Google Pixel 3a XL hands-on review

Introduction Google Pixel 3a XL

The Pixel 3a is Google's attempt to return to the affordable premium smartphone category. After sunsetting the Nexus program, Google moved on to the ultra-high-end segment with the launch of the original Pixel back in 2016.
Since then, the company has only received a lukewarm response from the audience, many of whom were miffed that Google moved on from something that was accessible to something that mostly served as a marketing vehicle.
The Pixel 3a, however, is not a Nexus. The lack of obvious naming difference aside, what we have here is not a premium smartphone at an affordable price, which is what the Nexus brand signified. Instead, what we are getting is a pared-down version of the Pixel 3 that was launched last year at a correspondingly lower price.

Google Pixel 3a XL specs

• Body: Unibody polycarbonate, Asahi Dragontrail glass, Black, White, Purple colors
• Display: 6.0-inch, 2160 x 1080 resolution, 402PPI, 18:9, OLED, always-on display
• Rear Camera: Sony IMX363, 12.2MP f1.8, dual-pixel autofocus, OIS, dual LED flash, 4K 30 video
• Front Camera: 8MP f2.0, fixed focus, 1080p 30 video
• Software: Android 9 Pie
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 670, 2.0GHz + 1.7GHz, Adreno 615, Titan M Security module
• Memory: 64GB UFS 2.1 storage, 4GB LPDDR4X RAM
• Battery: 3700mAh, 18W USB-PD fast charging
• Connectivity: Single SIM/eSIM, LTE-A, 3xCA, DL 4x2/2x2 MIMO, CAT 11 600Mbps download, CAT 5 75MBps upload, Wi-Fi 2.4 + 5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0 + LE, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, USB-C 2.0, 3.5mm audio
• Misc: Stereo speakers, capacitive fingerprint sensor, Active Edge pressure sensing, 3-month YouTube Music Premium subscription bundled

The price in question is $400 for the Pixel 3a and $480 for the Pixel 3a XL, half of what the Pixel 3/3 XL normally cost ($800/$900). So, what do we lose in return for that price? There are design compromises, the processor is slower and one of the front cameras is missing along with a few other things. On paper, that doesn't seem all that bad, especially since Google has carried over the main rear camera of the Pixel 3 to the Pixel 3a. The software experience is identical too, with almost every feature announced for the Pixel 3 present here.
Seems like a fair trade-off, then. But how is the phone like to actually use on a day to day basis? And how does it compete in the even more crowded premium mid-range smartphone market, especially on the eve of OnePlus' upcoming smartphone, which will likely have similar pricing and pack in more hardware as usual? We decided to find out.

Unboxing

The packaging of our Pixel 3a XL was mostly similar to the more expensive Pixel 3 XL. Both come with an 18W USB-Power Delivery fast charger with a USB-C 2.0 cable, a USB-C to USB-A adapter and earphones. While the Pixel 3 XL came with the Pixel USB-C Earbuds, the Pixel 3a XL comes with standard in-ear style earphones with a 3.5mm connector.
Neither phone comes with any kind of case in the box. Google will be selling fabric cases for the Pixel 3a devices.

Design

The Pixel 3a XL has the same design language as the Pixel 3 series of devices. Along the back, we see the two-tone finish and the lighter colored models also come with a colored power button on the side.
The Pixel 3a XL also has nearly the same dimensions as the Pixel 3 XL, although the latter is slightly shorter and thinner. The Pixel 3a XL is lighter by nearly 20g, and the reason for that is the polycarbonate body.
While all the previous Pixel smartphones used varying combinations of metal and glass for the body, the Pixel 3a phones are the first to be made out of polycarbonate. The entire back and side portion are one unibody shell but with the two-tone finish to give it the familiar Pixel look. At first glance, it was hard to tell any difference, and it's only upon closer inspection could we tell that the back was plastic.
While it is certainly effective in fooling you into thinking it is metal or glass, we were disappointed to see polycarbonate being used in this price range. Almost all phones in this price range today use either aluminum or glass for their body; in fact, several phones in much lower prices ranges are already using metal and glass, too.
Plastic is certainly more durable in some cases compared to both metal and glass. For one, it won't shatter when you drop the phone like glass nor would it dent or bend like metal. However, plastic is a soft material, so it does pick up scuffs and scratches more readily than either metal or glass.
Moreover, the Pixel 3a XL is also not water or dust resistant compared to its more expensive sibling, so that's another knock against it in terms of durability. At least some form of splash resistance would have been welcome.
But by far the biggest issue with the design is right at the front. While it lacks the comically sized notch of its elder sibling, the Pixel 3a XL has massive bezels that are straight out of 2016. They are also mismatched, so the bottom bezel is thicker than the top one, and when you add the black navigation bar on top of that, it looks like the display starts almost a fifth of the way from the bottom of the phone.
This makes the design look extremely dated. While the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL didn't quite look fresh in 2018 either, for a phone in 2019 to have such large bezels when most of the competition has been raging war against bezels for the past two years makes it look completely out of place. At first glance, this phone looks like you have a three-year-old device in your hand and not something which was just released.
In other design changes, the loudspeaker has now been moved to the bottom of the phone. This doesn't affect the performance all that much, but it does make it easier to cover up the speaker.
One thing we wish Google would change is the layout of the power and volume buttons. Google stubbornly chooses to keep the power button above the volume buttons, which makes the power button hard to reach for your right thumb when you're holding the phone in portrait and the volume buttons hard to reach for your left index finger when you're holding the phone in landscape. This awkward layout also makes it hard to take screenshots with one hand. Every other OEM either places the buttons the right way up or on either side of the phone.
Overall, the design does take a big step back compared to the more expensive Pixel 3 phones, which weren't exactly cutting-edge in their own right. Google has seemingly not taken note of the time that has passed since their last Nexus release and the advancements that have happened since then but the competition certainly has, and no one is more aware of this than the consumer.

Display

The Pixel 3a XL has a 6.0-inch, 2160x1080px resolution OLED display. The display is protected by the Asahi Dragontrail glass rather than Corning Gorilla Glass used on the more expensive Pixels.
Compared to the Pixel 3 XL display, the display on the Pixel 3a XL is a bit shorter but it also has a much lower resolution. It also lacks HDR10 video support and is suited only for regular videos.
Despite that, the display on the Pixel 3a XL is excellent. It gets reasonably bright outdoors and also sufficiently dim indoors. It has good viewing angles and does not exhibit any banding, black crush or dirty screen effect. The color accuracy in the standard sRGB mode is also right up there with the best in the industry, and there's also support for DCI-P3 content due to the wide color support and OS-wide color management.
The lack of HDR is a minor complaint but there isn't a ton of HDR content right now to take advantage of it, anyway. The YouTube app can emulate it in software but it looks no different than the SDR version.

Google Pixel 3a XL display options

The display on the Pixel 3a XL also fixes one majorly annoying issue with the Pixel 3 XL display, which was accidental touches. The Pixel 3 XL display is sensitive right to the edge of the glass, which makes it easy to trigger accidental touches all the time, making it frustrating to use. The Pixel 3a XL has no such issues, and we had no problems handling the phone without triggering the display with the palm.
Overall, the display on the Pixel 3a XL is one of the best you can find on any phone today. Unfortunately, while the lack of any notch or cutout is appealing, the massive bezels are far more distracting than any notch we have ever seen.