Google hade made its boldest move get to dominate the smartphone market, announcing a new low-cost smartphone line that starts from just $399, including most of the features you’d find it Apple and Samsung’s “affordable” phones the iPhone XR and Samsung Galaxy 10e.
Speaking at its annual I/O conference, where it announced a whole host of features such as Android Q, updates to Google Maps and Search, and the introduction of a Google Home Max, which features a screen, Google unveiled low-cost smartphones under its Pixel.
The Pixel 3a and 3aXL start from just $399 and include many of the features that the main Pixel smartphone includes, such as high-quality cameras with both front and rear modes, and the popular Night Sight feature, and an adaptive battery life, which can help the device get up to 30 hours of battery life on a single charge, something other phones cannot offer.
Google made a dig at Apple during the keynote presentation, comparing an image taken on the iPhone X with an image taken on the Pixel 3a, and it added that the range includes a headphone jack, offering users more choice when selecting the right pair of headphones.
Here’s the whole picture: #pixel3a, a radically helpful, gorgeously designed phone for everyone. Starting at just $399. #io19 pic.twitter.com/1KKB2m3PJc
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) May 7, 2019
Will Apple and Samsung follow suit?
Google’s aggressive pricing structure for the new line is the clearest sign yet that it wants to be taken seriously in the hardware game, as it struggles to compete with Apple, Samsung, and Asian manufacturers who have grown in popularity in recent years, such as Huawei.
Whilst the specs are not as impressive as the company’s flagship phones, the price is simply too good not to pick one up, and the chances are the Pixel 3a will become the smartphone of choice for consumers looking for a low-cost, high-performance phone developed by Google.
Whether Samsung and Apple will follow suit and introduce their own low-cost smartphones remains to be seen, but with Apple struggling to hold onto its market share and new players cannibalizing sales, perhaps it’s inevitable that we’ll see a cheap iPhone in the next year or two.
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