Pixel 3a XL spotted at Best Buy, launch likely imminent

Shawn Knight

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Staff member
Highly anticipated: All signs suggest Google is ready to launch cheaper versions of its Pixel 3 at Google I/O next week. The mid-ranger will reportedly start at under $400, offering consumers a more affordable alternative to the $1,000+ flagships that have become the norm.

As is increasingly becoming the case on the Internet, leaks have essentially revealed everything there is to know about the new devices ahead of time. The latest, courtesy of Android Police, all but confirms that the launch of Google’s Pixel 3a is imminent.

A tipster sent the publication images of several Pixel 3a XLs from a Best Buy in Springfield, Ohio. The phones are in their retail boxes and not actually “on display” but they’re sitting out in the open on a shelf behind some glass. Not exactly hidden, eh?

Both black and white (or is that light purple?) variants of the Pixel 3a XL are shown. According to the retail packaging, the phone features a 6.0-inch display with one configuration boasting 64GB of local storage. The model is listed as G020C.

Earlier rumors claimed the new Pixels would be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 670 with 4GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 3,000mAh battery. Pricing will reportedly start at $399 and $479 for the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, respectively.

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Honest question: is 4GB of RAM worth it in 2019? My Galaxy S8+ only has 4GB and it's terrible about kicking apps out of memory. Don't know if that's Samsung or android's fault.
 
Honest question: is 4GB of RAM worth it in 2019? My Galaxy S8+ only has 4GB and it's terrible about kicking apps out of memory. Don't know if that's Samsung or android's fault.

Yeah the Pixel 3/3XL also only have 4gb, which isn't enough. I often have apps close out when just trying to switch. Quite annoying, but it's gotten worse with time. Hopefully they can do something on the dev side.
 
I have an original Pixel that while performant is beginning to show its age ergonomically compared to newer phones, large bezels, chin, etc. just looks dated. I believe the Snapdragon 670 in these 3a's is about the same performance as the 821 in my phone. I'm not remotely interested in any $800 phone ever again so at these price points, this could be a compelling upgrade.
 
It should sell better, unless people JUST look at the CPU spec & think it will be much slower.
These phones have way too much power, that the majority of users, never touch.
 
Honest question: is 4GB of RAM worth it in 2019? My Galaxy S8+ only has 4GB and it's terrible about kicking apps out of memory. Don't know if that's Samsung or android's fault.

Yeah the Pixel 3/3XL also only have 4gb, which isn't enough. I often have apps close out when just trying to switch. Quite annoying, but it's gotten worse with time. Hopefully they can do something on the dev side.
How many apps do you keep open? I have never had this happen with my Pixel 2. Do you not close apps when you are done with them?
 
How many apps do you keep open? I have never had this happen with my Pixel 2. Do you not close apps when you are done with them?

So I'm a longtime longtime iphone user, and I'm not in the habit of closing apps myself. Maybe this is why? I'll see if closing apps I don't plan to resume in short order and see if I can tell a difference.
 
So I'm a longtime longtime iphone user, and I'm not in the habit of closing apps myself. Maybe this is why? I'll see if closing apps I don't plan to resume in short order and see if I can tell a difference.
Big time. I haven't had an app close (unless an update messed it up) since I got my phone.
 
How many apps do you keep open? I have never had this happen with my Pixel 2. Do you not close apps when you are done with them?

Pokemon Go is the most affected (that I notice regularly). I can make it happen every time if I try opening Snapchat then bouncing back to PoGo. Snapchat is so terribly optimized.

I'm pretty good about closing apps, Android user from day 1 here. I'm going to factory reset at some point this week and start fresh, rather than restoring from a backup like I did when I went Pixel to Pixel 3. Might help, idk.
 
Honest question: is 4GB of RAM worth it in 2019? My Galaxy S8+ only has 4GB and it's terrible about kicking apps out of memory. Don't know if that's Samsung or android's fault.

Yeah the Pixel 3/3XL also only have 4gb, which isn't enough. I often have apps close out when just trying to switch. Quite annoying, but it's gotten worse with time. Hopefully they can do something on the dev side.
How many apps do you keep open? I have never had this happen with my Pixel 2. Do you not close apps when you are done with them?
Is this still a thing on android to close apps after use? they have like 4-12GB memory and still not enough? wow (same company as Chrome, haha)
I think Android needs an iOS 12 equivalent update, to speed up everything and make less memory hungry.
I mean it's both on the system devs and the app devs. I have a Nexus 6 and SG Note 9, but I never closed apps ever on my android and not on my iPhone, because it makes app loading faster. Obv there is a misbelief if you closing it you save battery, while actually it drains battery a little bit more:
I had a nice chat from a Genius Bar (Support Technician at the Apple Stores) and one at the Samsung Store, both said the same:
If you manually close your apps every time you finished with it, it will burn through your battery faster
I tested on my Note 9 and surprisingly it drained my battery about 10-12% faster, I didn't tested on my iPhone because I never close any app unless it's poorly written and freezes.
 
Is this still a thing on android to close apps after use? they have like 4-12GB memory and still not enough? wow (same company as Chrome, haha)

Not really, I was just saying old habits. More often I'll close an app if I know it won't be used for a while, or if it leaves something open in the notification bar that annoys me.

I had a nice chat from a Genius Bar (Support Technician at the Apple Stores) and one at the Samsung Store, both said the same:
If you manually close your apps every time you finished with it, it will burn through your battery faster
I tested on my Note 9 and surprisingly it drained my battery about 10-12% faster, I didn't tested on my iPhone because I never close any app unless it's poorly written and freezes.
This is less true today with faster phones, but definitely still a thing.

Side note, thanks to this thread I finally pulled the trigger yesterday on resetting my Pixel 3. I didn't do a full restore of a backup, so it was a bit tedious but the reward was worth it. Memory management seems much happier now.
 
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