Google Pixel 3a XL smartphone - pros and cons

The American corporation Google has been part of the Alphabet holding since 2015. The main product of the company is a search engine. The company develops and maintains Internet services, products and tools for them (OS, browsers, extensions and add-ons, hosting, etc.), Android mobile operating system, devices. In 2018, Google bought out a part of HTC, whose engineers began to develop Pixel gadgets with their own design - laptops, smartphones, tablets and accessories for them. The Google Pixel 3a XL smartphone is the latest version of the third generation of the Pixel line. About him and will be discussed.

New smartphone

Previously, Google launched a line of premium smartphones at a high price, not affordable for everyone. Budget gadgets in the list of corporation products appeared relatively recently. Google Pixel 3a XL was presented on May 7, 2019. The company claims that this smartphone is a flagship with the latest features and built-in functions, an excellent camera and a quality screen. The successful release of previous 3rd generation Pixel models accelerated the development and refinement of the Pixel 3 XL into the 3a XL. The variant turned out to be more simplified and cheaper. The manufacturer expects to support new OS versions and security updates for 3 years. The device will be updated like a regular application downloaded from the Play Store. There is no need to wait for application optimization, system reboot, system adjustment for valid certificates.

Product design and appearance

The monoblock body is made of plastic, the screen is glass. Matte two-tone paint speaks of pixel gadgets. The model is presented in three colors: black, snow-white and soft purple. The corporation employees took part in the design development. Therefore, the identity remains throughout the Pixel line. The corners of the screen are rounded and there is a headphone jack on top. The power button and volume control are installed on one end. The appearance is similar to the older brothers of the gadget - Pixel 3 and 3 XL. The plastic housing makes the product cheaper and does not provide moisture protection like premium materials do. Therefore, the device does not have wireless charging.

Screen

The model has a color touch screen with an OLED matrix, a Full-HD plus screen resolution with a resolution of 2160x1080 pixels, a diagonal of 6 inches. There are 3 color modes for every taste of users. OLED - The panel delivers sharp colors with natural balance, deep blacks and wide viewing angles. True, it is better to look at the screen at a right angle; when you tilt it, overflows appear in a blue tone.

Interface capabilities

Menu with convenient and simple control. There is a button to enable a dark theme, as on most Google smartphones. It allows you to reduce eye strain, provides convenience and ease of reading. At the same time, the function works to save the battery: at 20% charge, switching to a dark background occurs automatically.

Google Assistant allows you to book a plane ticket, to a theater, a table in a restaurant, or a hotel room without your intervention: having loaded the necessary information, the algorithms begin to independently look through mail, notes, calendar and look for solutions to the corresponding problems as accurately and correctly as possible. At the same time, you do not need to fill out a lot of forms - artificial intelligence together with an assistant will help save time. Active Edge lets you call and launch Google Assistant by pressing the sides of your smartphone.

It became convenient to communicate with Voice Assistant 2.0 without the Internet. No need to repeat the phrase “Okay, Google…” every time. It is enough to ask once and then ask the usual questions. The information is not sent to the server, the phone itself answers the question, opens the required application. The assistant also produces subtitles for all types of content. The Live Caption function is convenient when watching videos without sound, so as not to disturb others and receive useful information every minute. Also, the trick is useful for hard of hearing people. Voice data is sent to the server, where it is analyzed and converted into text. The data is confidential, it is not monitored, and is transmitted quickly. This does not consume megabytes of the Internet.

Operating system and processor

The new smartphone uses Android 9.0 Pie. The latest Android Q beta will not be supported until mid-June. This is the decision of the corporation about the "budget" models Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL.

The central processor is Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 class. The chip includes 8 cores (2 + 6) with Kryo 360 architecture. This type is recommended for mid-range smartphones. 2 cores of a powerful cluster operate at 2.0 GHz, the remaining 6 cores are limited to 1.7 GHz, the Adreno 615 accelerator.

The smartphone is designed for one SIM card, it does not have a slot for a removable memory card. The gadget has 64 GB of internal memory, not expandable.

