Google Pixel 3 discounted, but I’d still recommend Pixel 3a

Google slashed a massive $300 off the price tags of its premium flagship Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones, bringing their price tags almost as low as the mid-range $400 Pixel 3a.

Indeed, the Pixel 3 starts at $500 down from $800. The Pixel 3a costs $400, $100 less than Google’s new Pixel 3 price.

And the Pixel 3 XL starts at $600 down from $900. The Pixel 3a XL costs $480, $120 less than Google’s new Pixel 3 XL price.

It’s easy to think that spending an extra $100 or so for the premium flagship over the mid-range device is the right way to go, but after a quick look at the differences between the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a, there aren’t actually that many differences that are worth the extra $100.

Both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a phone sport similar designs, a premium OLED screen, and 4GB of RAM. But perhaps most important similarity is that the Pixel 3a comes with the same amazing camera and camera features as the Pixel 3 phones.

Fine, the Pixel 3a has a plastic build compared to the glass and metal on the Pixel 3. But let’s face it, most people use cases on their phones, so build material shouldn’t be a big deal, technically speaking.

The Pixel 3 also has a second ultrawide angle selfie camera, which is actually a pretty big deal for selfie-takers. Meanwhile, the Pixel 3a has a standard single selfie camera.

The major thing that most people would be compromising on is the chip: the Pixel 3a runs on the mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 670, while the Pixel 3 phones run on the high-end Snapdragon 845 chip. With that said, the Pixel 3a’s Snapdragon 670 is actually an amazing mid-range chip that isn’t that much slower at opening apps and running the Android operating system than the Pixel 3’s Snapdragon 845.

And with that in mind, I’d still recommend the Pixel 3a over the Pixel 3, as you wouldn’t be getting much more value in the extra $100 you’d be spending on the Pixel 3 phones.

In fact, the Pixel 3a comes with something the Pixel 3 doesn’t have: a headphone jack, which could offer more value than $100 for the wired headphone holdouts.

If you really want Google’s premium flagship experience, you could get Google’s Pixel 3 phones at their slashed pricing. But at this stage, I’d recommend waiting for the Pixel 4, which Google is expected to unveil in October.

Google says the Pixel 4 will come with fancy radar sensor technology that will outmatch facial recognition systems like Apple’s Face ID, and will enable users to make hand gestures to swipe through songs. Google promises that it’s just the start for its radar sensor technology, and most features will come in the future.