Whereas other midrange phones aim to deliver on the performance front, Google wants to let its camera do all the convincing. Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 may not be the fastest, but it can go toe-to-toe against other flagships in camera performance. And since it runs the bloat-free stock Android, its user experience is blazing fast and battery life is phenomenal. Front cameraWithout a second ultra-wide sensor, it’s a little more difficult to fit in a large group of people in a shot. Nonetheless, its quality is good enough for video calling and pretty selfies. Software and featuresWhen it comes to smartphone OS, less is more. Third party manufacturers tend to embellish Android with nifty features and enhancements.
While they’re definitely cool and useful under specific circumstances, they can greatly impede performance. If you’re looking for speed and efficiency, then stock Android reigns supreme.Google phones have always rocked stock Android. Omitting all the bloat alleviates processing burden on the chipset, saving battery and allocates more resources to run the more essential tasks. Stock Android’s fantastic experience is attributed by its speedy animations, which amplifies the perceived speed of the phone to pricepoints beyond the sum of its parts.Google Pixel phones also have one of the longest software support cycles in the Android market. All Pixel phones are slated to be supported for three years from their launch date.
This means guaranteed update to the latest version of Android and security updates the moment they drop. Google further hardened the Pixel 3a’s security by adding its Titan M enterprise-grade security chip in the phone.As bare-bones as it may be, stock Android still packs all the features most users would need. With that said, my chief complaint is the lack of a system-wide dark mode, which will eventually land with the release of Android Q. In the meantime, users who want to reduce eyestrains and conserve OLED display’s battery use will have to continue to wait.You can still quickly summon Google Assistant by giving the phone a good squeeze. Is it more convenient than shouting “Okay Google”?
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That’s debatable, especially considering you’ll be orating your commands anyway. Battery lifeWith a power-sipping processor and the largest ever battery to ship in a Google Phone, endurance is the Pixel 3a XL’s forte. Add in power saving features like Adaptive Battery to the mix, and I managed to squeeze out more than 8 hours of screen-on time (SoT) on a single charge. Calling that impressive is an understatement.Expect two days worth of battery life if email, music streaming, calling, and various social media applications are your daily go-to apps. Even with YouTube, Lightroom, and other productivity tasks added on, I never had to charge it within a single day.
Most of my apps run with dark mode enabled, my screen brightness is set to auto, and I try to connect to Wi-Fi whenever possible.The Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charging 4.0+, which can charge the battery to 50 per cent in 15 minutes. Charging to 100 per cent takes a lot longer, though. Price and competitionAt $649, the Pixel 3a XL is fighting an uphill battle against faster competitors at similar price points, especially ones from value-oriented Chinese phone makers.
To up its appeal, Google has to compete in an area mid-range phone rarely prioritize: camera quality.Value phones between the $500 to $800 price bracket typically follow a performance-first philosophy. In doing so, they tend to sacrifice secondary features in order to squeeze in a higher-performing processor, more RAM, and better materials. Sometimes, these phones are sold under a different brand as to not cannibalize their premium counterparts. For example, Honor phones, known for their excellent value, are owned by Huawei.The Pixel, being consolidated under a single brand, chooses not to spin off into a new brand for its midrange. Thus, with the Pixel 3 occupying Google’s high-end, Google needed to properly segment its midtier phones. While omitting a full-glass body, wireless charging, and dual-front cameras is a sensible decision to shave cost, the trickier thing is performance. Since performance is a key differentiator between price segments, Google couldn’t utilize a flagship chipset, therefore leaving a midrange chipset as the only choice.At this point, it should go without saying that these cost savings enabled Google to retain its prime feature — the camera — on the Pixel 3a XL.
With it, Google is hoping to drive sales with a fresh strategy: by blending sufficient performance with a brilliant camera. ConclusionThe Google Pixel 3a XL can have a profound impact on Google’s bottom line. By tucking its exceptional camera onto a more accessible price point, Google’s strategy is to drive value through features, battery life, and software support rather than competing in performance. It understands that at the midrange, many users simply don’t care if the phone has the latest and greatest chipset. As long as it runs well — and the Google Pixel 3a XL does so exceptionally — features take precedence. Even though its dated design can be a turnoff, and missing niched features like wireless charging hurt its appeal, they’re all overshadowed by its supreme shooter.
With that said, some level of certified weather resistance would be more reassuring to business users who can’t afford to have their devices fail.Ostensibly, I’m a big proponent of the Pixel 3a XL, but even I must admit the spec advantages of its competitors. Phones from China like the OnePlus 6T and XiaoMi Mi9 all offer faster chipsets and more RAM, which all help with multitasking. The tradeoff, ofcourse, is that gorgeous camera and stock Android experience. It’s also important to note the experience, rather than the spec sheet, when purchasing a phone.
While I certainly would confidently recommend the Pixel 3a XL for any mainstream user, my phone review only caters to the most common business applications. Those who use specialized or proprietary applications should decide on a case-by-case basis.Related DownloadSponsor: BlackBerry.
Google Pixel 2 XL – Battery lifeThere’s nothing revolutionary or noticeably poor about the 3520mAh cell in the Pixel 2 XL. It’s a perfectly fine battery that’ll get you through the day.I’ve easily managed to make it through the day without reaching for the charger, comfortably going from morning until night with 15-20% remaining. If you’re a lighter user then you’ll probably have enough power left to last until midday the following day – but to stretch to two days will require close management of your settings.Screen-on time matches that of other similarly sized phones – the, for example – at around five to six hours, while an hour of Netflix streaming (Wi-Fi on, brightness set to 50%) consumed around 10% on average.Related:Google includes a 5A USB-C to USB-C charger in the box, which, through rapid charging will boost battery to 50% in 30 minutes. You’ll be looking at around 1hr 10mins to charge your device from zero to 100%, but that’s still impressive.There’s no wireless charging, however – no phone with a metal backplate has yet to manage this – but that’s more of a luxury than an essential feature. Why buy the Google Pixel 2 XL?It might not be the best Android phone available in every area, but the Google Pixel 2 XL is the one I would buy. It has a stunning camera, the best version of Android and I love the texture Google has put over the metal back.The and both have more features and the is a lot cheaper, but the Google Pixel 2 XL shines when you actually use it. Take a picture with it and you’ll forgive the lack of a headphone jack, or the odd front bezel.My only major criticism is the display.
LG’s OLED panel is dull and muted and that’s a shame. Still, this is easily one of the best phones of the year. VerdictA stunning camera means this is still the current Android champion.