Pixel 4a

The Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a (5G) are a pair of Android smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Google as part of the Google Pixel product line. They collectively serve as mid-range variants of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. The Pixel 4a was announced on August 3, 2020 via a press release, while the Pixel 4a (5G) was announced on September 30, 2020 at the " Launch Night In" event. The Pixel 4a was considered to be one of the best budget smartphones of the 2020 year, being priced at around $400 USD.

Specifications

Design and hardware

The Pixel 4a and 4a (5G) resemble the Pixel 4, but have a polycarbonate unibody construction and Gorilla Glass 3 for the screen. Both devices are available in 'Just Black', with a hint of a minty-light-green power button. 'Clearly White' is exclusive to the Pixel 4a (5G), only on Verizon with millimeter-wave (mmWave) support at launch. A limited edition 'Barely Blue' color for the Pixel 4a was later added to the Google Store. The back houses a capacitive fingerprint sensor centered below the camera lens, which was decently reliable at the time of release. Both have stereo loudspeakers, one located on the bottom edge and the other doubling as the earpiece, the main one being the bottom edge speaker, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. A USB-C port is used for charging and connecting other accessories. The USB-C Port is version 2.0.

The Pixel 4a is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G system-on-chip / Adreno 618 GPU, while the Pixel 4a (5G) is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G system-on-chip / Adreno 620 GPU. Both have 6 GB of RAM, with 128GB of non-expandable internal storage. They both lack wireless charging, water resistance, Active Edge and the Pixel Neural Core (PNC); all of which are standard on the Pixel 4. The battery capacity is 3140 mAh for the Pixel 4a and 3885 mAh for the Pixel 4a (5G); fast charging is supported at up to 18 W, which while considered slow, due to the small battery, the Pixel 4a and 4a (5G) charged quite fast. (USB Power Delivery, using in-box adapter).

The Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a (5G) feature a 1080p OLED display with HDR support measuring 5.8-inches and 6.2-inches respectively. The display has slim uniform bezels, and a circular cutout in the upper left hand corner for the front-facing camera, with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio.

The Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a (5G) have a raised square module housing the in built camera system. The Pixel 4a has a single rear-facing camera, with the same 12.2-megapixel sensor found on the Pixel 4; the Pixel 4a (5G) adds a secondary 16-megapixel ultrawide sensor. The front-facing camera has an 8-megapixel sensor. Both phones can record video at 4K resolution; the Pixel 4a is limited to 30 fps when recording at a resolution greater than 1080p, and the Pixel 4a (5G) supports 60 fps. They have Google Camera 7.4 with software enhancements, including Live HDR+ with dual exposure controls, improved Night Sight with Astrophotography mode, and improved Portrait Mode with more realistic bokeh. Google also offers unlimited cloud photo storage at "high quality"; original resolution storage requires users to pay for Google One.

Software

The Pixel 4a shipped with Android 10 and version 7.4 of the Google Camera app at launch, while the Pixel 4a (5G) shipped with Android 11 and version 8.0 of the Google Camera app at launch. Both are expected to receive 3 years of major OS upgrades with support extending until 2023, and have features such as Call Screen and a Personal Safety app.

Reception

The Pixel 4a was released to generally positive reviews with many reviewers praising the camera quality and overall value for money. At the time, the biggest competitor of the Pixel 4a was the iPhone SE. The iPhone SE failed compared to the Pixel 4a, having a generally worse battery, screen, and worse value for money. This was said by several reviewers including MrWhoseTheBoss, and Marques Brownlee. CNET's Lynn La gave the Pixel 4a a score of 8.4/10, considering it to have the best photo quality among phones in the same price range. Dieter Bohn of ''The Verge'' praised the phone for its excellent camera and acceptable battery life, but criticized the mediocre video recording performance and lack of wireless charging and water resistance. Brian Chen of ''The New York Times'' compared the Pixel 4a with the second-generation iPhone SE, remarking that the Pixel had superior low light photos, and a better display and battery life, but the iPhone had better performance. Samuel Gibbs of ''The Guardian'' stated that the phone operated smoothly and had better battery life than the Pixel 3a XL and the iPhone SE.

Known issues

Fixed issues and Non Fixed Issues

* The Pixel 4a has an on-going reputation for a flimsy and delicate power button. Google never addressed the issue, and the issue was never fixed.
* Some Pixel 4a (5G) users reported touchscreen problems. Google addressed this in a February 2021 security update.
* Google has determined that certain Pixel 4a phones require a software update regarding battery performance. An automatic update to Android 13 rolled out to all Pixel 4a devices starting January 8, 2025. For some devices the software update reduced available battery capacity and impacted charging performance. As compensation, Google offered a partial refund, store credit, or free battery replacement for the impacted devices. This issue is notable in that Google's announcement is vague about the nature of the issue, and while intending to "improve the stability of their battery’s performance," they indicate that "for some devices (“Impacted Devices”), the software update reduces available battery capacity and impacts charging performance." There has been some speculation in tech media that there could be a serious problem with the 4a batteries, similar to those that prompted Apple, in the batterygate incident in 2017, to reduce performance on certain iPhones to prevent accidental shutdowns. Apple subsequently had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars resulting from class action lawsuits. Google's appeasement program may be an effort to proactively address the issue rather than waiting for the courts to do so.

References

External links

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{{Google LLC

Android (operating system) devices
Discontinued smartphones
Google hardware
Google Pixel
Mobile phones introduced in 2020
Mobile phones with 4K video recording