Google’s new $400 smartphone takes absolutely gorgeous photos

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Google just released a new smartphone: The Pixel 3a, and its bigger sister the Pixel 3a XL.
The Pixel 3a line is intended as a mid-tier "budget" smartphone, but it’s one of the best smartphones I’ve ever used.
One of its key features is an absurdly good camera that takes gorgeous photos just as quickly as the far more expensive iPhone XS — and the photos it produces are best-in-class.
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Google’s new phone is an absolute delight to use, and it’s got an even more delightful price: Just $400.

At that price — hundreds of dollars less than the least expensive iPhone — you might think that it would make some pretty major compromises. But, in my experience across the last week using the Pixel 3a, it’s one of the best smartphones available today.

It nails the three most important aspects of any good smartphone: A sharp screen, speedy internals, and a good camera. In the case of the Pixel 3a’s camera, actually, it’s better than smartphones that are far more expensive.

Look no further than these photos for proof:

Let’s start with the most basic of things: Detail.

Ben Gilbert/Business Insider

As you can see above, the Pixel 3a takes gorgeously detailed photos up close. This falafel sandwich from Nish Nush that I’ve covered in garish orange amba looks absolutely ridiculous. Light glistens off the sauces and the moisture of the cucumber and tomato salad. Individual specks of parsley are visible.

This wasn’t a carefully rehearsed photo — I snapped it quickly before diving in to lunch. (And yes, it was delicious.)

That’s the case for all the photos below as well — I intentionally took them in the same way I would snap any photo: Quickly in the moment. The results have invariably been impressive.

Let’s move into a low-light situation, like this shot of the new One World Trade Center taken from the West Side Highway in Manhattan:

Ben Gilbert/Business Insider

While driving back to Brooklyn last weekend, my partner and I were at a stop light in lower Manhattan along the West Side Highway. I looked up out of the sun roof, and staring back at me was a resplendent view of the new One World Trade Center.

I quickly double-tapped the power button on the right side of the Pixel 3a and snapped a few photos as we started moving.

Even with the super-bright street light in view, the World Trade Center is detailed and stands in relief to the darkening sky above it. If you look closely at the building along the left side of the photo, you can see people at windows looking out to the world below them.

This photo was taken at the worst time of day for taking photos; it managed to not only come out beautifully, but to also capture the gradient of the sky above.

This is my favorite photo that I’ve taken with the Pixel 3a so far, and it really demonstrates how strong the camera is.

Ben Gilbert/Business Insider

I took this photo at late dusk, as the sunset transitioned to night, and was absolutely shocked by how easy it was to capture such an impressive shot on a smartphone. A photo like this usually takes a good deal of manipulating your phone’s camera into taking something worth looking at. In this instance, I simply tapped on the glowing neon sign and snapped away.

Not only does the photo capture the sign, but it also captures the glow of the sign on the ground below, the interior halogen lights in the deli across the street, and the fading sunset in the sky above.

Most of all, the photo looks natural. It was a near-perfect reflection of what I saw with my eyes in the moment — perhaps the greatest compliment you can pay a photo.

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Ben Gilbert)