Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are official from Google as of this morning. That means we have finalized specs! For highlights, both devices feature a Snapdragon 670 processor, offer the camera software stuff all Pixel fans know and love, and they start at only $399. Here are the specs you need to know about.<doc-sep>(Pocket-lint) - Google announced the Pixel 3a and 3a XL at the beginning of its I/O developer conference on 7 May, finally making the mid-range devices official after months of rumours. How do they compare to each other though? We've put the specifications for the Pixel 3a up against the Pixel 3a XL to see how they differ and what's the same. You can also read how they compare to the Pixel 3 and 3 XL in our separate feature. Design Polycarbonate body Camera capabilities 3.5mm headphone jack Processor, RAM, storage The Pixel 3a and 3a XL both come with Active Edge squeezable sides like the current Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, and the two devices have a colourful power button, a two tone rear and a single rear camera lens. Both run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 670, supported by 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage and both come with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The two devices also both feature polycarbonate bodies. They come with the same cameras and camera features as each other, with a 12.2-megapixel rear snapper and an 8-megapixel front snapper, and they both run Android Pie. squirrel_widget_148686 Despite the Pixel 3a and 3a XL offering a similar appearance, there are several differences between the two devices. Pixel 3a: 151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2mm, 147g Pixel 3a XL: 160.1 x 76.1 x 8.2mm, 167g The Pixel 3a is measures 151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2mm and weighs 147g, while the Pixel 3a XL measures 160.1 x 76.1 x 8.2mm and weighs 20g more. Given the names though, it is unsurprising the Pixel 3a XL is larger and heavier. Pixel 3a: 5.56-inch, Full HD+, 18.5:9, 441ppi Pixel 3a XL: 6-inch, Full HD+, 18:9, 401ppi The Pixel 3a comes with a 5.56-inch display, while the Pixel 3a XL has a larger 6-inch display. Both devices feature bezels at the top and bottom of the display, though the Pixel 3a has a slightly taller aspect ratio at 18.5:9 compared to the 3a XL's 18:9. Both feature Full HD+ resolutions, which means the Pixel 3a has a slightly sharper screen overall at 441ppi compared to the Pixel 3a XL's 401ppi. Pixel 3a: 3000mAh battery Pixel 3a XL: 3700mAh battery The Pixel 3a comes with a 3000mAh battery capacity, while the Pixel 3a XL has a 3700mAh battery capacity. Both offer fast charging, with up to 7 hours use in 15 minutes of charge, but neither have wireless charging. Pixel 3a: £399 Pixel 3a XL: £469 The Pixel 3a will cost £399 in the UK, with the Pixel 3a XL costing a little more at £469. Both are available in Just Black, Clearly White and Purple-ish colour options and both ship with a fast charger. squirrel_widget_148690 The Pixel 3a and 3a XL are almost identical in design, aside from their physical size, and they both offer the same pure Android software experience, as the current Pixel 3 and 3 XL. They differ in terms of price by £70, along with display size, and the Pixel 3a XL has a larger battery capacity. Otherwise though, the two devices deliver all the same features, including RAM, processor, storage and camera capabilities so the decision comes down to how much you want to spend and how big you want your device. Writing by Britta O'Boyle.<doc-sep>Google has just officially lifted the cover off its first truly affordable Pixel phones that promise to bring an incredible camera and years of software support: welcome the Google Pixel 3a and its larger sibling, the Pixel 3a XL While the new Pixel 3a family looks quite conservative in terms of looks with those big bezels, it carries one feature that you never see on other affordable phones: a flagship-grade camera. The single 12-megapixel camera on the Pixel 3a and the XL comes with the impressive Night Sight feature and should be able to capture similarly great photos as the flagship Pixel 3 series. Not just that, these two phones are special among affordable phones in ways that the specs sheet that you will see below will not tell you, and that is the unique promise for years of timely software updates. Google promises that the new Pixel 3a series will get three major software updates (Android 10 Q, Android 11 R, and Android 12 S) and unlike other brands where you have to wait for months for new software, the updates here will come the very moment when Google releases them. With this short intro in mind, let's take a look at the specs sheet for the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL: How are the 3a series different from the flagship Pixel 3 family? Cheaper materials, no water-proofing and slower processor Looking at the spec sheet above, there is one thing that stands out and that would be the processor powering these two phones. Or the lack of a