Second Opinion #103: Pixel 4a Review Second Opinion Reviews

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,