My opinion/analysis of the Pixel 3a:
1. Design: Full plastic/polycarbonate body isn’t anything special. No special effect of gradient either. It has significant bezels around the screen as well (top and bottom)...essentially a budget phone design.
2. Camera: Slightly different in terms of megapixels (12 vs 12.2) but according to many sources the camera will be of similar quality to the one on the Pixel 3, so at worst the camera will be mid-range and at best Not sure whether it will have OIS...
3. Display: A 5.6/6 inch Full HD OLED display seems to be the reality...while the resolution isn’t anything special it’s essentially a similar display and resolution to the one on the Pixel 3, so I’d say that the display is probably going to be premium.
4. Audio: No stereo speakers should be present but neither are they expected. The speakers and audio quality will probably be mid-range but there is a headphone jack
5. Other features: Fingerprint scanner, pure Android with guaranteed, regular updates. IDK about facial recognition and water resistance is unlikely, so overall mid-range or at worst budget.
6. Chipset: Snapdragon 670 on 3a and 710 on 3a XL...both chipsets are great/efficient for everyday use and casual multitasking with 4/6 GB of RAM...should handle most games well apart from intensive ones like PUBG.
7. Battery: 3000mAh for the 3a and 3500mAh for the 3a XL is pretty average...probably means all-day or just under a day of battery life...so mid-range.
For a price between $400 and $500 dollars I don’t think it’s worth it, with a dated design, plastic body etc. For the same price you could get a Nokia (HMD) phone that has a better metal (and sometimes metal/glass) build/design, same software and updates (Android One), has more bells and whistles, a better battery and reasonably good cameras.