Google has announced three different phones today. The Google Pixel 4A, 4A 5G, and Pixel 5. The 4A is already available for preorder. Meanwhile, Pixel the 4A 5G and the 5 will become available in the fall. With prices ranging starting at $349 for the 4A it will get lots of attention as a budget phone. The other two models that won’t be released for another few months will come at a higher price but will feature 5G capabilities.
The Pixel 4A
Google has really created an outstanding budget phone with this product. Clearly companies have put an emphasis on this lately, between Apple with the SE, OnePlus, and its Nord phone, or Samsung with the Galaxy S71. This new release is $50 cheaper than base models of their own previous Pixel 3A as well as the iPhone SE. The competition in the phone industry is beginning to really benefit the consumer. The market has grown for companies to compete by providing consumers with a cheap reliable option that is a great user experience.
The Pixel 4A saw quite the delay due to the pandemic. But, the phone looks really impressive and should still sell very well.
4A Specs
- 5.81-inch 1080 x 2340 OLED
- 443 PPI with a hole-punch camera
- 5.7″ H x 2.7″ W x 0.3″ D
- Weighs 144 grams
- 3,140mAh Battery
- 6GB of RAM
- Storage of 128GB
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Processor
- Other: Stereo speakers, headphone jack, USB-C, no wireless charging
- Supports 4G
- Includes 18W USB power adapter and cable in box, no headphones in box
Camera Specs
- Rear camera: 12.2-megapixel, 1.4 μm pixel width, dual pixel phase detection autofocus, OIS and EIS, f/1.7 equivalent aperture, 77-degree field of view
- Video: 1080p at 30, 60, or 120fps; 720p at 30, 60, or 240fps; 4K a 30fps
- Front camera: 8-megapixel, 1.12 μm pixel width, ƒ/2.0 equivalent aperture, 84-degree field of view
- Other: Stereo speakers, headphone jack, USB-C, no wireless charging
- Supports 4G
- Includes 18W USB power adapter and cable in box, no headphones in box
For a budget phone, Google did really well by providing consumers with mid-end features. The RAM and storage that is base for the device are actually really good. The camera won’t draw many complaints, it’s photos are the same quality as the Pixel 4 and then its video capabilities are nothing too exciting. The device won’t support 5G but that does not come as a surprise, that feature is reserved for their more pricey products. The display features Google’s first hole-punch, and the OLED screen is a great feature as well. The battery also is large enough to last a full day in most cases. At the 4A’s price, there is really nothing users can be frustrated with. Google provided a really solid phone all-around.
One feature that the 4A certainly cannot compete with Apple for is the better processor. The SE uses Apple’s most up to date chip, the same one used for their flagship phones. So for Google, there was really no winning this category. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G will get the job done, but it definitely won’t be an exceptionalLY fast experience like the A13 Bionic chip in the iPhone SE.
Google has said that the phone will continue to get upgrades in the software department for three years. So for $349 you can get a phone that will get the job done and provide solid features. It’s promised a little bit of longevity, but it by no means is the best in class for Google. It’s great value just deserves to be recognized.
Pixel 4A 5G and 5
The announcement for the Pixel 5 and the 4A 5G unfortunately just meant that it is on its way and will be available this Fall. These two devices will support 5G and will be available in the US, Canada, Ireland, France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and the United Kingdom. But when it comes to specs, we won’t have better information until closer to its release. So stay tuned for updates on the line-up, especially regarding Pixel 5.
The pricing is still fairly affordable. The new 5G version of the 4A comes at a cost of $499. Although, for the addition of 5G, it might be a bit too much of a price increase for some people to make the upgrade. Unless the display is larger on this 5G 4A option, that would be another benefit for the extra money spent. I’m sure Google will make improvements to the product to make sure consumers feel the need to get the 5G version of the phone.
Hopefully, with this lineup of phones, Google can get back to competing at the level they used to. The specs and performance haven’t been all that comparable to Samsung and Apple, so it will be important to Google that their products get better reviews. Especially since other companies are also putting out extremely impressive smart-phone camera’s which has always been one of Pixel’s strong points.
After the long wait, the 4A is here. So let’s hope there isn’t the same sort of delay when it comes to the 4A 5G and Pixel 5. While the Google team promised a fall release, that produces quite a range in time. The fall season lasts four months, so don’t expect the devices to be available until the latter half, in November and December.