4 gigabytes of RAM allow you to quickly open several applications, switch between them, use search services at the same time. If you download and run a video game, the picture will not switch smoothly, the difference will be noticeable. The analyzed smartphone is suitable in terms of toys for children and beginners, avid gamers are better off purchasing a special gaming unit with a more powerful processor.

Camera and model features

The top camera has similar characteristics to the 3 XL. Rear module 12.2 megapixels with f / 1.80 aperture. There is an LED rear flash. Additional functions of the camera include optical image stabilization, auto focus, macro mode, and the ability to shoot video. The front (front) camera is 8 MPix, the aperture is F / 2.0. The Night Sight function allows you to take pictures in the dark by increasing the exposure. If we talk about video, the quality of shooting directly depends on the lighting. In poor lighting conditions, a good video will not work.

The device does not have an additional processor for fast processing of photos (as in the 3 and 3 XL models). Photos are processed more slowly, but quality is not lost from this.

Not a very nice feature of the smartphone: you cannot store photos in full resolution on Google servers for free, only in High Quality mode with a certain compression.

The device can play video in a simplified 4K mode, the frame rate is 30 frames per second. Ultra-high resolution video with a frame rate of 60 frames is not available due to the processor power. The maximum video resolution is 3840x2160 - 4K (Ultra HD). You can shoot video with the main and front cameras in HD format: 1280x720 pixels at 240 fps, Full HD: 1920x1080 pixels at 120 fps.

Sound

When recording audio, several compression formats work: MP3, WAV, AAC, WMA. The stereo speakers are directed downward, so the sound travels only in one direction, although the journalists from the presentation gave different information.

Battery

The capacity of the 3a XL battery is the same as the 3a model and is 3700 mAh. Fast charging is supported by the Quick Charge 4+ protocol and is approximately 100 minutes.In normal mode, the phone can work for a day without recharging, leaving 35%. When testing the battery with the screen on continuously, the device was completely discharged after 11 hours.

Communication

The device implements the following wireless communications: Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0 device, NFC chip, OTG. Satellite navigation GPS / GLONASS works. Standard communication is distributed by the following names: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE, CDMA.
Everything new is well forgotten old. The phrase is suitable for the presented version 3a XL. It again has a 3.5 mm mini-Jack headphone jack.

Additional functions of the gadget

The control can be carried out by voice, there is a voice dialing. There are light and proximity sensors, a flashlight, noise reduction, an optical gyroscope. The fingerprint scanner is located on the back.

Equipment

The standard kit includes:

• smartphone;
• Charger;
• a key for installing and removing a SIM card;
• USB TYPE-C cable;
• wired stereo headphones;
• USB TYPE-C to 3.5mm adapter;
• User's Manual;
• branded stickers.

The cost

The new flagship has become more affordable. A camera with a similar resolution and of this class could previously be purchased for about $ 1,000. Google Pixel 3a XL costs 480 euros = 540 dollars.

Smartphone specifications:

• excellent software quality;
• great intellectual capabilities and functionality;
• own developments are used (design and Android operating system);
• operating system updates are primarily carried out by users of Google smartphones;
• not heated;
• good price for a quality camera;
• high camera performance under ideal conditions;
• the smartphone charges quickly;
• responds perfectly to actions on the interface;
• works autonomously for a long time;
• the kit contains everything you need;
• powerful battery.

• 1 sim card;
• memory expansion is not provided;
• 1 camera - which is not enough for a modern smartphone;
• old-style sensor;
• not suitable for those who like to play;
• no video recording 60 frames / sec .;
• it is impossible to get high-quality video in low light;
• complex and time-consuming graphics processing;
• for storing photos without compression and you need a separate drive for free;
• the case does not protect against moisture.

Conclusion

When looking at the new third generation Pixel model, it can be noted that it has a larger battery, a larger 6-inch screen, compared to the Pixel 3a. The excellent shooting camera is taken from the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL versions. The device belongs to the "budget" due to cheap case materials, a mid-range processor and simplified characteristics of similar premium models.