Google Pixel 3a XL Review - The Low-Budget Pixel Experience!

Google Pixel 3a (XL)

The Google Pixel 3a (XL) is the new budget smartphone introduced at the beginning of October 2018 Pixel 3 model series, Although the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a models hardly differ in appearance, there are some hardware adjustments to get the RRP of 399 €. In the following I deal with the Google Pixel 3a XL, which I have for the test.

Design, workmanship and delivery

The Google Pixel 3a XL remains true to the classic design of the Pixel family. The smartphone is available in the colors Just Black and Clearly White. The color Not Pink is reserved for the Pixel 3 (XL). The smartphone sets color accents in Clearly White, the on / off button shines in stylish orange.

A major difference between Pixel 3a and Pixel 3 lies in the materials used. Instead of a high-quality aluminum housing with a glass cut-out on the back, the unibody housing of the Pixel 3a is made entirely of polycarbonate. The matt coating has remained and is still extremely prone to scratches. The weight of the Google Pixel 3a XL has been reduced to 167g thanks to the plastic housing. The dimensions are 160.1 x 76.1 x 8.2 mm.

The processing of the smartphone is not objectionable. Despite the plastic housing, the Pixel 3a XL feels high-quality. The IP68 rating has been dropped. The smartphone is not waterproof! A 3.5 mm jack audio socket has also been added.

The scope of delivery includes the smartphone, a quick switch adapter from USB type A (female) to USB type C (male), a USB-C to USB-C charging and data cable, an in-ear headphone, a SIM - Needle, sticker and a quick guide.

Display

 Bye notch! Google has said goodbye to this with the Pixel 3a XL. Instead, there are two thick black bars at the top and bottom. The trend of the bezel-less screen has not yet reached Google. But it wasn't to be expected with a budget Pixel 3.

The display itself is of the OLED type and has a diagonal of 6 inches with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. The display is protected by scratch-resistant “Dragon Trail” glass. The color reproduction is pleasant. When delivered, the smartphone is in adaptive color mode, which slightly increases the blue content and is characterized by natural white and particularly strong colors. Other color modes include “Natural” and “Amplified” modes. Manual color selection is not possible.

The display brightness can be adjusted to the ambient light using the automatic brightness mode. Manual control is also possible. The maximum display brightness is convincing, so that the display of the Pixel 3a XL remains clearly visible even in the sunshine. In the dark, the brightness is reduced to a minimum without being dazzled. An additional night and reading mode filters out sleep-disturbing blue components. Incoming notifications can be shown via the always-on function of the display. There is no notification LED.

Performance

The built-in processor is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 2018, released in August 670. The CPU of the system-on-chip manufactured in the 10 nm process is divided into 2 clusters, consisting of 6 Kryo 360 Silver cores with 1.7 GHz clock rate and 2 Kryo 360 Gold cores with a maximum of 2 GHz clock rate. The GPU is an Adreno 615. When it comes to storage, the Google Pixel 3a XL uses a 4GB LPDDR4X memory and a 64GB data memory. There is no provision for expanding the data memory using a microSD memory card.

Performance in everyday life

Despite the middle class SoC, Google has adapted the performance of the Pixel 3a very well to the Android 9 OS. The system is extremely easy to use, animations run smoothly and apps are opened quickly. When browsing the web content is built quickly and can scroll smoothly. Mobile gaming is no problem as long as the graphics are reduced accordingly in graphically demanding games. An unpleasant and the system throttling heat development under load does not occur.

user interface

The smartphone ships with Android 9 Pie. For a “Pure Android Experience”, various Google apps are already pre-installed on the system. Functions such as the Google Assistant, which provides helpful assistance to the user, are firmly anchored in the system. The Active Edge function makes the housing frame pressure-sensitive so that various apps can be controlled. Then there is the Google Update Promise. Pixel users are not only one of the first to receive new Android updates, Google guarantees security and operating system updates for a period of 3 years with the release of new models!

Camera

Attention smartphone photography fans! Surprisingly, the Google Pixel 3a uses the same main camera as the Google Pixel 3. The single main camera uses the 12.2 megapixel Sony IMX363 image sensor with dual pixel technology, 1/2.55" sensor size and 1.4μm pixel size. Other features of the main camera include an f /1.8 aperture, a dual pixel phase detection autofocus, optical and electronic image stabilization (OIS and EIS), as well as a 76° wide angle. There are differences in the front camera. Instead of two sensors, there is only one 8 megapixel sensor with f/2.0 Aperture, fixed focus and 84° wide angle.

In practice, the whole thing looks like this:

connectivity

The Google Pixel 3a supports single nano SIM or eSIM. The built-in Cat 11 LTE modem delivers transmission rates of up to 600 Mbit / s in the down and 75 Mbit / s in the upload. The following mobile radio frequencies and bands are available:

•  GSM: 850, 900, 1,800 and 1,900 MHz
•  UMTS:  1/2/4/5/8
•  FDD-LTE:  1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/20/25/26/28/32/38/40/41/66

 Making calls works very well with the Pixel 3a. Conversations can be conducted clearly and without background noise. The connection stability in the cellular network is also good. Telephoning via the hands-free function is slightly tinny and flat.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

The smartphone can be used in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi. The WiFi module supports 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2x2 MIMO protocols. Bluetooth 5.0 with AptX and AptX HD codec support is present. The Pixel 3a XL did not show any abnormalities either in WLAN or with an active Bluetooth connection.

GPS and sensors

The location is determined by GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou. A GPS fix can be found quickly and accurate to within a few meters. When navigating, the Pixel 3a maintains its position precisely in both rural and urban areas.

The remaining sensors include a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, a gyroscope, an acceleration sensor, an e-compass, a barometer and a fingerprint sensor. NFC is available and can be used for mobile payments.

Battery

The Google Pixel 3a XL has a 3700 mAh battery. This is fully charged within 18 minutes using the 170 watt Power Delivery “quick charging function”. If you want to charge the battery by 50%, it takes about 70 minutes. With normal use, i.e. some web surfing, telephony, YouTube and WhatsApp, you can get through the day just fine. Power users have to charge the Pixel 3a XL in the evening at the latest. Compared to the Pixel 3, the Qi charging function has been omitted. So contactless charging is not possible!