Pixel 3a helps Google double Pixel sales year-over-year

Google Pixel 3a might well be the success that Rick Osterloh has been looking for at the search giant. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced its second quarter earnings today. The company reported a 19 percent year-over-year growth in revenue during the second quarter. While the growth came from ad revenue and cloud business, the hardware division might have performed well for the first time. Alphabet does not provide details for individual business units inside of Google but there is a mention of company’s mobile hardware.

Google Pixel 3a sales better than Pixel 3: Sundar Pichai

During the earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared insights into the mobile division. “With the launch of Pixel 3a in May, overall Pixel unit sales in Q2 grew more than 2x year-over-year,” Pichai announced. The announcement comes on the back of a confirmation that Pixel 3 did not sell well. He noted that the growth was partly driven by the expansion of distribution network beyond its own store and Verizon. With the launch of Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, Google started selling its mid-range smartphones via T Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, Spectrum Mobile and others.

Google Pixel 3a XL Review: A wannabe Nexus with a great camera

According to TechCrunch, Pichai also revealed that Pixel 3a received Google’s highest Net Promotor Score rating yet. While Google wants people to believe that Pixel 3a has sold well, the benchmark remains unknown. Google does not share official sales number for its Pixel smartphones. Google launched the first Pixel smartphone in 2016 as its premium flagship offering. It was a departure from the previous Nexus-branded smartphones that offered stock Android experience at an affordable price point.

Watch: Google Pixel 3 XL Hands On

With the Pixel 3a Series, the Alphabet company went back to the same business model. The smartphones offer pure Android experience and Pixel-level camera at a mid-range price segment. On DxOMark, the Pixel 3a achieved an overall score of 100, which is just one point shy of Pixel 3. The smartphone has emerged as a viable alternative to OnePlus and Samsung devices on the back of its superior camera. Google has already teased the Pixel 4 and it needs to be seen how that device fares in the face of growing competition.

Features	Google Pixel 3a XL	Google Pixel 3a
Price	44999	39999
Chipset	Snapdragon 710 SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 670
OS	Android 9 Pie	Android 9 Pie
Display	6.0-inch full HD+-1080 x 2160 pixels	5.6-inch full HD+
Internal Memory	4GB RAM + 64GB storage	4GB RAM + 64GB storage
Rear Camera	12MP	12MP
Front Camera	8MP	8MP
Battery	3,700mAh	3,000mAh