Google launched its budget phone, the Pixel 3a, last month, and it seems the phone is already attracting a lot of buyers. The Pixel 3a is currently the best-selling unlocked phone on Amazon.
The Pixel 3a beat these phones
Amazon maintains a list of “Best Seller” products in several categories, and unlocked smartphones is just one of them. The online retailer updates the page hourly on the basis of sales, but for the past 12 hours at least, the Pixel 3a has maintained its position as the best-selling unlocked phone on Amazon.
Google’s Pixel 3a has beaten phones from manufacturers such as Samsung, BLU, Motorola and others to gain the top spot. Most of the other phones on the list are cheaper than Google’s phone. The list includes the Galaxy A10 ($130), BLU Studio Mega ($70), iPhone 6 ($137.99 Refurbished), Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 ($188), BLU Advance A4 ($39.99), BLU VIVO XL4 ($139.99), Galaxy S8 ($259), iPhone 6 ($120.02 Refurbished), Galaxy A20 (153.93) and Moto G7 Power ($196.99).
Only the Pixel 3a is listed as the top seller, so that does not include the bigger Pixel 3a XL variant. Nevertheless, it still is welcome news for Google, considering that Amazon is among the biggest retailers globally.
As far as customer reviews, the phone has so far received just 52 reviews with a rating of 4.4. Although about 75% of the buyers have given it a five-star rating, 10% have rated it with just one star.
Why is it the best-selling unlocked phone on Amazon?
Buyers have applauded the phone’s battery and, of course, the camera quality.
“I just purchased this phone about a week ago as an upgrade to my iPhone 7. This may be the best phone I’ve ever used. Coming from the apple universe I was skeptical, but Google is doing amazing things right now. The camera, screen, and usability of this phone are extremely better than the iPhone,” one reviewer said.
It’s not a surprise that the Google Pixel 3a is the best-selling unlocked phone on Amazon. The handset costs just $399 but offers the same camera experience the Pixel phones are known for.
Although Google has made a few compromises to bring the price under $400, it still offers a pretty good experience of the Google ecosystem. In addition to the superior camera experience, the handset offers good battery life and unlimited cloud storage for photos.
Google compromised in the Pixel 3a by using the Snapdragon 670 mobile platform instead of the Snapdragon 845 SoC, which powers the Pixel 3 phones. The latest phone also has a plastic build (polycarbonate unibody design), no protection from water, and no Pixel Visual Core.
Everything you need to know about the Pixel 3a
In terms of specs, the Pixel 3a comes with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage and three color variants: Clearly White, Just Black, and Purplish. Although the handset does not have the Pixel Visual Core, it retains the Titan M security chip. The handset runs on Android 9.0 Pie and will get at least three years of OS and security updates.
The Pixel 3a features a 5.6-inch full-HD+ (1080 x 2220 pixels at 18.5:9) gOLED display protected by Dragon Trail glass. The handset sports a single rear 12.2-megapixel Dual-Pixel Sony IMX363 sensor featuring optical and electronic image stabilization, 1.4-micron pixels, 76-degree field of view and 1/2.55-inch sensor.
Other camera features include Night Sight low-light photography, HDR+, Portrait Mode, Super Res Zoom, and Top Shot. The camera records video at 30 fps at 4K, 240 fps at 720p and 120 fps at 1080p. On the front, it has an 8-megapixel sensor with an 84-degree field of view, f/2.0 aperture and 1.12-micron pixels.
The device features several sensors, including an ambient light sensor, magnetometer, proximity sensor, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope and an Active Edge sensor. There is also a Pixel Imprint fingerprint sensor on the back.
Google used stereo speakers on the phone, while the battery capacity is 3,000 mAh. The handset comes with an 18-watt charger, and according to the company, it can give up to 7 hours of battery in just a 15-minute charge. The physical dimensions of the handset are 151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2mm, and it weighs 147 grams.
