Google Pixel 3a Review: 3 Reasons the Camera King Comes Up Short By Michael Caputo

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.

Source : Michael Caputo