Google Pixel 4a review! By 9to5Google

So after waiting a few extra months for the Pixel 4a to surface, it's finally set to ship next week, but is it any good? This is our review of the second affordable pixel, the Pixel 4a, thanks for watching 95, google on YouTube, remember to thumbs up, hit subscribe and enable notifications with the bell icon to be among the first to watch our upcoming videos, just like many other cheap smartphones and even last year's pixel.3A plastic dominates the Pixel 4a. After all, this isn't in any way high end or premium. That means generally plastic, and it can feel pretty poor. Despite looking nice, that said, the Pixel 4a flips that on its head, let's not sugarcoat it, though the hardware on the Pixel 4a. Well, it's pretty boring the plastic unibody shell only comes in black and its most exciting design. Trait is that sort of green power button at the side.

While we know another color was supposed to come to market, it obviously hasn't and with left with just black. Is that bad thing? Well, not really. The soft touch back is just drippy enough and doesn't get dirty or grimy too easily, although you'll probably notice some oil from your hands building up on the back of the device over time. In the several days we've used, the Pixel 4a is barely been an issue, but that is just something to note. The hardware 2 is a nice improvement from the Pixel 3a, it's not as glossy, and it feels nice on the whole compared to last year's phone beyond the soft touch plastic.

There are some smart design decisions on this device too. Despite that cheap price tag, the side buttons are very click, that's a minor detail, but it's one that makes the phone feel much more premium than it actually is. Google also stuck with a rear-facing fingerprint sensor on this device that undoubtedly helped drive costs down further, while keeping reliability up plus, it can't be stated enough how valuable a fingerprint sensor is in the post-covered era. The 5.8 inch display on the Pixel 4a is a bit of a controversial topic, because it's the only size available, but in reality it's actually a solid middle ground. It's not so small that the keyboard becomes hard to use our apps feel cramped, but it's not so large that some users will feel overwhelmed with screen real estate.

The quality of the display is, however, somewhat lacking. That's the best way to describe it. We haven't noticed the auto brightness issues that some other reviewers have noticed, but viewing angles have been a little lackluster at best with any movement off axis, there's a very slight blue tint. It's not nearly as bad as the pixel 2 XL a couple of years ago, and it is absolutely something everyone will be able to live with, but it is something to be aware of going ahead of time. Another negative we have noticed is the oleo phobic coating that protective layer that prevents oil buildup on your screen feels like it's barely there you may want to grab a screen protector or expect to be wiping the display quite a bit.

What's excellent about this display is just how much of it there is to play with. Given the small size, it's the largest screen to body ratio. That's ever been on a pixel, and it's a pretty good. Look the bezels aren't perfectly symmetrical, but it's a completely fine look and feel, and it's perfect, even with that punch hole. The Pixel 4a also includes a stereo speaker array that pumps through the bottom facing primary speaker and the earpiece- it's not particularly impressive, but it is pretty decent.

Given the standards here, also for wired audio enthusiasts, there is a headphone jack here too. Overall, the Pixel 4a hardware is by no means exciting, like the Pixel 3a before it, but it's a little taste of the premium pixel at that lower entry cost. In the end, though, the hardware barely matters, it's all about the software on a Google branded smartphone and the Pixel 4a is absolutely no different out of the box. The Pixel 4a runs on top of android 10 and will be updated to android 11 in a matter of weeks. When that officially drops the phone is promised three major android updates, but we're hoping for four simply due to the wonky release date.

Security, patches, pixel, drops and major OS updates are a core reason. You should buy this phone too. You know what to expect from the pixel. This is a clean software experience and with 128 gigabytes of storage on board, you've got ample space for all of your favorite applications. On top of that, once this phone is updated to android 11, it will have added some nice new features such as screen, recording, quick, smart home controls and more of that on top.

However, it still lacks a few things, you'll find on competing devices which might be a dealbreaker to you. In the software department, the Pixel 4a comes pre-loaded with the new Google Assistant. It works on device and is incredibly fast, putting other device assistance to shame and even making the standard assistant on other android phones feel suitably slow. Another notable high point is the haptics. The Pixel 4a matches the 3a from last year, but is a little behind the pixel 4 as the gold standard on android.

That said, if you're a stickler for haptics, we think you'll be suitably impressed powering the Pixel 4a software is that mid-range Qualcomm chipset, the snapdragon 730 by design. This isn't a powerhouse chip, but it's more than enough for a phone of this sort of price range. It can do the basics with the plumb and yes, there are stutters here or there- maybe a minor lock up once in a while, but overall it is hard to complain. The 4a performs much better than Cassius 3a and significantly better than competitors like the galaxy a51, which will sell in droves at nearly the same price point. The performance at launch.2 is a good sign that it will continue to be solid over time. The pixel 3 hasn't aged particularly well, and we do expect the 4a to do much better, given the more powerful chipset all right time for the PS to resist onto the camera.

Google strength with pixels has always been the camera, and it just continues to impress on the Pixel 4a, there's only one 12 megapixel camera on the back of the 4a, but it takes some truly excellent shots. Pictures are crisp, have Google's signature, contrast look and, most importantly, are reliable. Once you've pressed that shutter button. This is a camera. You can trust when you snap a picture.

That's for sure, that's not even to mention the fact that the Pixel 4a supports the stunning macrophotography mode from the pixel 4. Sure you can scoff at the fact there's only one rear camera, no telephoto or ultrawide, or the fact that the video isn't quite on the same level, but at the end of the day, you're getting the best camera for stills for a fraction of the cost of flagships that don't meet the same standards as the 3a before it. This might be the best point-and-shoot smartphone camera for the price, while Google Pixel smartphones are known for a lot of things. Battery life isn't one of them, while the XL models sometimes have solid endurance. The pixel 4 especially left a sour taste when it comes to the battery life.

That said, the Pixel 4a still has a small physical battery, but combination of the processor display and simple optimization leave this phone with pretty solid battery life. You can easily use the 4a for a full day of general usage and end up with something like 20 left in the tank at the end of the day, even without a XL variant, five plus hours of screen on time is pretty much par for the course topping up two with that 18 watts charge. Brick is no issue either. It's impressive. How good the battery is given how relatively small the power cell is inside with the Pixel 4a.

It's really hard to argue against what you get in here. This is not a perfect smartphone by any metric, but at 349 dollars you'd be hard-pressed to find an option that is as good for as many people out there. The only true competition in the US market, at least, is likely the iPhone SE, but it fails to keep up when it comes to the camera, the size and still cost 100 more for a matching model. Of course, those of us in the rest of the world have far more compelling options from the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo and now even OnePlus. Although we'd argue that the Pixel 4a is google's the best smartphone from the line date, it gets so much right without really having any of the major negatives.

It's a shame. We couldn't say the same about Google's flagships. Last year, though, after those failures, Google can learn a thing or two from the Pixel 4a, by keeping its cost down, not trying to be overly ambitious and sticking to what it essentially is. Good at Google has crafted the phone. That is plain good, no asterisk needed.

So it's a cracking, affordable, android phone, underpinned by exceptional software. But what are you thinking? No go or full steam ahead? Let us know down in the comment section below, but until next time this is Damian with ninety-five google saying thanks for watching, and I will speak to you later. You.

Source : 9to5Google