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Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
I never experienced that on my Pixel 3a but my Pixel 3 is terrible for battery drain even with the AoD off. It's a shame that the battery continues to be slightly problematic for users.
 

noobinator

macrumors 604
Jun 19, 2009
7,335
6,998
Los Angeles, CA
I can get about 6-8 hour SoT on my 3a in a day with room to spare and digital well being the only thing I turn off.

This phone, like all others, lasts much longer on WiFi vs cellular .
 
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Harthag

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2009
2,014
2,566
U.S.
Looks like AOD is the main culprit. Battery was fully charged at 11 PM last night. Now it is 11:15 AM and the phone is at 95%. I guess yesterday while the phone was idle it was bright in my apartment so the AOD was brighter as a result and caused more drain?

I will experiment with digital well being and see what happens.
 

michael9891

Cancelled
Sep 26, 2016
3,060
3,945
I feel the 3a XL for £470 is an absolute bargain. But some retailers, Google included are now selling it for £400 makes it even more so. Never thought I'd be so happy with what is probably classed as a budget phone.
 
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Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
So my mum has rescued me and bought the 3a for me which I will return in the 14 days in the hope that my phone will be repaired by then.

Will be here Tuesday. Feel lost without my phone!
 
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jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,072
19,067
US
So my mum has rescued me and bought the 3a for me which I will return in the 14 days in the hope that my phone will be repaired by then.

Will be here Tuesday. Feel lost without my phone!
Not having a phone is a horrible thing!
 
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Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
My 3a came early and arrived today instead of tomorrow so I'm no longer phone less.
I went with purple-ish. Just as a change from my black Pixel 3.

I love the colour. I still can't get over the value of this device. It's crazy. But I do miss my Pixel 3.
 
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jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,072
19,067
US
My 3a came early and arrived today instead of tomorrow so I'm no longer phone less.
I went with purple-ish. Just as a change from my black Pixel 3.

I love the colour. I still can't get over the value of this device. It's crazy. But I do miss my Pixel 3.
sooooo lets us know what you think of the difference between the P3 and P3a. I hear the battery life is better on the 3a for one thing.
 

Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
sooooo lets us know what you think of the difference between the P3 and P3a. I hear the battery life is better on the 3a for one thing.

I posted a couple of weeks back with the main differences I found after buying a 3a on release.

I still maintain the same. Haptics are no where near the 3. Wireless charging doesn't bother me at all as I don't use it.
The 3a feels much less premium *directly compared* to the 3. Without a 3 to pick up after holding a 3a you'd never know.

Camera processes slightly slower. Not too big of an issue though.

Bezels appear bigger on 3a. Side bezels particularly.

Battery life head and shoulders above the 3.
Speaker seems tinnier compared to the 3. I think the 3a gets louder, but itsounds no where near as good as the 3.

All in all that's about it. Obviously, just my findings. Other people will likely feel different.

Still, the 3a is a home run as far as I'm concerned. For that price and what you're getting you cannot go wrong.
 

michael9891

Cancelled
Sep 26, 2016
3,060
3,945
Took about 2 hours to update! But so far gestures are back to how they were, working great. Not keen on the white rounded bottom edges that appear temporarily when you swipe.
[doublepost=1562788039][/doublepost]Actually they appear when opening any app as well. Hopefully an update lets you turn them off.
 

Harthag

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2009
2,014
2,566
U.S.
Took about 2 hours to update! But so far gestures are back to how they were, working great. Not keen on the white rounded bottom edges that appear temporarily when you swipe.
[doublepost=1562788039][/doublepost]Actually they appear when opening any app as well. Hopefully an update lets you turn them off.
Also running beta 5 on my 3a. It runs great. I'll get used to swiping from left to go back, so far it works for me. I read somewhere, I think 9to5 Google, that the white rounded edges will only appear in the beta so that people become familiar with the new way. We'll see.
 
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michael9891

Cancelled
Sep 26, 2016
3,060
3,945
Also running beta 5 on my 3a. It runs great. I'll get used to swiping from left to go back, so far it works for me. I read somewhere, I think 9to5 Google, that the white rounded edges will only appear in the beta so that people become familiar with the new way. We'll see.
I’m glad it won’t be staying. Seems a little strange to include it. I don’t need reminding I’ve just opened an app. lol
 

noobinator

macrumors 604
Jun 19, 2009
7,335
6,998
Los Angeles, CA
The little white edges in the bottom corners are to show you the new way to launch assistant. I think it's stupid. We have 4 ways to launch assistant now.

As for the beta, it's much smoother than the last. So far so good.
 
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Awesomesince86

macrumors 68020
Sep 18, 2016
2,482
3,302
Rumors are the Pixel 3a XL will be offered with a $100 Amazon gift card for Prime Day.

I currently have a S10 Plus which I love but I know I'll be getting a Pixel 4 XL so I'm considering an experiment. I'm thinking of buying the 3a XL to be my daily driver until the Pixel 4 is released to see if I can get by using a mid-range phone. I havent owned any mid-range phones in at least 10 years but my thought is that the S10 plus still sells for a premium so it would basically be like getting a Pixel 3a XL plus $350. Gives me some time to play around on Android Q until the Pixel 4 is released and by then trade-in or selling the 3a XL should be pretty easy.

