Ryan Rampersad reviews the Pixel 4a with Ian R Buck. The verdict: it's pretty good.
Episode summary
PricingA radical $349 base price with no other models even availableA phone you might remember also was this price… the Nexus 5… let’s get back on that topic laterThis is allegedly the new budget tier, but I agree, it does seem to be less than ideal – this is the higher end of budgetI think the Moto G line is still budget tier and there are $200 Moto Gs out there, but there are so models and trade offs between models that it’s increasingly difficult to keep trackDisplaySizeBeyond its numerical size… wow it’s tinyThe iPhone 7 (which is SE2 size) is likely the most comparableSpecial featuresA notable aspect is the lack of a notch or anything weirdnessIt has a simple hole punch front-facing cameraIt still has the usual ambient display which is a killer featurePhysicalsLook and feel, build qualityFootprintIt’s incredibly thin and tinyIt’s even more compact than the 3aIn comparison, the 3a looks ancient, for how much bulkier (brow and chin) it looks and feelsiphone 7: 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 in)pixel 4a: 144 x 69.4 x 8.2 mm (5.67 x 2.73 x 0.32 in)Pixel 3: 145.6 mm x 68.2 mm x 7.9 mm (5.73 in x 2.69 in x 0.31 in)note 20 ultra: 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm (6.49 x 3.04 x 0.32 in)The iPhone is thinner, less wide and shorter, but the iPhone has a brow and chin that looks ancient compared to the the full-screen of the 4aWeightSince it’s so small, it’s weight is minimal (144g)iPhone 7: 138gPixel 3: 148gNote 20 Ultra: 208gBatteryTBDChargingType-CNothing special in this categoryPortsI had to reach over and pick it up to recall if it did have a headphone jack — it does — and I even said while writing this “oh wow, it does”Isn’t it amusing that the $349-phone has the thing that allegedly the courageous couldn’t include and the $999-aires mock?SpeakersIt might be a feature of stock android, but in my experience, unusually, the 4a offers many more volume ticks than other phones I have tried in the pastIt sounds fine, it might be a bit tin-yButtonsMy usual button setup has been power-button in the mid-body and volume rockers on the opposing side or directly above the power-buttonThe power button on the 4a is a nice turquoise blue… for some reason?Imagine a Moto maker-esque feature where you can pick your button colorSensorsFingerprintIt’s easy to forget how usable a good back-mounted fingerprint sensor is, it’s just so accurate and response all the timeCameraHow is itIt’s fine!It takes reliable shots in bright and dark conditionsIt does do quite a bit of “HDR+” processing after each photo is taken, not sure if all Pixels do this or if it’s an internal setting for this specific chipSpecial modesNotable featuresSpecsCPUSnapdragon 730GOk, it’s not a powerhouse and you can tellIt’s not getting smooth 120hz screen refresh either…Really, to be honest, I had such high hopes for the quality of the 700 series but after using this for two weeks, it’s laggy enough for me to notice and that’s disappointing – maybe the 765 is better?RAM6GB – can you believe this?The Nexus 5, the phone highly realized as the pinnacle of the Nexus line only had 2GB at the same price pointStorage128GB UFS storage3a had eMMC which was slower internal NAND storage, and RAM constraints aside, you’re always going to hit disk eventually…This might be loading pictures from diskThis might be loading updates from the storeThis might be playing games… so basically, you’re going to benefit from this more than the extra 2GB over the 3aSoftwareOSIt’s been a long time since I used stock AndroidFor me, it’s not such a big deal since I immediately apply Action Launcher and I even change its defaults to not be awfulNo search bar, no tray, no widget things, dots instead of whatever Pixel nonsense is the fad right nowAndroid 10 ReviewUpdatesPerformanceMentioned above in the CPU section – kind of mediocre to be honestTry using the app switcherThe animation lags a lot in my opinion IssuesDuring the course of my weeklong test, I used this phone in my everyday life and kept it at my work desk, in my car on drives hooked up with Android auto, in stores, did all the things one does with a phone… here are some issues…In my office, with the overhead light, it will see my head’s shadow and decide it’s dark now and dim the screen way more than it shouldI had to take a crazy detour route to the MSP Airport recently and I was surprised to find that the 4a lost its GPS connection twice, and even after a restartCould be a fluke but it was unexpectedFinal thoughtsSmall, good value.I wish Google had done this from the beginningThe value is here, and imagine what a double price – $700 device – could offer at the same value ratioIt’s hard to imagine since those Samsung phones are cursed at high price pointsThe iPhone SE(2) is good if you’re already in the iOS ecosystem – don’t get this thenif you’re invested in Android for any reason and you won’t or can’t spend 2.5x on an Android flagship, then this is great for youOr consider one of the Moto G phones – why? Well, the Moto G phones have a similar value ratio but may have alternative features you might want (like the stylus model) or a larger screenLook we don’t need to imagine – it’s Apple’s iPhone 11 (non-pro)A processor that will last yearsEnough RAM (in conjunction with that ecosystem’s memory constraints and patterns) to lastSlightly less storage but it’s livable (probably)The Pixel cameras are good but the iPhone cameras are also well renowned too – and it has better video support on averageSo where is that phone, Google? Is that the Pixel 5?I bet I need to wait until the next round to see if that is something Google can do properly – steady, incremental, deliberateI opened this up by mentioned the Nexus 5Ok, thanks.Attributions
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