Google Launches It’s Cheapest Pixel Phones Ever

Earlier this week, Google unveiled its latest Pixel phones – the 5.6-inch Pixel 3a, and the 6–inch Pixel 3a XL.

Now, here’s the good part. Thanks to a combination of cheaper materials and slower processors, the tech company was able to keep the phone prices well below $500.

While the Pixel 3a costs $399, the Pixel 3a XL, with its larger display, only costs $80 more. In case you were wondering, that’s half the price of existing Pixel phones.

So, why is the timing of Google’s new budget smartphones a big deal, you wonder? Two words: declining sales.

A couple of days before Google launched the 3a line, the Chief financial officer of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Ruth Porat, disclosed how the company’s flagship Pixel phones failed to sell in large numbers.

That means the affordable Pixel phones could be a response to the failing Premium line. According to Google executive, Brian Rakowski, the 3a Pixel phones are designed for people left behind by the increasing price of high-end phones.

In a statement to the press, Rakowski said:

“We can adapt, and this is a good example.”

With the pocket-friendly price comes a ton of compromise. In other words, the new Google Pixel devices don’t come with all the features you’re used to.

Google’s Cheapest Pixel Phones: The Compromises

The new Pixel phones have a poly-carbonate back, instead of the glass or metal back that most phones offer today. Of course, it also means there’s no wireless charging feature.

The main processor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 670, is slightly lower quality. However, Google said the phone’s software is optimized to make up for the processor’s speed.

Users will have to make do with 64 gigs of storage and one front-facing camera. That’s right: group selfie mode is not an option on the 3a line.

While the 3a and 3a XL displays aren’t as great as the flagship Pixel phones, they are not noticeably inferior.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. The Pixel phones do come with some new features.

For example, with 30 hours of battery life, the phone should last longer than the regular Pixel 3. Also, Google is throwing in a preview of Google Map’s augmented-reality feature for 3D navigation into the new Pixel phones.

Finally, you can save a couple of bucks on wireless earbuds, since the 3a and 3a XL line come with a headphone jack.

According to Google, it did not time the cheaper Pixel phones’ launch to coincide with Porat’s comment. It has been in the works for months.

Rakowski also said the company does not intend to end its high-end Pixel line.