I previously owned the Pixel 2, which has nearly the same dimensions as the pixel 4a, except that the Pixel 4a has a 5.8 inch screen while the Pixel 2 has only a 5 inch screen. Google has learned its lesson from that desaturated Pixel 2 display debacle. The Google Pixel 4 XL used to top our list of the best Pixel phones - until the Pixel 5 debuted - and it also avoids some of the pitfalls its non-XL sibling had. Find out which Pixel phone is right for you. Use of motion sense, an Active display or data usage will decrease battery life. So while you do have the always-on functionality, you can’t just tap the display to wake the phone properly, and instead you’ll have to use the fingerprint scanner or the power button.Fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate, a definite improvement over Pixel 1 XL. One annoyance with the screen is there’s no tap-to-wake function. It’s like having Shazam on your phone, but it’s always prepped and ready to recommend that song to you immediately. You’ll also get added extras in this mode – for example the phone listens out for music that’s playing nearby you and will tell you the track at the bottom of the display. We didn’t find that this noticeably impacted battery life either, so we'd recommend enabling the feature. You can choose to have the time, date and a variety of other details, including your notifications, displayed on the screen when it’s in sleep mode. The maximum brightness was also impressive, allowing us to see the phone’s interface clearly even in bright sunlight.Īnother nice touch is Google’s always-on display mode, which is available on a variety of Pixel handsets but is well implemented on the Google Pixel 3a XL. In fact, we enjoyed the screen a lot.įull HD+ is a solid enough resolution to provide good detail no matter what you’re doing, and we found it fine for watching films and cycling through apps. It may look a little basic compared to phones with notches, but we didn’t mind the more traditional look.
The screen itself is a bright, colorful 6-inch OLED panel with a Full HD+ (2160 x 1080) resolution, 402ppi pixel density and 18:9 aspect ratio. One-handed use is possible, although those with smaller hands will likely find that both are required to comfortably tap away at the screen. It sits well in the hand, although the polycarbonate unibody doesn’t feel overly premium, and at 167g it isn’t too heavy. The Google Pixel 3a XL measures 160.1 x 76.1 x 8.2mm, making it taller and thicker than the Pixel 3 XL, which actually has a bigger screen, but smaller bezels. That means there’s no in-screen fingerprint scanning tech here, but we didn’t find we missed this feature, which is mostly only available on top-end phones at the moment anyway. There’s a fingerprint scanner on the rear of the phone that’s easy to hit with your forefinger, providing you with added security both when unlocking your phone and when you use banking apps or pay for something with Google Pay. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s a nice touch that we enjoyed. That was something that stood out to those who noticed the phone when we were using it, and it often earned compliments. While on the black version the power/lock key on the right side is the same color as the rest of the phone, the white and purple variants have orange and lime green keys respectively, adding a pleasant splash of color to proceedings. The Google Pixel 3a XL is available in three colors: Just Black, Clearly White and the new Purple-ish hues, with the latter being an extremely subtle shade of purple – so much so that you may be hard pushed to tell it’s purple at all, depending on lighting conditions, with it sometimes looking more like off-white.
That likely means shooting light sources will be more difficult than if you had one. You don’t get as much screen here as you would on a device with a notch, but we quite enjoy the overall look.įlip the Pixel 3a XL over and you’ll find a rear design which differs from the flagship pair in just one respect: there’s no hole for the spectral and flicker sensor on the Pixel 3a XL between the camera and the flash. We think it looks understated, and it shouldn’t really be an issue if you’re not looking specifically for a notch. It’s a familiar look, but also one that’s increasingly rare on new phones as all-screen displays with notches or punch-holes become the norm. Instead you get a small block of bezel above and below the screen, for an aesthetic that matches the smaller Pixel 3.
There is, however, one clear design difference between the two XL handsets, as the Pixel 3a XL doesn’t have a notch at the top of its screen. When you first look at the Pixel 3a XL you may find it difficult to spot any differences between it and the Pixel 3 XL.