high-end processor we should say: instead of the commonly used in flagships Snapdragon 855 chip, these new devices will run on upper mid-range chips and not the absolutely fastest silicon. The Pixel 3a family is powered by the Snapdragon 670, a new chip by Qualcomm and when you look at the benchmarks for the processor, you understand that it delivers performance comparable to that of the Snapdragon 835 used in phones like the Pixel 2 XL in late 2017. Is that a dealbreaker? Provided the excellent optimization by Google, chances are that it's not. There are a few other things you will find missing on the 3a when compared to the flagship 3 series: the frame of the budget model is made from plastic and the screen is protected with Dragontrail Glass rather than the popular Corning Gorilla Glass. You also don't get a stereo speaker and instead have just a single loudspeaker. There are two more omissions: you get no special water resistance, and these budget Pixels don't support wireless charging . But that commonly requested headphone jack is here! Flagship-grade Camera One thing we have never seen on a budget phone While some phone makers insist on putting two, three, four and more cameras on their phones, Google has proven that you don't need more than one camera to get great images. And the new Pixel 3a series are no different in their approach: you have a single, 12-megapixel camera on the back. And if that sounds familiar, it's because that is the same camera that you have on the flagship Pixel series. How often have you seen a true flagship-grade camera on a mid-range phone? We know we haven't! You also get the impressive Night Sight feature on the 3a series as well, so you can get a bright photo even at night, when human vision can barely see. Price, Release date and Carriers No longer exclusive to Verizon! The Pixel 3a family starts at just $400 for the smaller 3a model and $479 for the larger Pixel 3a XL, both prices nearly half that of other flagship devices. But the best news is that the devices are no longer Verizon Wireless exclusive in the United States! The new Pixel 3a and XL are now available on Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, as well as Google Fi, and all of that in addition to availability on Verizon. And the release date is set for... today, May 7th. Final Words Easy recommendation! The new Pixel 3a is a brand new take on the very concept of an affordable phone. While currently most phone makers focus on bringing the looks of a flagship without the substance of a great camera and solid performance, Google is doing something completely different with unimpressive looks, but a great camera and a superbly well optimized user experience. Add to that the promise for three years of software updates, unprecedented among Android budget models, and nice extras like unlimited Google Photos storage space, and we can see the Pixel 3a family quickly carve a niche for itself in a very competitive market.<doc-sep>
Google just announced the Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, the latest addition to its smartphone lineup and the first Pixels to come at prices that could be considered less than high-end. The Pixel 3a shares great similarities with the Google Pixel 3 line that proceeded it. These two phones appeal to a different subset of the market, though, with lesser specs, cheaper materials, and a lower price… As was the case with the Pixel 3, the Pixel 3a line comes in two sizes — a standard model, and a larger XL variant. The smaller 3a has a 5.6-inch display, and the larger has a 6-inch screen. Interestingly, unlike the Pixel 3 XL, Google decided against the large screen cut out “notch” at the top of the Pixel 3a XL’s front. Besides this, you might not be able to tell them apart from Pixel 3 at first glance. The smaller device’s 5.6-inch display has a resolution of 2220×1080 at 441dpi, and it’s an OLED panel, which means it’s a similar-quality display to the standard Pixel 3. The larger device has a 6-inch display at a similar resolution. Another thing that’s similar are the camera sensors. There’s only one on the front (as opposed to Pixel 3’s two), but the front and back shooters it does have are nearly identical to that of the Pixel 3. This should mean the new phones will be able shoot photos of identical quality to its flagship brethren, and we’ll be testing that extensively this week. Some other specs: 64GB of storage, Snapdragon 670 system-on a chip with an Adreno 615 GPU, 4GB of RAM, a 3,000mAh battery on the smaller phone, the Titan M security chip, eSIM, and support for 18W fast charging via USB-C. Unfortunately, Google opted not to include wireless charging. In terms of pricing and availability, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will be available starting today from the Google Store and at Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint. The smaller Pixel 3a will start at exactly half the retail price of the standard Pixel 3 — $399 — while the larger Pixel 3a XL will cost $479. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news: