Courtesy of Max J. on Twitter, a few of the major specs for the upcoming Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL have been revealed.
The Pixel 3a is the smaller of the two handsets and is rumored to have a 5.6-inch 2220x1080p FHD+ OLED display with 441ppi and an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. The phone will 3,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging. It is unclear as to whether wireless charging will be included. Other features include Always-On Display and Google’s signature feature Now Playing, which displays nearby songs on the lock screen. The phone will be available in Pixel 3 colors “Just Black” and “Clearly White” as well as the recently leaked color “Purple-ish”.
The bigger of Google’s mid-range children, the Pixel 3a XL will have a 6-inch OLED display with a 2160x1080p FHD+ resolution and 402ppi. The aspect ratio of the XL version will be 18:9 instead of 18.5:9 that the Pixel 3 XL had back in October. The bigger display will be powered by a bigger 3,700mAh battery that will also have 18W fast charging. Like the 3a, the 3a XL will also have Always-On Display, Now Playing, and the same color options. Max J. also reported that the 3a XL will have the Snapdragon 670, a mid-range chip by Qualcomm. He was unsure as to whether the regular 3a would have the same processor, but he assumed as much.
For a little while now, leaks of the yet to be announced Pixel 3a and 3a XL have surfaced all around the internet. Everything from the retail packaging to Google putting the devices’ names on its own website (before taking them down) have appeared. It’s now gotten to the point where the phone has been completely revealed and all but Google’s official announcement is present. A similar situation happened back before Google’s flagship phones the Pixel 3 and 3 XL were announced. It’s becoming evident that either Google can’t keep secrets, or the company just doesn’t care about dramatic reveals.
The Pixel 3a and 3a XL seem to be Google’s attempt at selling more smartphones. The company recently admitted that the Pixel 3 and 3 XL sales were disappointing and less than the 2017 Pixel 2 lineup. Google also reported that it believed the underwhelming Pixel 3 sales were due to the premium price that was attached to them. The 3a handsets will be Google’s first mid-range lineup and hopefully, with a more affordable price, will experience better sales.
The other way Google might increase it’s smartphone sales could be with the Pixel 4. The next flagship phones by Google have experienced some renders of their own, that show some promising hardware changes. The first design showed the handsets with hole punch cut-outs similar to what the Galaxy S10 series has. A more recent leak shows a video in where the Pixel 4 is displayed with a relatively small notch, reminiscent of 2018 devices.
If Google truly wants to boost its smartphone market, the upcoming 3a and 3a XL will have to really pack a punch at a mid-range price. That, or maybe the Pixel 4 and 4 XL will have promising enough hardware to justify the premium price that Google usually charges.
