Google Pixel 3a
27 reviews
I've dropped crap of better quality than this phone – Ive seen some crap in my life, but this phone is the worst crap I have ever had to put up with. It freezes constantly, it doesn't have the capacity to send a message beyond 4 paragraphs (not even exaggerating) it can't play a single Spotify song without freezing. The only satisfaction it has ever brought me, was the moment I thew it into my… Read more
fireplace and watched in blacken, crack and burn. Anyone who has written a good review of this phone has rocks on their head
Faulty charging port issue - known issue for many of the pixel phones! – One year and a month after purchasing a Pixel 3a, it has finally ceased charging completely. The issue began subtly enough - charger cords wouldn't always be recognised by the phone - until today, where no charger of four is recognised and the phone has completely run out of battery. Online you will find a plethora of pixel owners experiencing… Read more
this issue - buyer beware! It remains unclear on forums whether the issue is a hardware issue, a charger issue or a software issue, however it does not simply help to use the charger cord provided. For many, the phone eventually does not recognise the charger cord.
Many failures, cannot use for actual phone calls, a BAD support process – (updated to include more issues) All of the below problems happened within the warranty period. My first problem was that calls would not connect properly. Hit the green button and nothing happened. This would happen for both incoming and outgoing calls. A reboot fixed this each time, it happened every month or so. I waited for an expected bug… Read more
fix which never came. Eventually contacted them and they agreed to take a look, but this would require me to send the phone away for 2 weeks. I lived with the problem since it was intermittent, and because I expected them to come back with "no fault found", after two weeks without a phone.
The next issue was that the phone would fail to ring when new calls came in. You would just miss calls.
Another issue is a lack of reliability when using PayWave. Often it would simply not be recognised by devices. This issue dogged the phone on and off for months. (I now have to carry a credit card with the phone)
The next problem was that the battery stopped charging and the phone would not turn on. This time I had to send the phone away for two weeks and then got a replacement "reconditioned" phone.
This replacement second hand phone lasted only a month or so before it also failed. It simply hung for 15 minutes or so and when I finally got it to reboot it came up with an error - "Cannot load Android system...". Google, through Officeworks, again expected me to send the phone back for two weeks and simply wait.
Also, all of the problems mentioned above have simply recurred with the replacement phone.
Even after two critical failures they refused to give me a replacement phone, but rather expected me to lose my phone for another two weeks.
A phone that does not work for phone calls???
Dodgy hardware - horrible service, I will never buy a google "phone" again.
<UPDATE - this phone is now sadly a paperweight. I have just replaced it with a Samsung. All of my issues are now resolved by a vastly better phone>
Google Pixel 3a – I Bought my partner a Google pixel 3a Just under a year ago.It worked well but then suddenly went haywire .and wiped everything that she had on it . We contacted google service and they helped restart it but she had lost most of her information as the phone had not backed it up automatically .we contacted service and were told that they would… Read more
supply a new phone and asked for details of where it should be sent to,We supplied all of it about 2 weeks ago but have not heard anything.We also asked for assistance in transferring what information that was left on the phone and in the cloud to the new phone but got no assistance We have tried to contact Google service but they will not reply . I personally would not recommend Google phones or their service .Their attitude and service is bad !!
Lasted only 16 months! – 16 months old and wouldn't recharge. My partner also had the same thing happen to her Pixel 3a. I didn't drop it or leave it in the sun/hot car etc. I will never buy any Google phone again, I don't trust them. I couldn't afford to wait a matter of weeks while it got repaired,I needed to be contactable for work, so had to suck it up and buy a new phone. A lot of people would be in that same situation.Very disappointing. Show details
Phone switches off – Phone turns off over night when on charge. Weather app doesn't work at times. Screen shot stopped working for a while. Pixel 3a Phone 5 months old! I switched from apple to try something different. Going back to apple for sure Show details
Feels cheap and slow – The Google Pixel 3A has not the best building quality, even with a case on it. It is slower than my Google Pixel 1. I would definitely not recommend upgrading from a Pixel 1 or 2. Show details
Terrible phone. Terrible customer service – When I switched on the phone for the first time after receiving it I noticed three vertical purple lines through the centre of the phone. Customer service was not helpful. Show details
Why bother with a top end phone? – Phenomenal camera - I hardly use my DSLR now. Google updates are always the latest. Reliable and solidly built. Battery life isn't the greatest, but I'm a heavy user. There isn't a mid-range phone as good as this. Until maybe the 4a when it finally arrives... Show details
I love my Google 3A phone – I found that having had a Google 2 and and now a Google 3 it is the most reliable mobile phone I have ever owned and I think will ever own. The battery is outstanding the software is very reliable and the photography is absolutely amazing this is a picture of a sandgroaper that I took in my garden. Show details
Exceeds expectations – After using premium handsets for 10 years I opted for a mid-range handset in the Pixel 3A. The phone over achieves in all categories, with the best features being the camera and battery life. The processor is noticeably mid-range which shows when trying to utilise multiple apps at once and unlocking the phone. Show details
Great phone with fantastic photos – This is a great phone for a great price. It is not the fastest, but you won't notice any lag or delay in everyday use. Of course most users will be getting this phone for its fantastic camera, which is really something. Note that it's mainly the camera software and processing that stands out, not the hardware itself. What I mean by this is that… Read more
the phone automatically analyses the photo, and enhances it. There is a few seconds delay after taking each photo so you can see the difference. I'm normally not a fan of this process (Samsung ie) as it often causes artifacts or oversharpening, but the Pixel does an extremely good job at this. I fully trust my phone, it is like you have a little freelance Photoshop gnome in there that edits and colour-corrects your pictures after every shot. Amazing phone!
