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Google Pixel 3a / 3a XL announced (available today $399 / $479 ; headphone jack)
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I'm on a 3 but I'd recommend decreasing the animation time, makes it feel a lot snappier to me. Should be easy if you Google it.
I have to say Android Q and a slim (soft-touch plastic) case have greatly improved my opinion of the Pixel 3a.
No issues with my 3a's headphone jack. I use it at least a couple times a week.
Might want to contact customer service at Google.
Might want to contact customer service at Google.
I just went and bought myself a Pixel 3A XL today.
I had a OnePlus 6T so I guess you could say this is a downgrade! smaller screen. less ram. weaker CPU/GPU. more bezel. but honestly...i ain't even mad. the 3A XL is a nice phone. so why did i sell my 6T for £210 and spend another £260 for a phone that would be considered a downgrade? probably mostly because i get bored easily and just love new tech toys. but the 6T has some things that really bugged me.
i'll start with what is probably the biggest issues:
size - i like big phones but the 6T was just too big. the 3A XL feels so much more comfortable to hold and use.
livin' the dongle life vs being a headphone jack loyalist - i thought i was happy to leave the headphone jack behind but turns out the USB-C dongle is just shit! it kept cutting out + pausing my music. i wanted my headphone jack back.
smaller picky things:
notch - to be fair the teardrop notch on the 6T is probably the least offensive and intrusive notch. i really really wanted a phone with just all screen but that wasn't an option when i got it so the teardrop notch felt like a good compromise. the 7 pro is out now which is nice but Oneplus hiked the price up significantly. I was gonna wait for the "7T Pro" later this year but eh...
screen corners - the 6T has ridiculously curved edges on the screen. like seriously. so many damn apps are cut off because of how insanely round they are. it annoyed me that text/icons were being cut off. the 3A XL has curved edges still but no where near as stupid as the 6Tpro.
OS updates - to be fair OnePlus is probably one of the best Android makers out there when it comes to updating their phones. they already have access to Android Q. beta and stable updates come through regularly. but of course with the 3A XL they are gonna be getting 3 years worth of support and they'll be first to get updates.
"stock" android - always wanted this. loved my Nexus 5 in the day. i know what you get on pixel isn't really considered stock android but it's probably the best and closest option. Oxygen OS is pretty damn close and doesn't have much bloatware but I guess I'm really picky. OnePlus has a few of their own apps which are great but I want all google. Pixel Android might not be "stock" android but it's Googles version of Android and IMO you can't get any better.
ehs:
battery life - there are a lot of positive reports of good battery life on these phones so i felt confidant going for it. my 6T was insane with easily 8 or 9 hours SoT with about a day worth of standby. charging was insanely fast too. the 3A has fast charging and of course it's too early to see how well the battery really is under my day to day usage but i think i'll be happy with it.
overall performance - the phone seems really fast to use just going between apps. i do notice some things take ever so slightly more time but whatever. but my 6T was also starting to lag and slow down a bit. recently some things just felt sluggish. a lot of apps would constantly reload upon launch even with the 8GB model that i had. i don't really need great performance. i only use my phone for browsing the internet/listening to music, and watching youtube. if i ever do play a game then it's some cheap crappy game that i'll get bored of after a few hours.
pros?:
camera - i guess.... i keep hearing about how good the camera is on pixel phones. i've not really played about with it yet but the camera app seems more full of features. i don't take a lot of pictures and thought the camera on my 6T was good (apparently it's shit!). if the Pixel is better then great!
biometrics - face unlock on the 6T is cool and so is the under screen fingerprint sensor. it just didn't seem reliable in that it never always recognized my face/print. if it did then somethings it took quite a bit of time to unlock. going back to a fingerprint on the back is such a huge improvement. i do think that under screen fingerprints are ultimately gonna be the way to go but i guess the tech is still early. not sure how much better the underscreen reader is for samsung phones or the newer 7 Pro...but i'm happy to wait another couple years for it to improve and find out.
TL;DR - sold my OnePlus 6T, put it towards the 3A XL, and put myself £260 down .... for a "downgrade". impressed with the phone so far. really happy with it.
