In the past, if you wanted a good camera on a smartphone, it meant shelling out $1,000 or more. That was the unwritten rule. But the $659 Google Pixel 3a does not follow that rule and it’s setting a new standard of what a mid-range smartphone should be.
But of course, like buying any mid-range device, you’ll have to make compromises. However the Pixel 3a’s camera is as good as any, or dare I say, better than some of the flagship phones out there.
Upsides:
- Flagship-calibre camera
- OLED display
- Attractive price-performance ratio
- Google software and support
- Headphone jack
- 7 hrs of juice with a 15 mins charge
Downsides:
- Not water-resistant
- No wireless charging
- Not a bezel-less display. Has a chin & forehead
In the realm of budget flagship models, the Google Pixel 3a knocks its “budget” competitors out of the ballpark with its price. The Samsung Galaxy S10e (128GB) costs $1,078 and the iPhone XR (64GB) will set you back $1,229. At $659, the Pixel 3a is nearly half the price of the latter two.
First Impressions
Fresh out of the box, the first thing I noticed is how “cheap” it feels. The Pixel 3a has a polycarbonate (aka plastic) unibody, unlike the posh aluminium and glass finish of the previous Pixels. This makes the Pixel 3a noticeably lighter (147g).
For some people, quality comes with a certain weight to it, which is somewhat ironic in the interpretation of quality. Because typically with gadgets, lighter is always better – just like laptops. But in this case, holding my Huawei Mate 10 feels more “quality” than the Pixel 3a.
Feel & Look
Google’s done away with the ugly notch from the Pixel 3 but you’re still left with quite a big forehead, chin and a smaller body-to-screen ratio. There are other phones out there with aesthetically pleasing bezel-less displays but are you sure the Google experience is worth giving up?
The highlighter-orange power button sits above the volume rocker, something that took some getting used to. I kept turning off my phone by accident when all I wanted to do was to adjust my volume. There’s a USB-C port for charging but sadly no wireless charging. On a positive note, it’s 2019 and there’s still a headphone jack!
Camera
Probably its best feature, this $659 mid-range phone has a camera that’s one of the best you can get on any smartphone today. That’s a bold statement to make but it’s true. It’s basically rewriting the rulebook for what a mid-range smartphone should be.
The single rear camera setup with a 12.2-megapixel sensor and f/1.8 lens are the same as the Pixel 3, as is the front 8MP selfie camera. The only difference is the Pixel 3a’s lack of the Pixel Visual Core imaging chip – which powered the Pixel 3’s remarkable image processing feature. Without it, images take longer than usual to be processed before you’re able to view it. Then again, if you’re able to put up with this hitch, the Pixel 3a’s camera is still comparable to the iPhone XS. And with its price tag, that’s saying a lot.
Here’s the side-by-side comparison of the image taken by the Pixel 3a (right) and iPhone XS (left). The Pixel 3a’s image looks a bit more detailed – and that’s saying a lot considering the price difference between the two phones.
For the past few weeks that I’ve had it, the most amazing feature has to be the Night Sight. Photos are constantly blowing me away with how it turns out in low light conditions – all without a flash. But sometimes Night Sight boosts the colours a little too aggressively, though not always the case. Check out these two photo sets below:
These pictures were taken during the night. One under my block, and the other in Nylon’s office pantry with the lights turned off. The difference with Night Sight on is absolutely amazing. For the office pantry shot, it’s almost as if it was taken in the middle of the day!
Besides Night Sight, there are tons of other excellent camera features that are powered by Google’s software. Take Google Lens for example. By leveraging on Google Assistant AI, Google Lens detects whatever’s in your frame and makes the relevant suggestions. Translate text, identify landmarks, animals, anything and everything simply by pointing your camera and tapping on the object in frame. I actually downloaded the Pixel camera’s APK to replace my phone’s stock camera app just because it was so good.
So far, I’ve had nothing but praises for the Pixel’s camera, but if there’s anything to complain about, it’s just this: that it always reverts back to the default rear camera whenever you open the app, regardless of what mode you were in last.
I thought it wouldn’t be an issue but when I’m out at night and it’s dark, I just want it to stay in Night sight mode. Instead, every time I open the camera app I have to tap on the “more” options just to enable it. Sure, there’s a prompt to use Night Sight if it’s dark enough, but that doesn’t happen all the time.
Display & Battery
The 5.6” display – though smaller than what I’m used to – is a good size for one-handed use. Amazingly, there’s a 2220 x 1080 resolution OLED display – a rare find on a phone at this price. Colours on the screen are accurate and vibrant except for the whites, which is a bit warmer. The display could also be a bit brighter.
Powering the Pixel 3a is a 3,000mAh battery, which is fairly decent. At least it’s somewhat of an improvement over the Pixel 3’s 2,915mAh battery. Also, Google claims that you’ll get 7hrs of juice just charging it for 15mins. My Pixel 3a lasted an entire day with about 20-30% to spare when I got home. My day consisted of replying texts, video streaming during commute and the occasional browsing on social media. Not too shabby, but not that impressive either.
Processor & Software
The phone features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor with 4GB of RAM. While not the fastest like its flagship’s Snapdragon 845, it’s to be expected at this price. It’s still optimized really well. I faced no performance issues playing intensive games like PUBG or Mobile Legends.
It comes loaded with Android 9 Pie and the best thing about having a Google-branded device is that for three years, you’re guaranteed to get the latest updates from Google as soon as they are available, sometimes even before other android phones.
There’s also a nifty augmented reality (AR) feature integrated into Google Maps Street View. Point your camera at buildings or signs and it’ll overlay AR directions over Street View to help orientate you better. It helps if you’re in a brightly lit area because it tends to not work when it’s dark. But hey, no more walking in the wrong direction for hundreds of metres before realizing you’re going the wrong way.
Storage
For storage, 64GB is all that you get and there’s no option to expand it via a microSD card, which is a bummer. With the system and its pre-installed app, you’re probably looking at only about 50GB of storage space right out of the box. So where do you store all your photos and videos? Google Photos.
However, even so, the Pixel 3a users are still missing out on the two years of unlimited original-quality uploads to Google Photos that previous Pixels have enjoyed. Instead, like every other Android phone, you get 15GB of original-quality uploads and thereafter, unlimited “high quality” storage.
Final Thoughts
So, do I recommend this phone? Yes. If you’re looking for a mid-range smartphone that takes excellent pictures, you won’t find anything better. While it may not come with as many features as its “budget” competitors like the iPhone XR, Samsung Galaxy S10e, it’s still nearly about $500 cheaper. For half the price, you’re getting the latest software from Google AND one of the best camera smartphones out there.
Get the Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL now at Courts, Challenger, Singtel and Google Store. It’s available in 2 colours, Just Black and Clearly White at $659 for the 5.6” display and $779 for the 6” model. Visit Google’s store page here for more information.
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