Google Pixel 3a XL
If you’re looking for a larger phone with a brilliant and fuss-free camera, the Pixel 3a XL is an excellent choice
SCORE PRICE £391 (£469 inc VAT) from store.google.com
At first glance, the Pixel 3a XL looks astonishingly similar to the Pixel 3 XL ( see issue 292, p72). It even looks the same when switched on: as with all Pixel phones, it runs the latest version of Android with Google’s enhanced Pixel launcher software plastered on top.
Only the small print reveals the differences. The Pixel 3a XL has a smaller screen than the 3 XL – 6in across the diagonal instead of 6.3in – it runs a less-powerful processor and it isn’t water-resistant. One bonus feature, though, is that the Google Pixel 3a XL has a 3.5mm headphone jack, where the pricier phone doesn’t.
As with the Pixel 3a ( see p68), the most significant physical difference between the 3a XL and its larger sibling is that its rear is made out of polycarbonate rather than glass. It feels as good in the hand, but is a little lighter and feels warmer to the touch.
Turn it on and you’ll see the next big difference: the 3a XL has no notch. Instead, there’s a thick (by modern standards) bezel above the screen, mirroring the bezel below it. As a result, the phone is a fraction taller than the 3 XL, despite having a smaller screen. This isn’t a bulky-feeling phone, however, nor a heavy one.
There are less obvious differences. Instead of Gorilla Glass, Google uses Dragontrail glass to resist scuffing and scratching. It’s just as easy to keep smudge-free, but only time will tell if it’s as resistant to scratches. The 3a XL lacks wireless charging, too.
There’s no scrimping on display quality. It may not be the sharpest at 1,080 x 2,160, but it uses the same OLED panel tech as the Pixel 3 XL and looks swell. Peak brightness reaches a decent 415cd/m² and its colour performance is superb. You have three colour modes to choose from: the default Adaptive setting, which is the most vibrant; Natural, which has been calibrated to sRGB; and Boosted, which Google’s tech sheets define as “sRGB +10%”. By my measurements, it’s more like sRGB plus 20%, but it sits between Adaptive and the more muted sRGB in terms of vibrancy.
In Natural mode, coverage of the sRGB colour gamut is up there with the best phones I’ve tested and colour accuracy is good, too, with an average Delta E of 1.34 (the lower, the better). Adaptive mode looks great, too. Although it isn’t HDR-certified like the 3 XL’s display, I prefer it for watching movies and TV on Netflix.
Instead of the powerful Snapdragon 845, the Pixel 3a XL is powered by a Snapdragon 670 (exactly like the 3a). Not that the phone feels sluggish: it feels just as snappy and responsive as you’d hope for a Pixel phone, and it will still play most games without too much frame chop. Perhaps most importantly, the 3a XL actually has good battery life, lasting 16hrs 58mins in our video-rundown test. That’s almost three hours longer than the Google Pixel 3 XL.
As with the Pixel 3a, the 3a XL misses out on Google’s in-house Pixel Visual Core ISP (image signal processor). This is the chip that helps the Pixel 3 and 3 XL’s camera to process advanced features such as Night Sight (which captures amazing images in near-darkness) and HDR+ Enhanced, which captures up to 36 images and combines them into one to capture the greatest range of tones and colours possible.
Despite that omission, Google has replicated all the features found in the flagship Pixels using clever software engineering. With the same Sony IMX363 camera module, you’re getting a single rear camera capable of capturing photos at 12.2 megapixels with an aperture of f/1.8, a 76-degree field of view and a 1/2.55in sensor. There’s optical and digital stabilisation, too, plus dual-pixel autofocus.
In good light, the samples from the Google phones are all very close to one another. If you compare the 3a XL to the OnePlus 6T – until now, the benchmark for smartphone photos at this price – they’re level. Until you enable HDR on the 3XL, that is, at which point the Google phone streaks ahead. And, with Night Sight in its armoury, the 3a XL produces staggering results in poor light.
One area where the 3a XL can’t match OnePlus is video recording. While the 7 is able to shoot 4K video at 60fps and fully stabilised, the Pixel 3a can only shoot 30fps 4K. It’s still very good, and the stabilisation is superb.
All of this comes together to produce a superb package. This is a phone that’s not only far more reasonably priced than most flagships, but also looks good, feels as responsive and takes amazing photos.
SPECIFICATIONS Octa-core 2GHz/1.6GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 4GB RAM Adreno 615 graphics 6in OLED screen, 1,080 x 2,160 resolution 64GB storage 3.5mm audio jack 12.2MP rear camera 8MP front camera 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth 5 NFC
USB-C connector 3,700mAh battery Android 9 76.1 x 8.2 x 160.1mm (WDH) 167g
1yr warranty
“Perhaps most importantly, the Pixel 3a XL actually has good battery life, lasting 16hrs 58mins in our videorundown test”