Subjectively at least, the Pixel 3a feels just as nippy in operation. Now that we’re finally able to provide full benchmark figures, it’s clear that the Pixel 3a isn’t quite as speedy, but these performance cutbacks aren’t as drastic as I’d initially expected. The internal sacrifices don’t translate to a slow phone. In other respects, it’s much the same, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, which sadly can’t be expanded. This is a 10nm architecture CPU with a clock speed of 2GHz, so you can’t expect the performance of the Pixel 3’s Snapdragon 845, which hit a blazingly fast 2.8GHz. The Pixel 3a comes equipped with Qualcomm’s newest mid-range chipset, the octa-core Snapdragon 670. Google Pixel 3a review: Performance and battery life An excellent contrast ratio of infinity:1 also helps readability. The Pixel 3a is capable of hitting a peak luminance of 416cd/m ², meaning it’s perfectly readable in all but the brightest conditions, even if it’s a long way behind Samsung’s dazzlingly bright OLED panels. Google’s circular fingerprint reader sits in the same location on the back of the phone and there’s a USB Type-C charging port on the bottom, flanked by a pair of speaker grilles.īrightness isn’t too shabby, either.

The Pixel 3a is a delight to hold and use, fitting comfortably in the palm of your hand. Not that this leads, by any means, to a cheap-feeling device. This isn’t a glass and aluminium combo this time around, though: the new phone is instead constructed entirely from polycarbonate plastic.

This incorporates a smoother section at the top of the phone, which surrounds the rear-facing camera module, softening to a grippier, silky matte finish towards the bottom.

The Pixel 3a keeps the same two-tone rear of its (slightly) older flagship counterparts. Seriously, even a spot-the-difference master wouldn’t be able to tell the two phones apart. Google Pixel 3a review: Design and key featuresĮven though the Pixel 3a costs less and includes slightly tweaked internal specifications, everything else, physically at least, remains the same. Lastly, as long as you’re willing to pay a little extra, the Pixel 3a XL adds a bigger screen and a larger-capacity battery for just £70 more, with a hardly XL price tag of £469. A new OnePlus phone is also on the way, even if you’ll have to wait at least a couple of weeks for it and we don’t yet know how much it will cost. There’s also the OnePlus 6T to wrestle with, which does very well at a similar price.

Google pixel 1 sim card slot