Second Opinion #103: Pixel 4a Review

Ryan Rampersad reviews the Pixel 4a with Ian R Buck. The verdict: it's pretty good.

Ryan Rampersad reviews the Pixel 4a with Ian R Buck. The verdict: it's pretty good.


Episode summary

Pricing

A radical $349 base price with no other models even available
A phone you might remember also was this price… the Nexus 5… let’s get back on that topic later

This is allegedly the new budget tier, but I agree, it does seem to be less than ideal – this is the higher end of budget

I 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 track

Display

Size

Beyond its numerical size… wow it’s tiny
The iPhone 7 (which is SE2 size) is likely the most comparable
Special features
A notable aspect is the lack of a notch or anything weirdness
It has a simple hole punch front-facing camera
It still has the usual ambient display which is a killer feature

Physicals

Look and feel, build quality

Footprint

It’s incredibly thin and tiny
It’s even more compact than the 3a

In comparison, the 3a looks ancient, for how much bulkier (brow and chin) it looks and feels

iphone 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 4a

Weight

Since it’s so small, it’s weight is minimal (144g)
iPhone 7: 138g
Pixel 3: 148g
Note 20 Ultra: 208g

Battery

TBD

Charging

Type-C
Nothing special in this category

Ports

I 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?

Speakers

It 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 past
It sounds fine, it might be a bit tin-y

Buttons

My usual button setup has been power-button in the mid-body and volume rockers on the opposing side or directly above the power-button
The 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 color

Sensors

Fingerprint

It’s easy to forget how usable a good back-mounted fingerprint sensor is, it’s just so accurate and response all the time

Camera

How is it

It’s fine!
It takes reliable shots in bright and dark conditions
It 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 chip

Special modes
Notable features

Specs

CPU

Snapdragon 730G
Ok, it’s not a powerhouse and you can tell
It’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?

RAM

6GB – 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 point

Storage

128GB UFS storage
3a 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 disk
This might be loading updates from the store
This might be playing games
… so basically, you’re going to benefit from this more than the extra 2GB over the 3a

Software

OS

It’s been a long time since I used stock Android
For me, it’s not such a big deal since I immediately apply Action Launcher and I even change its defaults to not be awful

No search bar, no tray, no widget things, dots instead of whatever Pixel nonsense is the fad right now

Android 10 Review

Updates
Performance

Mentioned above in the CPU section – kind of mediocre to be honest
Try using the app switcher

The animation lags a lot in my opinion 

Issues

During 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 should

I 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 restart

Could be a fluke but it was unexpected

Final thoughts

Small, good value.
I wish Google had done this from the beginning
The value is here, and imagine what a double price – $700 device – could offer at the same value ratio

It’s hard to imagine since those Samsung phones are cursed at high price points
The iPhone SE(2) is good if you’re already in the iOS ecosystem – don’t get this then

if 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 you
Or 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 screen

Look we don’t need to imagine – it’s Apple’s iPhone 11 (non-pro)

A processor that will last years
Enough RAM (in conjunction with that ecosystem’s memory constraints and patterns) to last
Slightly 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 average

So 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, deliberate

I opened this up by mentioned the Nexus 5
Ok, thanks.

Attributions

Free Music Archive: Beat Doctor – Organic (electric edit)

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This episode of Second Opinion has a Fringe episode. You should really listen to The Fringe #577: SO #103 — Blabbering On The Whole Time!

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