Google Pixel 3a XL

NEW BUDGET KING.

BACK IN THE day, the Google Nexus was the smartphone to get if you wanted excellent performance without breaking the bank. The Pixel line changed that, with Google switching gears for the premium end of the market.

Happily, Google has gone back to its roots with the 3a XL. The fact that it has the same rear camera hardware and software as the Pixel 3 XL (which is $550 more expensive) is reason alone to get it. The solitary 12MP sensor may not sound as impressive as other snappers, but Google has been able to achieve extraordinary things using software and AI.

Portrait photos from the front and back cameras are some of the best we’ve seen, with beautifully blurred backgrounds that look every bit as good as a DSLR’s. Colour rendition and clarity are also outstanding, and the night sight mode works like witchcraft for shooting dim photos with remarkable brightness and detail.

It has the same OLED display that produces crisp whites, pure blacks and vivid colours (albeit at a lower display resolution). Even better: the larger 3,700mAh battery means it’ll comfortably last you the whole day and into the next (we couldn’t say the same for the 3 XL). Performance isn’t the 3a XL’s strong suit, but Google has done a good job of optimising the lower-powered hardware for the latest version of the Android 9 Pie operating system.

So what’s the catch? One of our favourite features from the 3 XL, the wide-angle front camera, hasn’t been replicated here, and it’s also limited to 64GB, with no microSD expansion (we had yet to install any apps, and we’d already used up a quarter of available storage). Finally, it lacks waterproofing and wireless charging.