Has anyone else gone from flagship phone to one of these and if so, what were the big drawbacks you noticed most?
 

Mellofello808

macrumors 65816
Mar 18, 2010
1,095
2,182
Has anyone else gone from flagship phone to one of these and if so, what were the big drawbacks you noticed most?


I went from s10+ to pixel 3aXL. No regrets so far.

There are some drawbacks such as the smaller screen, no stated water resistance etc. However I personally don't mind. My 2 biggest metrics these days are battery life, and camera quality.

The 3aXL routinely lasts me all day where I often had to top up the s10+, and the camera is so good that on my last vacation I hardly took my full frame camera out of the bag.
 

three

Cancelled
Jan 22, 2008
1,484
1,225
As we're all aware, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have been plagued with a rampant phone call bug (people on the other line can't hear you, a consistent dropping of calls, etc) that still doesn't seem to be fixed to this day. (link: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/forum/AAAAb4-OgUsYCbNdF9b1ts) For those who own the 3a, does the 3a have any of these issues? I haven't heard of any major reports / issues with the 3a, which is a great thing. Thanks in advance.
 

S.B.G

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 8, 2010
26,679
10,464
Detroit
For those who own the 3a, does the 3a have any of these issues? I haven't heard of any major reports / issues with the 3a, which is a great thing. Thanks in advance.
With my 3a, I've not had any issues with calls at all. No one has complained that they couldn't hear me and I always heard them just fine. Nor have I had any dropped calls yet. I'm using Google Fi for service.
 

Awesomesince86

macrumors 68020
Sep 18, 2016
2,482
3,302
I went from s10+ to pixel 3aXL. No regrets so far.

There are some drawbacks such as the smaller screen, no stated water resistance etc. However I personally don't mind. My 2 biggest metrics these days are battery life, and camera quality.

The 3aXL routinely lasts me all day where I often had to top up the s10+, and the camera is so good that on my last vacation I hardly took my full frame camera out of the bag.

That's good to hear. My main concerns are speed due to the mid range processor and storage space. But I don't use that many apps and I'm fine using smart storage on the device to remove videos and photos that have been backed up. So I should be fine.

I'm only going to use it until the Pixel 4 comes out so it should be fine until then. Wanna sell the S10 before value starts to drop with the Note 10 release.
 

Mellofello808

macrumors 65816
Mar 18, 2010
1,095
2,182
That's good to hear. My main concerns are speed due to the mid range processor and storage space. But I don't use that many apps and I'm fine using smart storage on the device to remove videos and photos that have been backed up. So I should be fine.

I'm only going to use it until the Pixel 4 comes out so it should be fine until then. Wanna sell the S10 before value starts to drop with the Note 10 release.
I have had no issues with the processor lagging whatsoever. I also probably put it through a lot more of a workout then any average user since I use it to edit 4k videos on a pretty regular basis.

The mid-range processor is more than enough imo.

I too will be buying the pixel 4XL, but only because my GF is jealous of how great the camera is on my 3aXL vs her note 8. I also am really hoping they put a wide angle camera on there.
 
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michael9891

Cancelled
Sep 26, 2016
3,060
3,945
Rumors are the Pixel 3a XL will be offered with a $100 Amazon gift card for Prime Day.

I currently have a S10 Plus which I love but I know I'll be getting a Pixel 4 XL so I'm considering an experiment. I'm thinking of buying the 3a XL to be my daily driver until the Pixel 4 is released to see if I can get by using a mid-range phone. I havent owned any mid-range phones in at least 10 years but my thought is that the S10 plus still sells for a premium so it would basically be like getting a Pixel 3a XL plus $350. Gives me some time to play around on Android Q until the Pixel 4 is released and by then trade-in or selling the 3a XL should be pretty easy.

Has anyone else gone from flagship phone to one of these and if so, what were the big drawbacks you noticed most?
I came from an S10+ and P30 Pro to the 3a XL. These are just my personal preferences.

I miss the screen of the S10+. Not that the Pixel is bad, just the Samsung has the best screen of any phone I've had. I also missed it when I switched to the Huawei. I also miss the bells & whistles of the Samsung. I really like One UI and the edge panels & especially good lock. And I miss having a wide angle camera and the bigger screen.

I miss the wide angle and zoom from the P30 Pro and bigger screen.

So it's not a lot really, especially when you consider the massive price difference. I never use wireless charging and don't need water resistance. And I much prefer the pictures the Pixel takes. The only time I've noticed the lesser processor is when taking hdr+ pics. But it's only a very minor thing.

If the Pixel 4 had a cheaper version at release, as long as it kept the same camera quality and 2nd rear camera, I'd almost certainly go for that.
 

Dj64Mk7

macrumors 65816
Sep 15, 2013
1,388
734
Compared to the iPhone XS Max, does the 3a XL struggle with palm rejection? In other words, is the touch screen overly sensitive?
 

majkom

macrumors 68000
May 3, 2011
1,943
1,251
All pixel and especially pixel 3a owners, dont you mind very slow shutter speed??
 
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