I had a OnePlus 6T so I guess you could say this is a downgrade! smaller screen. less ram. weaker CPU/GPU. more bezel. but honestly...i ain't even mad. the 3A XL is a nice phone. so why did i sell my 6T for £210 and spend another £260 for a phone that would be considered a downgrade? probably mostly because i get bored easily and just love new tech toys. but the 6T has some things that really bugged me.
i'll start with what is probably the biggest issues:
size - i like big phones but the 6T was just too big. the 3A XL feels so much more comfortable to hold and use.
livin' the dongle life vs being a headphone jack loyalist - i thought i was happy to leave the headphone jack behind but turns out the USB-C dongle is just shit! it kept cutting out + pausing my music. i wanted my headphone jack back.
smaller picky things:
notch - to be fair the teardrop notch on the 6T is probably the least offensive and intrusive notch. i really really wanted a phone with just all screen but that wasn't an option when i got it so the teardrop notch felt like a good compromise. the 7 pro is out now which is nice but Oneplus hiked the price up significantly. I was gonna wait for the "7T Pro" later this year but eh...
screen corners - the 6T has ridiculously curved edges on the screen. like seriously. so many damn apps are cut off because of how insanely round they are. it annoyed me that text/icons were being cut off. the 3A XL has curved edges still but no where near as stupid as the 6T
OS updates - to be fair OnePlus is probably one of the best Android makers out there when it comes to updating their phones. they already have access to Android Q. beta and stable updates come through regularly. but of course with the 3A XL they are gonna be getting 3 years worth of support and they'll be first to get updates.
"stock" android - always wanted this. loved my Nexus 5 in the day. i know what you get on pixel isn't really considered stock android but it's probably the best and closest option. Oxygen OS is pretty damn close and doesn't have much bloatware but I guess I'm really picky. OnePlus has a few of their own apps which are great but I want all google. Pixel Android might not be "stock" android but it's Googles version of Android and IMO you can't get any better.
ehs:
battery life - there are a lot of positive reports of good battery life on these phones so i felt confidant going for it. my 6T was insane with easily 8 or 9 hours SoT with about a day worth of standby. charging was insanely fast too. the 3A has fast charging and of course it's too early to see how well the battery really is under my day to day usage but i think i'll be happy with it.
overall performance - the phone seems really fast to use just going between apps. i do notice some things take ever so slightly more time but whatever. but my 6T was also starting to lag and slow down a bit. recently some things just felt sluggish. a lot of apps would constantly reload upon launch even with the 8GB model that i had. i don't really need great performance. i only use my phone for browsing the internet/listening to music, and watching youtube. if i ever do play a game then it's some cheap crappy game that i'll get bored of after a few hours.
pros?:
camera - i guess.... i keep hearing about how good the camera is on pixel phones. i've not really played about with it yet but the camera app seems more full of features. i don't take a lot of pictures and thought the camera on my 6T was good (apparently it's shit!). if the Pixel is better then great!
biometrics - face unlock on the 6T is cool and so is the under screen fingerprint sensor. it just didn't seem reliable in that it never always recognized my face/print. if it did then somethings it took quite a bit of time to unlock. going back to a fingerprint on the back is such a huge improvement. i do think that under screen fingerprints are ultimately gonna be the way to go but i guess the tech is still early. not sure how much better the underscreen reader is for samsung phones or the newer 7 Pro...but i'm happy to wait another couple years for it to improve and find out.
TL;DR - sold my OnePlus 6T, put it towards the 3A XL, and put myself £260 down .... for a "downgrade". impressed with the phone so far. really happy with it.
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I never received the email from Google, but the $100 is now in my Google Store account. Just a heads up for anyone waiting, you might want to login to your Google Store account.
Had a thread earlier about the Pixel 3a and I'm about to pull the trigger now. Before doing so I had a buddy mention I should see if there are any friend referrals or promo codes I could use.
Anyone that bought a Pixel 3 know of anything or have anything?
opticalmace emag WillJoe smisk
If there isn't anything, I'll just move forward.
Anyone that bought a Pixel 3 know of anything or have anything?
opticalmace emag WillJoe smisk
If there isn't anything, I'll just move forward.
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What case do you have? Still haven't gotten one. Love the phone though, I frequently charge it only every other day.
I sent you a DM with a $50 Google Store credit if you get yours through the Google Store. No worries either way. Good luck, love my 3A!
Just a cheap one off eBay:
Finally got my $100 credit from Google, had to send them a support email, but at least I got it. Kind of annoying that it is automatically tied to your account, was hoping for just a code that I could sell. Oh well, maybe I will preorder a Stadia since I have to use this before the end of September. I don't really want one since I don't have a TV and I'm assuming the Chromecast only works with TVs, maybe I'll be able to sell that at least.
