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DxOMark: The Pixel 3a's camera is just as good as that of the Pixel 3

The Pixel 3a XL has the same camera performance as the smaller Pixel 3a. (Source: T3)
The Pixel 3a XL has the same camera performance as the smaller Pixel 3a. (Source: T3)
The Pixel 3a's major selling point is its camera performance, as it was marketed as being on par with the more expensive, flagship Pixel 3 phones in that regards. Thankfully, DxOMark seems to agree.

Google launched the Pixel 3a and 3a XL back in May. The devices were positively received, mostly because Google promised flagship camera performance on them, and they seemed to deliver. The 3a has now made its way to DxOMark, where it was tested extensively and came out with flying colors.

The Pixel 3a earned an overall score of 100. That is roughly on par with devices like the flagship Pixel 3 (101), iPhone XR (101), and Samsung Galaxy S9+ (99). It's also better than devices like the LG V40 ThinQ (94) and OnePlus 6 (96).

In the still photography test, it achieved a score of 103. That's the same as the Pixel 3, which corroborates the idea that the mid-range and flagship phones deliver identical camera performance. It's also the same score as the iPhone XR, which is impressive considering the fact that the Apple device costs almost twice as much.

In the video category, it made do with a score of 95. That's slightly worse than the Pixel 3's score of 98, with DxOMark specifically pointing out that the cheaper phone has worse autofocus, stabilization, and exposure when compared to the Pixel 3. Underexposure of scenes looked to be a major issue. 

While the Pixel 3a isn't a perfect phone and certainly not the best value option outside the US, it's safe to say that its camera performance is the best you can get in that price segment. Unless you're buying a last-gen flagship or installing GCam on another mid-range phone, of course.

The Pixel 3a.
The Pixel 3a.
The Pixel 3.
The Pixel 3.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2019 07 > DxOMark: The Pixel 3a's camera is just as good as that of the Pixel 3
Ricci Rox, 2019-07-21 (Update: 2019-07-21)