Some Google Pixel 3a, 3a XL Early Adopters Are Reporting Misaligned Cutouts for Speaker Grille, USB Type-C Port

Google's Pixel 3a and 3a XL were in the news recently for an issue, which many users claim, was causing these phones to shutdown randomly. Google's budget duo are in the news again, but this time, for some cosmetic defects. Some users are reporting that the cutouts for the Type-C port and speaker grille are not aligned properly. This is something we hadn't noticed when we tested them but after going back and checking, our units seem to be okay.

YouTuber, Erica Griffin (@iAm_erica) tweeted an image of her white Pixel 3a, which has a visible misalignment for the two speaker grilles. If you look closely, the cutout for the USB port doesn't line up with the the actual connector inside. One could chalk this off as a one-off issue but others have also replied to this tweet claiming that even their unit has this issue. Photographer Jackson Hayes (@jacksonhvisuals) claims that his Pixel 3a (Review) unit has a similar issue.

This issue doesn't appear to be restricted to just 3a devices. Another user (@ELJefeReviews) also claims that his Pixel 3a XL (Review) unit has very slight misaligned cutouts, although not as obvious as the one posted by Griffin.

Google hasn't officially commented on this issue yet, but it does raise some concerns about the company's quality checks. If you remember the Pixel 2 XL (Review) was plagued with hardware issues from the moment it launched. Thankfully, Google rectified most of it last year with the Pixel 3 series but it doesn't seem like the same care and attention was given to these budget offerings. Just the other day, we heard about Pixel 3a users reporting random shutdowns with their phones.

We're eager to see what Google has to say to both these issues. If you happened to be a Pixel 3a and 3a XL user, you might want to take a closer look at the bottom of your phone. On second thought, you better not since once you see it, you can't unseen it.