WE’RE PLEASED TO SEE THE GOOGLE PIXEL 3A HAS DEFTLY BALANCED THE BEST ATTRIBUTES OF ITS FLAGSHIP COUNTERPART WHILE REDUCING THE PRICE TO AN AMOUNT THAT’S MUCH MORE SENSIBLE FOR YOUR AVERAGE SMARTPHONE USER.

FLAGSHIP FEATURES WITH A SWEET DISCOUNT

IT’S NO SECRET that the prices of smartphones are getting steeper by the year, so it’s deeply refreshing to see a major player buck the trend. While mid-range alternatives to premium flagships aren’t necessarily new – Samsung has been offering up affordable Galaxy phones for quite some time now – they often arrive with some significant compromises. We’re pleased to see the Google Pixel 3a has deftly balanced the best attributes of its flagship counterpart while reducing the price to an amount that’s much more sensible for your average smartphone user.

DESIGN

For those familiar with Google’s recent lineup of phones, particularly the Pixel 3, the aesthetic characteristics will be awfully familiar. The Pixel 3a’s rear sports a two-tone appearance in either black or white, with a single camera and flash in the top glossy portion, and a centred fingerprint scanner in the lower matte portion. Unlike the Pixel 3 and it’s all-glass construction, the 3a’s rear is plastic, which might not feel as premium when it warms to the hand after a while, but offers more flex overall and will no doubt be less affected by accidental impacts and scratches. The screen’s glass has also been changed, from the tried-and-true (and more expensive) Corning Gorilla Glass, to a lesser-known Dragontrail product, although time will only tell how this holds up.

DISPLAY

On its face, you’ve got a similar chin and top bezel to the Pixel 3, although the lower of the two stereo speakers has been relegated to the bottom of the phone. While the current trend of flagship devices is to fill as much of the phone with screen as possible, the 5.6-inch OLED display squeezed in between the bezels is more than adequate and still looks plenty sleek. Its crisp Full HD+ (2,220 x 1,080) resolution allows for a high pixel density in a slightly more pocketable form factor.

FEATURES & PERFORMANCE

As mentioned previously, the Pixel 3a’s lighter, plastic design does seem to improve on the overall durability of the handset, however it does mean that it no longer supports wireless charging. Similarly, the phone’s waterproofing has been done away with in order to accommodate a headphone jack. While these two alterations are some of the biggest differences between the flagship and its affordable sibling, their sacrifice results in other benefits that better suit an everyday user – durability and compatibility with cabled headphones.

While this Pixel’s 3,000mAh battery may not wirelessly charge, it does top up in just an hour and a half via its USB-C port, with the first 50% or so only taking half an hour thanks to its fast-charging. The battery life comfortably lasted us a full day of regular usage, and even had plenty left in the tank after some more media-heavy days, thanks in part to its slightly less demanding processor.

The chipset used in the Pixel 3a is a Snapdragon 670, compared with the Pixel 3’s Snapdragon 845, and while this is going to make an impact on high-level performance, not much else really changes for average use cases. You may notice apps are ever-so slightly slower to open, and the phone might unlock after a slightly longer delay, but this reviewer shifted from a Pixel 2 with its Snapdragon 835 to the 3a and didn’t notice any performance variance worthy of mention.

Surprisingly, this phone manages to handle gaming rather well considering the downgraded chipset, and this is likely due to some optimisation on Google’s part. Games such as PUBG Mobile and ARK: Survival Evolved ran smoothly. Obviously, a larger display would be ideal for gamers looking to not obscure the screen with their fingers, however, but think of the Pixel 3a’s ability to handle gaming as a neat bonus.

SOFTWARE

As you may be aware by now, Google’s handsets run on the pure stock Android mobile OS, and will be the first to get updates when the tech giant rolls them out. This means that Android Q will be coming to the Pixel 3a in no time, bringing with it a host of changes and updates.

For better or worse, the stock Android experience is fairly barebones, featuring an iOS-esque simplicity, sprinkled with important pockets of customisation that the Apple equivalent lacks. Features like Adaptive Battery and Power Saving mode are super helpful and practical, while the phone’s gesture-based navigation will feel right at home to those folk migrating from Apple.

CAMERA

Now onto one of the major selling points of the Pixel range – the camera. The Pixel 3a’s rear camera is functionally identical to the Pixel 3, offering the same best-in-class 12MP snapper packed with Google’s clever optimisation and post-processing algorithms that work hard to improve any picture or video you take. The coveted Night Mode is here, along with other Google Lens AR tricks, slow motion, time-lapse, photo sphere, and the background-blurring portrait mode. For the price, the Google Pixel 3a presents a compelling reason to never buy a compact camera again.

Although the main shooter is identical, internally the Pixel 3a has lost its dedicated Pixel Visual Core chip, which is used on the flagship models to handle all their algorithmic smarts. This post-processing is still available on the 3a, but given that the duty is shared with other phone processes on the Snapdragon 670, certain computations (such as HDR modes, for instance) will take a little longer. It’s also worth noting that the front camera no longer has its 8MP wideangle lens for wider selfie shots.

VERDICT

While there are certainly sacrifices with the Pixel 3a, they’ve been cleverly chosen to reduce the cost of manufacturing while keeping the bulk of what makes the series special. It manages to retain the most useful components of a smartphone and offer up the best core features without charging exorbitantly for any of the more luxurious trimmings. As for alternatives, the Oppo R17 Pro can be had for a similar price to the Pixel 3a now that it’s been out for a while, and arguably offers a more premium aesthetic and equivalent specs, however you won’t be getting that best-in-class Pixel camera and direct Google support.

AS YOU MAY BE AWARE BY NOW, GOOGLE’S HANDSETS RUN ON THE PURE STOCK ANDROID MOBILE OS, AND WILL BE THE FIRST TO GET UPDATES WHEN THE TECH GIANT ROLLS THEM OUT. THIS MEANS THAT ANDROID Q WILL BE COMING TO THE PIXEL 3A IN NO TIME, BRINGING WITH IT A HOST OF CHANGES AND UPDATES.