Also if anyone is still looking to buy a 3a, let me know and I can PM you a promo code so we both get $50 Google credit if you buy it from the Google Store.
Also if anyone is still looking to buy a 3a, let me know and I can PM you a promo code so we both get $50 Google credit if you buy it from the Google Store.
I have no idea what to use the 100 credit for. It's all smart home stuff which I don't need/want. Might just save it if I decide to get a pixel 4.
It expires next year. From my very own account:
Better to wait until Black Friday or something for maximum advantage.
I figure I'll probably just get a Stadia. I'm not sure I'll use it, but for $30 maybe I'll check it out and just sell the Chromecast Ultra.
I think it was mentioned that the item you can use the $100 credit is for something in-stock. Not a pre-order. I, too, was hoping to get a Stadia for mine.
Looks to be letting me:
That said, if anyone is going to buy a new 3a (in the US) let me know and we can both get another $50 Google Store credit. Would be even better to get the Stadia fully free lol.
what the hellIt expires next year. From my very own account:
Better to wait until Black Friday or something for maximum advantage.
mine expires sept 1st, and i definitely remembering the promotion saying it would only be good til end of august
The Best Buy gift card wasn't without its pitfalls. The one I got sent would never activate (when I'd go online it would tell me it was invalid), and even customer service couldn't do anything to fix it other than mail me a physical gift card, and only that was after they kept trying to resend it about five times over one week and me insisting it wasn't working.
It charges you when it ships is what people mentioned. By then the promo is expired (mine expires in August).
Ohh. Well, I contacted Google because the credit wasn't credited automatically into my account (well, accounts, because I ordered two, one in my account and other in my wife's account). And they credited the $200 ($100 each account) manually.
That must be the reason.
Oh damn, are we sure they won't honor it? That seems especially petty if we put in the order. My credit expires end of September. I really don't know what else to use it on.
I'm in the same boat. People have asked Support so that's what I'm basing it on. I know, I have nothing to use it on either lol. I don't need any more Google spyware in my life.
Old 3t stopped reading sim cards so I went out and got a 3a today.
THE VOLUME ROCKER IS ON THE WRONG SIDE.... what is wrong with google
I guess Ill get used to it. le' sigh
THE VOLUME ROCKER IS ON THE WRONG SIDE.... what is wrong with google
I guess Ill get used to it. le' sigh
My Pixel 2 is on its last legs. Looking to replace it with a 3a. I'd take a referral code if anyone has one to spare.
EDIT: I found one online, won't be needing one anymore. If anyone's reading this looking for one, check the pixel3a subreddit referral code sticky thread.
EDIT: I found one online, won't be needing one anymore. If anyone's reading this looking for one, check the pixel3a subreddit referral code sticky thread.
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I'm still rocking a Moto G5 Plus... I might finally buy one of these today.
My only hesitation is the lack of micro SD.
My only hesitation is the lack of micro SD.
lack of micro sd was a deal breaker for my parents. Was trying to get them off the dying s7 edge to this but no dice :/
I've had mine for a while now and love it, well worth 300USD
I went from 3XL to 3a, didn't mind not having the XL, think the next phone I get may also not be the larger variant of whatever it is
64GB isn't great, but I'm uploading to Photos and OneDrive so that's how I manage although I haven't filled mine up yet.
My Moto G5 Plus has 64gb internal + a 64gb SD... both have 50gb of data on them (SD card is almost exclusively music, internal storage is photography).
I use Google Music & Photos so much... probably ok to graduate onward? I wonder if I can get a better ~$300-400 phone...
How about battery life? 3a XL's battery is tempting.
if you're on verizon or another carrier i got mine at best buy for $250
Damn for only 80 more bucks I may be getting first XL-size phone
Mine seems to think my headphones are a headset and only one ear is working
Coming from the 3XL it's markedly better, and even though it's 3000mAh it does a solid day. I understand they're (3a and 3a XL) overall kinda close on hrs but definitely chceck into that.
Wtf I would have snatched it up but I saw someone say it was the Black Friday pricing so I figured it'd stay at the discount price through the end of next week!
Will be $299/$379 again at the Google store for Black Friday. I'd expect other retailers to follow suit then again too.
I also have the G5 Plus and it is getting laggy lately. I almost jumped on this but more sales are coming. 64 GB is fine for me, I just want a phone that does not stall for 10 seconds randomly.