The Pixel 4a won’t charge faster than previous Pixels with an 18W charger, but Google has given it a slightly higher battery capacity of 3,140 mAh, according to a recently discovered certification list.
Discovered by DealnTech, the National Communications Commission of Taiwan has a listing for a Google phone codenamed G025J, the same code that we have seen listed in other databases of government regulators, including the FCC.
The NCC list also provided the identification numbers for the Pixel 4a’s battery and the charger that came bundled with the phone. DealnTech was able to cross-reference this number with the German TUV Rheinland certification database, and found the figures we mention below.
We would not expect Google to introduce a big change to its charging technology on a budget phone like the Pixel 4a. That said, the 18-watt charger, while better than some companies’ offerings like Apple’s 5-watt charger included in the iPhone SE box, is starting to look a bit lacking.
Samsung and OnePlus, perhaps Google’s two biggest rivals in the Android smartphone space, offer 25W and 30W respectively. Hopefully we’ll see the Pixel 5 charge faster when it launches later this year.
Pixel 3a had a 3,000 mAh battery, so it’s good to see that the Pixel 4a will have slightly more power capacity at 3,140 mAh. The 3,080 mAh ‘nominal capacity’ figure you see on the spec sheet is the guaranteed minimum capacity for the battery as no two cells are truly identical and could have more than that. However, manufacturers always use the highest ‘typical’ capacity when selling their phones, so 3,140 mAh is more important here.
It’s not a huge battery, but it’s bigger than the 1,821 mAh battery the iPhone SE has according to unofficial decommissionings, so it should at least beat the competition there. But since the OnePlus Nord probably has around 4,000 mAh of capacity, the Pixel 4a’s battery may not be enough without some robust battery management software that drains every last drop.
There is no evidence here of whether the Pixel 4a will have wireless charging. The Pixel 3a didn’t have the 18W charge that Google offers on its flagship Pixels, but with the iPhone SE offering wireless charging, there are suggestions that Google may introduce it to the Pixel 4a as well. But aside from a single image of the Pixel 4a on a wireless charging pad, released by the case creator ESR, so far there are no signs of it.
We’ve been waiting for the Pixel 4a launch since May, but continued delays have meant it could be as late as October before we finally see its debut. Every time it appears, we can’t wait to see its new perforating screen design, the first for Pixel phones, and how Google managed to enhance the Pixel 3a’s already excellent photographic talents.
