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Review on Google - Pixel 3A With 64GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Purple-Ish by Kyle Herrera

Revainrating 2 out of 5

Bought the day Google announced it

I've never spent more than $200 on average on a phone. I paid a questionable quality price as I mostly bought new Android phones in this price range. Each cell phone has not lasted more than two years, most even after a few months have had problems (e.g. loss of GPS accuracy, loss of contact with the charging socket, etc.). Of course, the operating system is never updated, so prepare for a hack. on an old, uncorrected version. Worst of all, the camera is terrible in varying degrees. So, I bought a prepaid iPhone 6 about 1.5 years ago, but you know how well iOS works on older hardware and it probably doesn't live up to the next update. As hard as I tried to convince myself, I just couldn't buy a new XR even after I sold my DSLR (because I just never take it with me, no matter how good the shots/lens was). However, when Google launched this phone, my recent international family trip convinced me I had to seize the opportunity – pictures are yours forever, you need the best camera/phone to capture your experience. Also, they offer an insane trade-in for my iPhone for $250 and $100 Google Store credit, and my company gives me $100 for BYOD, so the phone is practically free for me. The order was flawless, moreover they provided (I ordered from the Google store) a trade-in kit at the same time. I received it 2 days after Google announced it. The box was your typical white box that looked almost exactly like an Apple box in color, design, packaging, etc. The phone turned on immediately. Small hiccup to activate it in Sprint as you can't just move the nano SIM, you have to go to the Sprint store and activate a brand new SIM. Also, make sure it's a corporate store as branches don't seem to have these SIMs. I went to Best Buy and they got me up and running in 20 minutes. The phone is amazing. I'm size XL and it runs big, but for a person who wears glasses it just makes the job easier. I know people say it's not fast, but I don't game or edit videos, so it's pretty fast and responsive. Most importantly, the camera is great. The photos are not blurry yet and are super clear. I didn't even use special portrait and night options. I'll tell you if the camera can take golden photos in low light and why I grabbed it. Even with a DSLR, it's difficult to shoot in low light (you've got the right wide-aperture lens, but you can't zoom, etc.). Housing, especially since it is made of plastic and the housing is not removable. However, make sure you get a full case and not a case that just snaps on the edges. I made the mistake of buying one for my iPhone and sand/dirt got in and ended up scratching the phone itself. Android OS is a bit different than iOS, but I can handle it. I can't say it's worse, just different. The best part is that this is a Google phone that has been updated for at least 3 years. I don't have much to do with the external design, in fact all cell phones look the same - Apple is to blame for that. Fingerprint unlock is a huge plus and I love it for all my iPads and computers. Very happy so far (I will update if anything changes). Since this phone is free for me, I plan to use my $100 Google Store credit to buy another Pixel 3a for my wife. She has a 2 year old Huawei Honor 8 which is holding up pretty well apart from the fact that every government in the world bans them. Update after 1 month. The best phone I've ever had. Best camera I've ever had, without exception, better than any Canon/Nikon DSLR I've had etc. I've shot from moving buses etc and each shot looks like a million bucks. first time. I've used the camera for some professional portrait photos. The battery life is excellent. I've had some data separation issues, not sure if it's a sprint issue or something similar, but it's only happened a couple of times. I'll check if that's really a problem. I ended up buying my wife a second 3a XL and she loves it too, although it's still awaiting my Google credit. Update for 6 months. Here is my update on my wife and my experience after almost half a year. So we both have a Pixel 3a XL. All in all they were amazing. The camera is great, no change. For those who just want to point and click, there is no equal price (as with all media items). Battery life is excellent, no complaints. The size is excellent, especially for those of us who need large fonts for reading. So some problems. I had an issue that took a long time to resolve where I wasn't getting notifications of new voice messages (using Sprint). Long story short, after switching to Sprint, browsing the web with Google support, etc. The only way to fix it is to add an app called Visual Voicemail and Sprint Hub. It's counter-intuitive, but it took a lot of effort and troubleshooting to fix the problem. My wife, who had Best Buy set up her phone, had no problems. However, there are data connection loss issues that a reboot fixes, and I've had that too, but not that often. Essentially, the phone stops communicating with the internet. I will try restarting my phone to fix the problem and then contact google if the problem persists. Overall, I'm still very happy with the phones. The update took almost 1 year. Well I was hoping the Pixel 3a would be reliable. During the year two main issues have been developed that need to be mentioned. First, it constantly loses access to data. The fix is to toggle network/airplane mode on/off, so there's a quick fix, but it's annoying nonetheless. This happens about 30% of the time, usually indoors or somewhere that needs to be accessed, but it can be a little tricky. I don't usually notice this until I open my browser or my email and it says the network is unavailable. The other problem is worse. The ringer volume has gotten so low that you can no longer be understood on calls with a poor connection or on loud-speaking phones with low volume. If you're looking for the Pixel 3a and people aren't hearing, you'll find plenty of threads on their support site. I went through all the support hurdles to get a replacement but they send you to have it fixed at a contract shop. So the local shop spent over two hours replacing the speaker and I can say it looks better, but time will tell. I've never had such a problem when the volume is so low that people can't be heard. Some theories say it was bad hardware, others think it was a bad software update. The shop said they have a lot of spare parts and some swaps work and some don't. I'm dropping a few stars because for some reason a phone shouldn't die in its first year, certainly not a flagship from a top-tier manufacturer. I'll be watching over the next month and if I'm still having problems I'll insist on a replacement. My wife, for whom I also bought a 3a XL, also has problems and uses a headset so that it can be used. Speakerphone doesn't have this problem. Maybe Apple knows how to make quality phones, but at double or triple the price?

Pros
  • Decent performance
Cons
  • Miscellaneous Miscellaneous

Comments (11)

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May 04, 2023
Say Goodbye to overpriced phones
April 20, 2023
Great phone; my second Pixel!
February 05, 2023
Great phone; my second Pixel!
February 01, 2023
Google does not stand behind its products
January 31, 2023
Compared to Pixel 3
January 31, 2023
Great Phone
January 24, 2023
Overall Good Value
January 11, 2023
Battery may cause return
December 11, 2022
The perfect phone for 99% of people
December 10, 2022
Bought it on the day Google announced it