It's been almost a month since Google released the Pixel 3a and 3a XL,
the low cost alternative to the older more feature rich sibling, the Pixel
3 which was released in October 2018 and you're probably wondering to yourself Hey,
the Pixel 3a. Is this the best phone for me? It has a ridiculously low
starting price before any carrier incentives. The device is available on
more carriers here in the U.S. abroad. In addition to having the best
camera on any mobile phone on the market today while you are in the right
place because in today's video I'm going to tell you why the pixel 3 misses
the mark and why it's not the best phone for everyone.
I am Mike this is tech 24/7 TV. like, hit subscribe.
Now let's get started.
What is going on everyone. It is Mike. And today we're talking about the
pixel 3A when comparing the pixel 3A against the competition there are
a few areas that device does remarkably well making it most people's go
to choice. Now if you are cost conscious looking to get the biggest bang
for your buck - and honestly who's not - The device hits the proverbial
sweet spot offering two reasonably low cost options first, at $399 for
the 5.6-inch pixel 3A or $489 for the 6. 6.0-inch pixel 3a XL. In either choice
th is is at least a full two hundred dollars cheaper than the Pixel 3 again
which was just released in October of 2018. Low cost device with a big
screen check.
Second, the Pixel 3a bucks the current trend in which mid-tier Android
phones they're offering subpar cameras and having less than stellar performance.
This is because the pixel 3A uses the same rear 12.2-megapixel camera as
its more expensive sibling. This enables the pixel 3a to capture some of
the best, again if not the best photos hands down especially when you factor
the relatively low-cost. Best camera in a smartphone, check.
Finally the Pixel has one of the best out of the box experiences and this
is due to the fact that Pixel devices run stock android. Now you could
argue that OnePlus comes in a close second depending on what aspect of
experience you want to measure.
But that is for another video. The pixel UI is very minimal slightly designed
and thankfully there are no carrier customizations which end up loading
the look and feel the UI and by extension this means that Google treats
the pixel as almost if it is analogous the way that Apple treats the iPhone.
This results in the pixel devices being the first to receive security updates
and software updates. The moment that they're available and this includes
Android queue when it gets released later this summer. Now by now you might
be thinking to yourself Well the pixel 3 is relatively low cost. It has
one of the best if not the best smartphone camera and the pixel gets Dan
date software upgrade from Google.
This sounds like a win-win to me. But after using the phone for the last
30 days there are 3 areas that the device is compromised on which prevent
me from recommending device for most people. First reason is antiquated internals.
Comparatively speaking the Pixel 3a has a trifecta of antiquated internal
components including Qualcomm's Snapdragon 670, a paltry 4 gigabytes of
RAM when other phones are offering 6 gigs in addition to utilizing slower
internal storage which is capped at 64 gigs. Now when you combine these
three things it creates a perfect storm and the likely possibility that
performance bottlenecks will arise when apps need to start up reading right
data and even run processor intensive apps.
Now it is not like the pixel 3 is completely immune to the OS slowdown
and I don't need to perform a factory reset on my device every couple months
because I totally do. Given my experience and how other manufacturers are
offering their device. I just don't have the high degree of confidence
that the Pixel 3a will be any different with the same type of usage. But hey, at least there's a headphone jack.
But hey at least there is a headphone jack
Reason number two table stakes. Along those same lines the pixel 3A lacks
what I would define as table stakes features for most modern smartphones
that prevent me from recommending this device. There is the dimly lit 10
ADP led display. There's the lack of wireless charging. I'm going to replace
my mother's aging iPhone 6 with a pixel 3A. She might not need to utilize
wireless charging today but wireless charging is a really nice to have
feature in the next twelve months as we can do you see the cost of wireless
charging race to the bottom while simultaneously becoming more ubiquitous.
Now there's a lack of Gorilla Glass now at the entry point of three ninety nine.
I feel that the price would be a good buy for parents who want to get their
pre-teen or even teenage kids their first phone but I don't entirely feel
comfortable recommending the pixel 3 a knowing that the front panel isn't
Gorilla Glass and the fact that my pixel 3 a scratch on the first day of use.
Then there is a lack of water resistance plainly. It just doesn't have it.
Unless you're going to put your phone in one of those ultra protective
waterproof cases. Life isn't always ideal and people mistakenly get their
phone wet from time to time. Reason number three lack of versatility.
Now you're probably scratching head thinking to yourself Mike you said
the pixel 3a takes some of the best photos on any smartphone and you'd
be completely correct but there are a few significant detractors that impact
the overall quality of experience outside of the result of the image capture
the pixel camera UI could stand for some additional Polish. If you are
someone who plans to use the camera extensively I mean it's great that
every time I open the pixel 3 a camera it is ready to take a photo of what's
in front of me but it would be wonderful if the pixel could remember the
last camera mode I was using. If you're someone who not only takes a lot
of photos but takes their fair share of videos you might want to reconsider
the pixel 3A because the videos captured with it do not get the same pixel
magic treatment as the photos do and the results are just largely mediocre.
Meaning if you are a parent with a young child and you want to capture
photos and videos. This probably isn't the phone for you. And let's not
forget that much like its older brother the pixel 3 and 3 a are limited
to capturing 4k video at 30 frames per second. And the fact that the less
expensive 3A has one less microphone which will result in poor audio quality
when you're taking videos. Then there is the lack of dedicated image signal
processor which Google coins as a pixel visual or this means that the machine
learning required to post process your photo was shifted away from the
ISP to the main processor.
And as we talked about before this is not a very powerful processor
In reality the material impact is a very small increase in the number of seconds
to render your photo using the camera UI. But here the real downside is
that current third party apps that would benefit from having access to
the pixel visual core like Instagram and Snapchat people you know that
absolute everyone likes to use lose their ability to capture each year
plus images within their respective apps. All at all. If taking the best
pictures at the lowest possible cost is of utmost importance to you at
the pixel 3 again is gonna be a solid buy but if you're someone who has
a little bit more dynamic workflow you hold on to your device well past
the 3 years that Google will offer software updates for it.
You should be prepared to upgrade sooner rather than later because of long
term usability is largely a big question mark at this point. Buy it
Pass me that lack of versatility outside of taking photos. It's gonna be the
antiquated internals and it's gonna be missing those modern tables take
features like I talked about wireless charging water resistance
Alternatively if you want to use your phone for anything more than taking photos and
you value better Bill quality at the expense of measured software updates.
I would look into the galaxy s 10 E which has wireless charging. It's got
a bright vivid display and there are two cameras on the back. It excels
at capturing video and the SNP should be just at the point where you start
seeing significant discounts on the phone every way.
Thank you very much for watching my video on the Pixel 3a shortcomings
and let me know in the comments below if you would recommend the Pixel
3a to a friend or family member it like subscribe consider sharing this
video with your friends because it absolutely helps the channel and I will
talk to the next one.