Some of our readers asked, what is the difference between the two phones, Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a ? Well, there are many similarities between the two. Most importantly, you get the same experience at a lower price tag.
Price is always a consideration when one decides on which phone to buy. According to the official pricing release by Google, the price of the Pixel 3a is almost halved in a number of markets. One of the reasons is that it is powered by a mid range processor the Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 instead of the Snapdragon 845 on the original Pixel 3. The good news, you get the same good quality camera for night shots, a slightly better battery. You also get a 3.5 mm audio jack which was missing on the original Pixel 3.
The bad is that you lose the wireless charging, water resistant and group selfie cam (wide angle).
At half the price, the pixel 3a will let the more budget users to have a chance to switch over to the Pixel camp. With the Pixel phone,you will be getting all the latest Android updates on time (3 yrs). You will also enjoy taking beautiful shots in the night.
The only thing I would love Pixel to include is a dual physical SIM slot and enable all the VoLTE , VoWIFI that is already available on much cheaper knock offs.
Below is a breakdown of the differences from the Google website. You can also read our coverage of the press event held at Google Asia Pacific HQ yesterday.
| Pixel 3 – S$1249 (SG) , USD 799 (US) | Pixel 3a S$659 (SG), USD 399 (US) |
| Display Full-screen 5.5″/139.7 mm display FHD+ flexible OLED at 443 ppi 18:9 | Display Full-screen 5.6″ display FHD+ OLED at 441 ppi 18.5:9 |
| 2915 mAh Fast, wireless charging. HDR Support (UHDA Certification) All-day battery | 3000 mAh Fast charging All-day battery |
| Design Soft-touch glass back Active Edge™3 Water-resistant4 | Design Polycarbonate unibody Active Edge™3 |
| Memory & storage 4 GB RAM Up to 128 GB storage5, plus unlimited storage at original quality with Google Photos6 | Memory & storage 4 GB RAM 64 GB storage5, plus unlimited storage for photos and videos at high quality with Google Photos6 |
| Processors Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 845 with Octa-Core Pixel Visual Core™ Titan M security module | Processors Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 670 with Octa-Core Titan M security module |
| Cameras Rear camera 12.2 MP dual-pixel rear camera ƒ/1.8 Auto-focus + dual-pixel phase detection Optical + electronic image stabilisation Dual-front camera 8 MP wide-angle and normal cameras Wide-angle: ƒ/2.2 aperture, fixed focus | Cameras Rear camera 12.2 MP dual-pixel rear camera ƒ/1.8 Auto-focus + dual-pixel phase detection Optical + electronic image stabilisation Front camera 8 MP front camera ƒ/2.0 aperture, fixed focus |
| Camera features Group Selfie Cam Night Sight Top Shot Portrait mode Super Res Zoom Motion Auto-Focus HDR+ | Camera features Night Sight Top Shot Portrait mode Motion Auto-Focus Super Res Zoom HDR+ |
| Audio Dual, front-firing stereo speakers USB-C™ audio | Audio Dual stereo speakers USB-C™ audio 3.5 mm audio jack |