Google is not Pixel 4a.
This entry was originally posted on August 6th and was updated on August 7th. Update below.
On October 29, 2012, Google discovered what I still consider to be one of my favorite Android phones ever made, the Nexus 4.
It had its problems, of course. The camera was, to put it mildly, inconsistent and the base level 8GB of storage was half of what Samsung’s then specification powerhouse – the Galaxy S3 – offered.
Update 08/07: It looks like the Pixel 4a is a hit with consumers. Android Police found that the new phone is sold out on Amazon and is also the best selling unlocked phone on Best Buy.
This is not so surprising, considering it looked good selling the Pixel 3a and the repeated questions I received from readers about the release date of the Pixel 4a. Of course, there are no official sales figures, but sales at third-party stores are good. If you want to buy the phone, you can still register your interest in the Google store.
Elsewhere, Google may have accidentally slipped the release date of the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G. A blog of Google France, that has since wipe, posted that the two new Pixel phones will be available for pre-order on October 8th. Google has so far only said that the new devices will be available “this fall”, which I assumed was deliberately vague due to production issues related to Covid-19.
But since Google has had a good few years with launch dates for October, there is every chance that this is true. Nice internal documents, seen through 9T05Google, also suggest a start date for October. If this date is correct, the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 will land on time for the Black Friday sale. Both can see similar discounts that Google has offered over the last three years for earlier Pixel handsets.
But the Nexus 4 had twice the RAM (2GB) of Samsung’s competitor phone, good performance, an excellent display with a slightly higher pixel density than the Galaxy S3, stock Android (a need at the time when inflated phones just were) and, most importantly, it cost $ 299. It was not measurably less than the competition (it was better in some places), but it was definitely cheaper. Much cheaper.
About 10 months later, Google would go on to beat the price to £ 159 in the UK, a practice which the search engine eventually made a habit of.
It was shockingly good value, as is the Pixel 4a. Google’s new phone shares a lot of similarities with the old Nexus, it’s only available in black, it’s surprisingly cheap – while underlining competition – and it represents a pared down, back to basics, approach to smartphone making. Clearly, someone in Google’s design team is a sucker for nostalgia.
What is different between the Google phones of 2012 and 2020 is that the search company is now Camera King thanks to its superiority for image processing and it has an incredible weapon in its Assistant AI tech. Aside from the lack of a second telephoto lens on the 4a, there is not much between the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4a in still shots – they are both great.
In terms of design, the 4a is refreshing to use. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, which briefly housed my SIM card this year, pushed the boundaries of what should be an acceptable smartphone size. It’s an excellent phone in almost every area, but because it’s so handy to do everything it is also too big and unbalanced. It did not sit in many pockets and it always felt godless.
The Pixel 4a is the perfect antidote to those powerhouse flagship phones that seem to increase in size and weight. It is impossibly light and no compromises have been made over display size to achieve its compact design.
However, the specs of the mid-range, specifically the Qualcomm 730 processor and 60Hz display experience level are noticeable if you are coming from a more complete phone.
I’ve switched between the Moto Edge (Snapdragon 765), Pixel 4 XL (Snapdragon 855) and Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra (Snapdragon 865) – so I’ve noticed the lower refresh rate and less impressive performance. I noticed that on the Pixel 3a as well. However, if you are not interested in refresh rates or benchmark scores, or if you are moving from a Pixel 3a, then this may not be something that is important to you.
It can matter in six months, if your phone is noticeably slower after some use in the world and you plug it in with your apps, games, messages and images. A better-performing processor – and overall performance – typically means longevity, which is why OnePlus phones have good value for money, as the company prioritizes speed.
What you may notice is the lack of 5G. Or rather, you will in a year or so. The Pixel 4a does not have it, in fact there will be a special 5G model landing later this year, which will cost $ 499 – $ 150 more than the Pixel 4a. Is $ 150 worth more 5G? Maybe not, but the upgrade to a 765 chipset and potentially another camera lens (here hoping for a wider angle) would be, as already rumored.
There’s a reason why companies like Samsung and Motorola are almost releasing phones with 5G connectivity: what adds longevity to their most expensive handsets and why coverage improves. It’s still spotty here in the UK, but that may not be the case in 12 months. Assuming people stick to their handsets for two years (which seems to be increasing), by 2022 you will be very aware of your non-5G phone with questionable performance.
Then there are the price cuts. Remember the Nexus 4 discount I mentioned earlier? Google did that with the Pixel 3, Pixel 3a and Pixel 4. In any case, the sale started less than 12 months after the phones were released, in the case of the Pixel 4 it got a price of $ 200 one month after launch on Black Friday.
Covid-19 has apparently devastated this year on release dates, with the Pixel 4a landing much later than expected and the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 coming “this fall”, which could mean as late as December – a month after the Black Friday discount season. But it’s worth mentioning that one of the big Pixel 3 deals came two months after launch as a special Christmas sale. We could see something similar this year, espically considering how serious the competition is from Apple’s iPhone SE, OnePlus Nord and Motorola.
With an extra camera lens and 5G, the Pixel 4a 5G is worth the wait to complete what is near an already perfect phone. Especially when discounts are inbound. At least you can probably pick up a cheaper Pixel 4a later this year if you stick to your cash.
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