Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL With Snapdragon 670 SoC, Flagship Camera Launched: Price in India, Specifications

Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL have been announced at Google's I/O 2019 keynote address. The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL smartphones are more affordable Pixel offerings, meant to better compete in the premium smartphone market space that Google admittedly struggled in this past quarter. Taking on mid-range premium smartphones from Apple and Samsung, the Pixel 3a duo offers Pixel-specific apps and services, including the company's famed photography software, on cheaper hardware compared to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL flagships that were launched last year. The announcement kicked off Google I/O, a three-day developer conference held at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Read on for more details about the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL price in India, release date, and specifications.

Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL price in India

The Google Pixel 3a price in India is set at Rs. 39,999, while the Google Pixel 3a XL price in India will be Rs. 44,999. Both smartphones will be offered only in 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage variants. The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL release date in India is May 15, with the smartphones going up for registrations from 12:30pm IST on Wednesday, May 8 via Flipkart. The Google smartphones have been launched in three colour variants – Clearly White, Just Black, and Purplish, with only first two set to make their way to India. Buyers in India will also get a free 3-month YouTube Music Premium subscription, if they activate a Pixel 3a smartphone before September 30.

In the US, the Pixel 3a price starts at $399 (roughly Rs. 28,000), while the Pixel 3a XL price starts at $479 (roughly Rs. 33,500). Other countries where the smartphone will be made available starting today include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, and the UK.

Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL specifications

Google had used hardware more commonly found in the budget segment of smartphones, and has also chosen to remove custom Pixel hardware such as the Pixel Visual Core that is offered on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL flagships, but retains the Titan M security chip. While single-SIM (Nano) smartphones, dual-SIM will be available on the Pixel 3a duo in India, with an eSIM featuring support from Airtel and Reliance Jio. The support will also be made available for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, the company said. The phones are both powered by the latest version of Android 9.0 Pie, and will get a minimum 3 years of OS and security updates. The phones support the company's AR Core framework for augmented reality applications.

Besides being powered by the Snapdragon 670 SoC (two cores clocked at 2GHz and six cores clocked at 1.7GHz), unveiled by Qualcomm last year, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL offer a maximum of 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM, and 64GB of storage. While the Pixel 3a sports a 5.6-inch full-HD+ (1080x2220 pixels at 18.5:9) gOLED display, the Pixel 3a XL sports a 6-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels at 18:9) gOLED display, both protected by Dragon Trail glass and offering 24-bit colour depth (16 million colours). The phones feature a polycarbonate unibody design, unlike the glass seen on the Pixel 3 series.

Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL camera features

Both the Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL sport a single 12.2-megapixel Dual-Pixel Sony IMX363 sensor on the back, complete with optical and electronic image stabilisation (OIS + EIS), an f/1.8 aperture, 76-degree field of view, 1/2.55-inch sensor, and 1.4-micron pixels. Retaining a single camera setup as seen on the Pixel 3 flagships, the Pixel 3a duo both offer the Night Sight low-light photography feature however, as well as HDR+, Portrait Mode, Super Res Zoom, and Top Shot. The rear camera is capable of 120fps video recording at 1080p, 240fps at 720p, and 30fps at 4K.

Google has added the same rear camera setup in the Pixel 3a phones that is present in Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

On the front, Google has used an 8-megapixel sensor with 1.12-micron pixels, an f/2.0 aperture, and an 84-degree field of view. Google has also chosen to use stereo speakers on the Pixel 3a duo. Sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and a proximity sensor. A Pixel Imprint fingerprint sensor is placed on the rear panel. An Active Edge sensor is also present, as seen on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.

The Pixel 3a bears a 3,000mAh battery (delivering up to 12 hours of video playback time), while the Pixel 3a XL bears a 3,700mAh battery (delivering up to 14 hours of video playback time). The company is also providing an 18-watt charger, which the company claims can deliver up to 7 hours of battery life on a 15-minute charge, while the phones themselves can deliver up to 30 hours on a full charge. Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-FI 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, a 3.5mm headphone jack on top.

The Pixel 3a measures in at 151.3x70.1x8.2mm, and weighs 147 grams, while the Pixel 3a XL measures in at 160.1x76.1x8.2mm and weighs 167 grams.

Has Google Pixel 3a's pricing ruined its prospects in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.