Google Pixel 4a
Google’s Pixel 4a follows suit with the 3a that packs flagship features in a low-cost body. The Google Pixel 4a provides an affordable price that will undercut the likes of Samsung and Apple. Google has opted for one configuration, one colour, and one storage option with the Pixel 4a, making it easier for everyone to choose. The Pixel 4a affordable price of £349 will tempt many that are looking for a decent spec phone with an amazing camera.
Design
The design inherits the Pixel 4 design philosophy; the Pixel 4a is smaller than the Pixel 3a while boosting a bigger screen size as a result, the Pixel 4a is easy to handle one-handed. The Pixel 4a goes away from the glass back to a polycarbonate body that makes the phone lighter and hard-wearing. At the bottom of the phone, you will find a USB-C port in the centre with a microphone and speaker on either side. A rarity these days is a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is located at the top edge of the handset. On the back, you will find a fingerprint scanner as the Pixel 4 and 4 XL ditched the fingerprint scanner for facial recognition. You will also see the camera system packed in a square camera bump.
Specifications
The Pixel 4a comes with a 5.81-inch OLED Full HD bezel-less display with a hole-punch in the top-left which houses the front-facing camera. The smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 730 chipset and 6GB RAM to handle apps. The chipset used in this smartphone is a slightly older chipset when compared to other smartphones at a similar price point. Google guarantees a minimum of three years’ worth of operating system and security updates. All this power is powered by a 3,140 mAh battery life that Google claims will give you 24 hours of battery life from a single charge. There are ways to manage power usage such as Google’s implementation of Adaptive Battery technology and other features such as always-on-display. Unfortunately, there is no wireless charging capability given its mid-range price. Out of the box, there is an 18W charger that is capable of charging back to 35% in 30 minutes.
Camera
The Google Pixel 4a comes with two cameras: one on the back and one on the front. On the back, it features a 12.2MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture with an 84-degree field of view. The camera is capable of shooting 4K video at 30fps and 1080P at 30 fps, 60 fps, and 120fps. The 12.2MP camera might be dwarfed by other cameras in the same price range, however, combined with Google’s intelligent software processing, the images coming from the phone are on par with flagship phones. The intelligent AI creates great bokeh images when in portrait mode, it also includes Google’s Night Sight mode which does an impressive but not on par with Google’s flagship. On the front, there is an 8MP, f/2.0 camera with 84 degrees field of view that is capable of shooting 1080p video at 30fps.
Summary
The Pixel 4a provides a great alternative to other mid-range smartphones. The price is competitive to the likes of Samsung, Apple, and OnePlus. Although the Pixel 4a doesn’t compete on the specs front, the one main selling point is the high-quality camera and the first to receive Android updates. The compact design form factor, polycarbonate body, and rounded edges make the phone easy to handle. As it comes with Google’s impressive Google Now, you will know you will get accurate results. For anyone wanting to get a reasonably priced phone that takes impressive high quality and is going to continue to be supported, then the Google Pixel 4a is the choice for you. However, if you are looking for a phone with more features so you can get more bang for your buck, then maybe other phones like the OnePlus Nord might be a good option as it contains more features and better battery.