Second Opinion

Second Opinion is a reviews show about anything and everything under the sun. If we can experience it, we can review it.

Pixel 4a Review

Episode #103 ▪ The Fringe #577

▪

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

Connect With The Nexus

Copyright

Second Opinion is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/so103.

In This Episode

Contact Second Opinion