Flagship camera at a great price – The pixel 3a is what all pixels should arrive to be . A well priced and we'll featured phone . The screen is bright and clear being AMOLED and the camera is up there with the best for a single lense There is sometimes lag when taking multiple photos and swapping between apps but it hasn't been a bother Show details
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Great phone, especially for the price – I'm pretty satisfied with the pixel3a. I switched to it from my original pixel about 3 months ago because the original became so slow that it was barely functioning at all and I still think the 3a was a great choice and upgrade even comparing it to the original before the issues started up. My two favorite things about the pixel 3a are #1 the… Read more
storage space, and #2 the camera On every phone I've ever owned including the iPhone 5s and earlier models, I've had to constantly back up my photos to the cloud so I could delete them from my device to have enough space. I didn't even have any music downloaded or many apps and I was constantly clearing the cache and uninstalling and then reinstalling the few that I did have to save space. It was constantly a battle, and with the pixel 3a, I've never had any storage problems and I download music and plenty of apps and never really delete pictures. So I'm overjoyed with that. The camera is great too. It has super high quality zoom and reduces the shaking you normally see when you zoom in and it can take great pictures in super dark places if you can hold still for several seconds. It also has motion photos which I really like and some other camera features that I haven't really tried out yet. Also the battery life can last days without charging of I don't use it a lot. Best I've had yet. It also works well in all the other ways I'd expect a new high quality phone to. Easy to work, pleasant to use, fast, etc. There are some problems though. The screen is crazy fragile so don't use it until you have a case! I needed to use mine in the 24 hour gap between when it arrived and when the case arrived and it slipped out of my pocket and fell less than 3 feet onto some cement and shattered the screen so bad that pieces even started falling out a few days after. And it's over $100 to fix the screen and isn't covered under warranty. Also, I've heard that there are sometimes some software issues, one being that the camera app will crash before it can finish opening. It's covered under warranty though so if you take it into the shop they'll fix it for free, and it doesn't happen often. I'm pretty sure most if not all other phone brands can have similar issues.
Over all it's a great phone and I'm happy with my choice. Would definitely recommend!
Good phone but Google Photos wiped an entire album – Up until recently I've loved this phone - good price point, great camera and pics, interface was great, etc. But I recently discovered an entire album of photos on Google Photos was completely wiped. I had backed up offline so only lost half a dozen pics and videos, but this is super scary. Some Google searching showed this was common, and… Read more
Google's only response was to push people to regularly back up via the cloud. Not a great response.
Will keep using it as over all it's a good phone, but this is a concerning development and I'll need to back up offline every week from now on
Incredible quality – Bought this outright as I wanted to change to prepaid. I have been so happy with this phone. The photo quality is out of this world, you can opt to blur the background and produce amazing images in portrait mode. Also there is an amazing feature that you can use at night which brightens images taken in dark settings or at night and it corrects the… Read more
brightness and colours. Eg, can use for fireworks. The phone is very fast and has never lagged like some others do. Google allows for amazing voice recognition which I usually used for sending or replying to text messages when I am driving and I don't need to touch the phone at all.
Wow! Amazing camera! Love this phone! – I spent a long time thinking about getting a new phone. Most importantly, I needed a decent camera to take photos of my 2 year old, I take a lot of photos! I also needed storage space and a good, basic, easy to use phone. I am so glad I got the Pixel 3a. The camera quality is fantastic for the price! The 'portrait' mode takes beautiful sharp… Read more
photos, and the night mode is also great. Automatic back up to Google Photos is also great, as I know I won't lose any photos! Easy to back them up to the computer too, and transfer files to and from the phone and laptop. I thought the fingerprint reader on the back would be annoying but I got used to it within a few days. While it's not the fastest processor or the largest screen, just the camera makes it worthwhile for me. If don't want to spend $1000+ on a phone, this mid-range phone is definitely my pick!
