After all, if you can get a phone as great as the Pixel 3a for under $400, is waterproofing and wireless charging really worth spending two or three times as much? Perhaps more to the point, is the $449 2016 iPhone 7 worth $50 more? Is the two-year-old iPhone 8 worth $200 more? Is Apple’s least expensive current model, the $749 iPhone XR worth $350 more? As a judge might say, “Asked and answered.” That’s great news for consumers but could be a problem for Apple, Samsung, OnePlus and even Google. The cameras are among the best I have tried in a smartphone, and the device is fast enough that there aren’t any slowdowns, stutters or hiccups … and you get all that for under $400. With the Google Pixel 3a (and the larger Pixel 3A XL), Google has released a phone that is affordable, looks and feels great and promises an excellent smartphone experience. So what’s the bottom line? Quite simply this. If you aren’t comparing it side by side with a “premium” device, you won’t know the difference. But who cares? The phone’s screen is still bright and sharp. The screen doesn’t have the latest technologies or highest pixel density currently available. One other “compromise” comes in regard to the materials used in the construction of the phone. In the case of the Pixel 3a, those compromises come in the form of lack of wireless charging and waterproofing, two “features” I love but can certainly live without. Sure, there will always be a few compromises that get made when opting for anything but a flagship phone. As the Pixel 3a makes clear, phone technology has come so far in recent years that even mid-level phones now deliver an experience that is better and more powerful than all but the most power-of-users need. But not only are mid-level components now far superior to the premium components of just a few years ago but as the charts earlier in this “review” make clear, the Pixel 3a doesn’t even use “mid-level components.” It delivers anything but a mid-level experience.īut that is beside the point. (Although it is also worth noting that a few years ago flagship phones didn’t cost as much as a laptop.) A few years ago a “budget” phone, and I think it is safe to call a sub-$400 phone a ‘budget” phone in the current market, would have “mid-level components.” That was, of course, how companies kept the price down. A few years ago a phone in this price range would be a compromise.
How else would you describe a phone that delivers a close-to-no compromise experience for less than half of what you might otherwise pay?Ī few years ago, I wouldn’t be writing this. In fact, after spending some serious time with the device, I think it is safe to say that the Pixel 3a is a problem for all of the current flagship phones. And that’s why the Google Pixel 3a the problem… for Apple… for Samsung and even for OnePlus. A quick comparison look at the specs of the two Pixel 3a devices (the one I have and the larger XL) and the Pixel 3 make that clear:Īll that adds up to a phone that is just $399 unlocked. At a recent runaway to Long Island’s North ForkĪll of that adds up to the fact that Google put hardware into the Pixel 3a that can compete with these in the far pricier Pixel 3.