Google Pixel 3a XL review: it has the same shortcomings and great features as the Pixel 3a, but you'll pay $80 extra for a 6" instead of 5.6" screen
Jeffrey Van Camp / Wired :
Context & Ripple Effects
Wired's take on the Pixel 3a's bigger sibling lands the same day as the original review, and the verdict is arithmetic rather than discovery: the 3a XL inherits the same excellent camera, headphone jack, slower processor, and missing wireless charging and water resistance, with an $80 premium buying only the jump from a 5.6-inch to a 6-inch screen.
That framing matters because the a-series was Google's answer to its own flagship pricing problem — a problem that resurfaces months later when the $800 Pixel 4 is judged not competitive. The XL review is an early data point in what becomes the a-line's long audition to be the real face of Pixel value.
First-order effects
- Buyers choosing between the two 2019 midrange Pixels are effectively paying $80 for screen size alone, since every strength and shortcoming — camera quality, headphone jack, processor speed, lack of wireless charging and water resistance — carries over unchanged.
Second-order effects
- A midrange Pixel whose main compromise is a slower chip puts pressure on Google's flagship line to justify its price gap; reviewers' later verdicts on the Pixel 4 show that pressure going unanswered.
Third-order effects
The trend: Google's Pixel brand is steadily deriving its value reputation from the midrange a-series, as flagship models repeatedly struggle to justify their price premiums.