Sad to see so much gaslighting regarding processor speed. Of course SoC performance matters! The Verge has already reported a Pixel 3a “feels noticeably slower” than a Pixel 3. For years Android devices have lagged Apple’s mobile offerings and most desktop machines by up to 40% not only when it comes to benchmarks, but also in real world and JavaScript performance (…because it’s not like JS is used much these days is why you would care about a faster processor).

Also, this reeks of elitism: the technorati crowd in SF who can afford such things get to have flagship devices for their “very specific, highly demanding applications.” Meanwhile, “most users” of the most revolutionary invention of our lifetime only need to use their phones for “email and instant messaging.” Filthy casuals. (Can’t believe the comment actually went there).

Call the Pixel 3a what it is: Alphabet’s product marketing teams do an absolutely terrible job leveraging their brand(s) to explain their device offerings or even why they’re making their own hardware. As such, consumer confusion leads to laggard sales of a flagship device.

Trying to leverage what they have, Google introduces the Pixel 3a to take on what looks to be a growing midrange market. If it works, more power to ‘em, but let’s focus on facts and price points, not vague assertions about who needs what level of performance masquerading as questions from throwaway accounts.