Not Happy – I carry my phone in my pocket and when it rings and I pull it out of my pocket. I have no idea if it is going to terminate the call answer the call or wait for me do one of these things deliberately. The video is great except when it gets jittery. There are many things to like about this phone but the bugs aren't worth the hassle. I have cheaper phones that didn't give me these problems. Show details
Fabulous Phone – I have always had an iPhone, but they are now too expensive. I have had the Google Pixel 3a for about 2 months now, and it is amazing, and half the price of an iPhone. It is very logical and easy to learn, with some interesting screens and a great camera. Show details
A good phone for the dollars – I bought this phone mainly because I was after a phone with a great camera and I didn't want to pay Samsung prices. Also I am a slave to google software so it made sense to have it all integrated. Whereas it hasn't changed my life, it is nevertheless a decent little phone. The battery life is much better than my old Samsung and the camera does… Read more
live up to expectations. A few things to get used to, it took me ages to find where the photos were stored, how to get google assistant to work and how to take a screen shot. Also finding a good quality phone case is a challenge. But all these challenges have been overcome and overall I am very happy with my very reasonably priced new phone
Google Pixel 3a smartphone – Got this smartphone as part of a promotional deal with Telstra/JB HIFI. I am not a fan of phones getting bigger and ridiculously bigger. I loved my iphone 5s, and the pixel is slightly larger but is much more worth bang for buck in terms of internal features and camera quality. I am very happy with it after a week of use I was adjusted to android from apple ios. Show details
Good phone for reasonable price – I purchased Pixel 3a to replace my ageing iPhone, it was a good decision, very happy with the purchase. Credits to Pixel 3a are thin, light weight, medium size, OLED screen, good battery, very good camera, does not cost a fortune to own one, love android OS system, quite different experience. By the way, my wife wanted to swap her iphone XR for my pixel 3a, but I said "No", :). Strongly recommended to people looking for a mid range phone. Show details
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It's a Superb Camera, oh yes it makes phone calls too – Google Pixel 3a is a competent, quality phone. It's made by Google and boy can it Google! What do i mean? Well say Ok Google and this sucker is there. It can be in your pocket, on your car seat, across the room and it's there for you. If you like the Google platform you will love this phone! Screen, OLED and awesome. Battery, great. Camera well… Read more
brilliant. Same as its big brother's the pixel 3 costing twice much Best low light phone in the world. So if you are after a brilliant camera get this phone. Oh yes it makes phone calls too.
Excellent phone for the price – Great phone works fast, great screen, nice size medium size, nice squeeze feature to access Google assistant. Smooth touch screen. No problem with lag time. Reccomened to people looking for a mid range phone Show details
Screen smashed from minor drop – I purchased this phone outright 4 days ago after much deliberation about whether I would give Google another chance, since I had speaker and bootloop issues with my previous Pixel and Nexus 6P. I was sold on the reviews about the quality of the phone and camera in this mid-range option so decided to pay an extra $200 rather than opt for the Moto… Read more
G7 as this was an important feature for me. I have not had much chance to use it - I was very happy with the portrait option on the camera setting but hadn't had a chance to use night vision and other features. Unfortunately whilst putting the pram in the car it actually fell out of my handbag (which was on the ground) face down and the screen has smashed, and I've contacted Officeworks as well as other repairers and it's likely to cost in the order of $250-$300 to repair. Even where there is no crack the touch screen is very non-responsive. I understand this is considered user damage, but would argue that a phone designed for everyday use that can smash without even falling from a height is an inherent hardware fault or poor design. I have since seen a similar review online and it is apparently due to their use of substandard glass. It will probably be better value for me to purchase a new, cheaper phone than have it repaired. Incredibly disappointed and probably my last Google phone purchase.
Google’s IPhone XR – Switched to the Pixel 3A from an iPhone XR, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! It has an OLED screen (which the XR lacks), fast performance and strong battery life. Because it’s a Google phone, you’ll get updates straight away (unlike Samsung users who often wait months for major Android releases) and the user experience feels clean and… Read more
simplistic (which I like). Oh and something else I should mention is that you won’t be disappointed with the camera if you do decide to take the plunge and purchase this phone. Pictures come out crisp, and pictures taken at night are stellar thanks to its Night Mode (which thankfully made its way over from the Pixel 3 and 3 XL).
One drawback is the lack of water resistance, which you’ll find on every flagship (and even some midrange) smartphone these days. Granted, you’re not spending $1000+ on a phone, but the addition of an IP rating would have been nice. I’m not saying it’s likely that I’ll get my phone wet, but accidents do happen.
Great Phone – Very satisfied with my choice to upgrade to a Pixel 3a. Camera is fantastic. Especially in low light. Plastic design is a plus for me as it makes it very lightweight. Setup was extremely easy. Would definitely recommend. Show details
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