- Analysis by KJ David
A middle-class smartphone in terms of technical pros and cons, the Google Pixel 3a XL shares its Pixel 3a little brother's biggest weak points, namely, a relatively cheap polycarbonate unibody 
(Many full-blown flagship phones boast sturdier aluminum housings) and a non-expandable 64GB internal memory, the latter at least accompanied by unlimited cloud storage for photos and videos through Google Photos.
This XL version also touts a similar 8-megapixel fixed-focus-only selfie camera , which is a slight con, at least by mid-range smartphone standards. That aside, it also brings back the 3a's 12.2-megapixel dual-pixel primary cam, which, although flounders in comparison to those of the best camera phones found here on Phonerated in terms of raw pixel resolution, still features some high-class imaging pros, including a 4K (2160p) maximum video capture resolution 
as well as both electronic and optical image stabilization .
The Pixel 3a XL owes its name to its large 6-inch OLED display sitting on an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 2160 x 1080 Full HD+ definition, mimicking those of some popular large-screen models on the market as we were reviewing its specs. It comes with an Always-on mode and true black level support.
This Pixel edition is powered by a respectable 3700mAh battery , which is a nice upgrade over the plain 3a's 3000mAh-only cell. That said, it runs on similar hardware components as its sibling phone, particularly, a middle-class Snapdragon 670 2GHz + 1.7GHz eight-core processor and a 4GB LPDDR4X RAM.
Also part of its pros and cons are double stereo speakers, a rear-mounted Pixel Imprint fingerprint detector that's mainly for security and NFC-based transactions, and an eSIM (a SIM card integrated into the device) to go along with its single nano SIM card tray.
Offered in Clearly White, Purple-ish, and Just Black, the Pixel 3a XL caters to mid-level Android shoppers who want a large-screen phone with somewhat competitive imaging capabilities.
On-paper Review rating: 
The Google Pixel 3a XL can record high-resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) video clips. Bravo! But we couldn't determine whether it had an HDMI port or not. Granted, HDMI (which lets you connect to your HDTV), is not an absolute necessity, but it seems like a desirable feature on an HD phone.
- Suggested reading: The latest HDMI phone models
According to our research, it doesn't feature any memory expansion slot.
It's disappointing that we could not find its weight information.
- We recommend: Photo gallery of the latest slim phones
The speed of its Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 microprocessor (Dual 2GHz (+ Hexa 1.7GHz)) with 8 cores is among the fastest in the current market.
- More on this: List of the latest octa-core smartphones
NFC can be used for electronic payment systems and other uses.
- Also read: The latest NFC-enabled phones
It includes Miracast, a system that lets you share your display with a TV
The screen is larger than usual, making it a phablet: 6 inches and a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels means about 14.39 square inches and an image quality of at least 402 dots per inch (DPI)!
Above-average camera resolution - of 12.2-megapixel (dual-pixel cam) - with these features: Night Sight, Top Shot, Portrait Mode, HDR+, Super Res Zoom, Motion Auto Focus.
The selfie camera resolution seems just about average.
** This phone is also known as: Google 3a XL
*** These pros and cons are identified automatically based on our algorithm and the data we have on file for this product. If you notice an error, please let us know.
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