5 Pixel 3a features that may sway you from buying a £1,000 flagship
You get a surprising amount of phone for the price. MICHAEL SIMON reports
At long last, the Pixel 3a has arrived. At its I/O Developer’s Conference, Google took the wraps off its newest handsets, and lo and behold they look at whole lot like the Pixels that came before. Except they’re very different. A mid-cycle release with a
far lower price tag than the Pixel 3 or any of its flagship peers, the £399 Pixel 3a and £469 3a XL don’t have frosted glass or wireless charging, or even a dual selfie cam. Sure, they have a new colour and a headphone jack, but they’re very much in the vein of a mid-tier Android phone, with specs and features to match.
But if you dig a little deeper, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL have a whole lot more to offer than a middling processor and a 1080p display. They carry the Pixel name and all that goes with it, so even premium phone buyers might want to consider them before spending twice as much on another handset. Here are five reasons why.
1. They have awesome cameras
The number one reason to buy a Pixel phone has always been the camera, and it’s the same with the 3a. The camera is extremely similar to the one in the Pixel 3, meaning it will simply blow away anything in the price range. The Pixel 3a’s camera app comes loaded with Portrait mode, Night Sight, and Motion Auto Focus. In short, the 3a’s camera will compete with the likes of the Galaxy S10 and iPhone XS, flagship devices costing three times as much as the £399 Pixel 3a.
2. They’ll get better as they age
If you buy a Galaxy S10+ you can be assured that you’re getting one of the best phones of 2019, but what about 2021? With every Pixel phone, Google promises at least two years of Android updates and three years of security updates. So you’ll get Android Q later this year, Android R next year, and maybe even
Android S, with security updates all the way until 2022. No other Android phone can make that promise.
3. They have Titan M Security
With the Pixel 3, Google introduced an enterprisegrade custom security chip. It’s the kind of chip you’d expect to find in a flagship phone, locking down the boot process, verifying passwords, and generally making it harder for hackers to crack into your Pixel. Google is bringing that same level of security to the far more affordable Pixel 3a.
4. They’ll last all day and charge quickly
The Pixel 3a and 3a XL’s battery sizes may seem modest, but they’re actually bigger than those in their premium siblings. The Pixel 3 already has excellent
battery life, so with fewer pixels to push and a less intensive processor, the 3a should easily power through a day. But if it can’t, the Pixel 3a also supports 18-watt fast charging, so you can get seven hours of use with just a 15-minute charge.
5. They have the best Assistant features
Google Assistant is baked into the deepest corners, search fields and apps on the Pixel 3a. When you want to access it, you can give the sides a squeeze, just like on the Pixel 3. What’s more, the new Pixels feature the incredible Call Screen technology, which can answer suspicious calls, talk to the person on the other end, and let you know whether it’s legit. Seriously, it’ll change your life.