OnePlus 7 Pro vs Google Pixel 3a XL: Comparison

Just a week after Google announced its trimmed down variants of Pixel 3 series, China’s OnePlus launched its 2019 flagship – OnePlus 7 Pro in the Indian market. Being a premium phone, the OnePlus 7 Pro will leave no stones unturned to be the biggest attention seeker. Here in this OnePlus 7 Pro vs Google Pixel 3a XL comparison, we will weigh both the devices from price to features to performance to see which has the capability to be called as mid-level Android King.

OnePlus 7 Pro vs Google Pixel 3a XL: Price

The OnePlus 7 Pro comes in three RAM variants and will be available in mirror grey, nebula blue and almond colours. The 6GB/128GB storage version costs Rs 48,999, the 8GB/256GB variant costs Rs 52,999 and the 12GB/256GB storage variant costs Rs 57,999.

Google Pixel 3a XL costs Rs 44,999 and comes only in 4GB RAM and 64GB storage option. While 64GB storage seems less, however, Pixel users are allowed to store unlimited photos in high quality in Google Photos – making the 256GB storage more less.

OnePlus 7 Pro vs Google Pixel 3a XL: Design and display

The OnePlus 7 Pro comes with a 6.67-inch quad HD+ AMOLED, the Google Pixel 3a XL features 6-inch OLED display. In terms of design aesthetics, OnePlus 7 Pro is the clear winner among the two with absolutely no notch, thin bezels and curved edges. Google Pixel 3a XL comes with two-tone design that looks decent but when comparing it side by side – the OnePlus 7 Pro simply steals the show here.

Another advantage of the OnePlus 7 Pro over Google Pixel 3a XL comes in the form of 90Hz refresh rate. With a 90Hz refresh rate, OnePlus 7 Pro will give users a stunning performance without any glitches. What it simply means is that OnePlus 7 Pro will respond to apps and videos faster and will give you smoother motion, making it easier to keep track of the action.

OnePlus 7 Pro vs Google Pixel 3a XL: Specs and features

While the OnePlus 7 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, the Google Pixel 3a XL is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 SoC. It’s no surprise to tell that OnePlus 7 Pro will be a performance beast in comparison to Pixel 3a XL.

The OnePlus 7 Pro offers a triple camera system -- 48MP primary camera along with a 16MP wide-angle camera and an 8MP telephoto camera. The 48MP camera sensor uses Sony IMX586 sensor. The Google Pixel 3a XL retains the same 12.2MP single camera system as seen the Pixel 3 series. You could be wondering seeing the specs that the OnePlus 7 Pro will again beat the Pixel 3a XL in camera performance, but, let me assure you that will never be the case. The higher the pixel count, the rich image will be in terms of colours captured, does not hold true every time – especially, if you have Google Pixel 3a XL in comparison.

The OnePlus 7 Pro captures 12MP photos by default and if you wish to click in 48MP, you have to manually select it.

The single 12.2 camera of Google Pixel 3a XL works far better than OnePlus 7 Pro’s all the three cameras combined. The Google Pixel 3a XL captures fantastic photos and clearly outshines OnePlus 7 Pro in terms of portrait photography. The addition of Night Sight simply overpowers the photos captures by OnePlus 7 Pro in low-light scenes in terms of sharpness and details captured. The 3a XL uses Google’s HDR+ technology with features like portrait mode, super res zoom, and night sight to capture clear shots in low light.

While you need to activate Google Assistant via voice on the OnePlus 7 Pro, consumers can squeeze the new Pixel devices to bring Google Assistant to life to send texts, get directions and set reminders, apart from simply using their voice.

Both the smartphones are part of Android Q beta programme and offers three years of security and operating system updates.

Soon exclusive to the Pixel family, the company will add a preview of AR in Google Maps, meaning you can see walking directions overlaid on the world itself, rather than looking at a blue dot on a map. The smartphones will also get a time lapse feature soon. Nothing of that sort is announced for the OnePlus 7 Pro yet.

At the front, the OnePlus 7 Pro gets a 16MP motorised selfie camera. The Pixel 3a XL comes with 8MP camera at the front.

OnePlus 7 Pro vs Google Pixel 3a XL: Battery

The OnePlus 7 Pro is fuelled by a 4,000mAh battery and gets the same 30W Warp Charge seen in the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition. The Google Pixel 3a XL comes with 3,700mAh battery. In daily usage, the OnePlus 7 Pro could last a little longer.

OnePlus 7 Pro vs Google Pixel 3a XL: Summary

The OnePlus 7 Pro is the most expensive phone from the Chinese tech giant after OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition. If you like the OnePlus design and have used OnePlus devices before, you would be happy using the OnePlus 7 Pro. The device gives phenomenal performance all around. But, if photography is your passion, the Google Pixel 3a XL is the most obvious choice among the two. The Google Pixel 3a XL’s makes it really hard to click a bad photo.