with f 2 aperture and 84-degree field of view. It features most of the unique Pixel camera modes including Night Sight, Portrait Mode and AR playground. You would also get unlimited high-quality storage on Google Photos (no unlimited original photo storage).
The rear camera on both Pixel 3a phones supports 4K video recording at 30fps. Whereas the front camera can record 1080p videos at 30 frames per second.
Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL Connectivity Options
Both the Google Pixel 3a and Google Pixel 3a XL comes with full support for 4G LTE, VoLTE, 3G and 2G networks. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO 2.4 GHz and 5GHz, Bluetooth 5.0 + LE, NFC, USB 2.0 and Google Cast. For music lovers, Google has kept the 3.5 mm analogue headphone jack. The phones also pack front stereo speakers. The phones also get Active Edge sensors, which allows you to squeeze the bottom sides of the device to trigger Google Assistant or silence phone calls/notifications.
Coming to the battery the Pixel 3a packs a 3,000mAh battery, whereas the Pixel 3a XL gets a bigger 3,700mAh battery. Both this device supports fast charging with USB-C 18 W adaptor with USB-PD 2.0.
What’s missing?
So, you would be thinking about what’s missing in Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL when compared to the premium Pixel 3 or Pixel 3XL? Well, first and most importantly the missing of a powerful Snapdragon 845 processor. Next, the phone has a plastic build with missing water and dust IP rating, along with no Corning’s Gorilla Glass protection.
On the camera side, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL miss the Pixel Visual Core chip, which is an advanced image processing unit. Also, you miss out the wide-angle selfie camera from Google Pixel 3. Other omitted parts compared to the flagship device include the dual front-facing speakers, wireless charging and in-box earbuds.
Yet, you could be happy to know that, Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack.