The Google Pixel 4a is the most affordable Pixel phone you can get but one that doesn't cut down on display and camera. You get the same high-performance camera with HDR performance as the more expensive Pixel phones. We even dare to claim that for this amount of money he has the best camera performance from any phone.
OLED screen for less
The Pixel 4a is the successor of the Pixel 3a and thus already the 2nd model in the A-series. This is the inexpensive Pixel series but with the same camera performance as all other Pixel phones. This year, there will be no separate XL version of the camera, although there is a larger model available in the form of the Pixel 4a 5G. In contrast to this 4a, it does have 5G support and therefore a slightly larger screen with a larger battery. Disadvantage of that 4a 5G; it is not (yet) available everywhere. Back to this Pixel 4a 4G. It has a 5.8 inch OLED screen with bright colors and a sharp Full HD+ resolution. The screen has an Always-On function so it always displays the time and notifications. For the first time, a Pixel phone has a punch-hole for the selfie camera, so the days of remarkably large screen edges are gone.
HDR+ camera for less
A Pixel phone wouldn't be a Pixel phone without a good camera. On the back of the Pixel 4a is a single 12.2 megapixel camera with large 1.4 ?m pixels and bright f/1.7 lens. There is optical and electronic image stabilization and the camera can focus thanks to Dual Pixel phase detection. Together, these features provide the distinctive camera quality we've come to expect from Pixel phones. The award-winning HDR+ function, Night Sight and Portrait Mode; they're all just there. What is missing is the Neural and Visual Core; Google's own chip that speeds up the processing of photos. The Snapdragon 730G processor is now manually responsible for handling all tasks, but that in turn is a tad faster than the Snapdragon 670 in the Pixel 3a. So no man overboard.
Main Google Pixel 4a specifications
Reasonably compact 5.8-inch Full HD+ OLED screen
Professional photo quality with the familiar Pixel techniques HDR+, Night Sight and Portrait Mode
8MP selfie camera in punch-hole with f/2.0 lens
Snapdragon 730G processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of non-extendable storage
3140 mAh battery with 18 Watt fast charge
Dual SIM support thanks to built-in eSIM
Stereo speakers
A lot more for less
So there is no saving on the monitor and camera, but the costs have to be cut somewhere. This has been done on the choice of material. The back is made of plastic. Not a problem at all because it has a nice finish which makes the Pixel 4a not necessarily feel cheap. Google continues the tradition of applying a headphone port to its Pixel A model. The battery looks a bit tight with a capacity of 3140 mAh. Google says that with the self-learning Adaptive Battery it achieves a long battery life, but tests show that you have to put it on the charger every day. Fortunately, there is support for fast charging. Furthermore, the Pixel 4a offers all the benefits you're used to from a Pixel phone such as the Google Assistant and the fast and long-lasting updates. For this amount, this is a combination where the competition can still bite their teeth to the bone. You only have a little choice of color; at the moment of hatching only black.
Google has announced a new color version of the Pixel 4a; Barely Blue. A little more color is much appreciated; the Google Pixel 4a was previously only available in Just Black.
The Pixel 4a is the cheaper brother of the Pixel 4. But when we say 'cheaper' we don't necessarily mean 'less'. He has an OLED screen and the same 12.2MP camera that the Pixel 4 has, although the 4a does have one less camera on the back.
The Google Pixel 4a in the new Barely Blue
The now announced 'Barely Blue' together with the 'Just Black' are the only color options you have. Google also has a 5G variant of the Pixel 4a, the 4a 5G. That one remains only available in black for the time being. The presence of 5G is not the only difference, it also has a much larger screen. The name 'Pixel 4a XL' would have been more appropriate.
Exclusively at Google
The blue Pixel 4a 4G is for the time being only available via Google's own website for a select group of countries. It remains to be seen whether the version will be sold by others. Prices are the same for the time being.
9to5Google has come up with what looks like an internal Google document mentioning some Pixel phones which are still unannounced. One of them being a foldable. It remains to be seen whether these phones will actually see the light of day.
It takes a while before a phone becomes reality. Designing, tweaking and manufacturing takes months, sometimes a year. So it's not surprising that Google is already discussing the next generation of Pixel phones. Still, this document teaches us something new, namely code names and a rough timetable.
The article on 9to5Google
Anyone who follows Google's Pixel line knows that they have a tendency for using names based on fish. For example, the Pixel 4a has code name 'Sunfish' while other models have more exotic names like 'Blueline', 'Walleye' and 'Flame'. According to 9to5Google the Pixel 5a will be codenamed 'Barbette' and there are also models named 'Raven', 'Oriole' and 'Passport'. With this, Google seems to break with its tradition because these are not known fish species. A little further on in the document we are reassured because the final (fish) name is still coming and this is just an internal name.
Google 'Passport'
However, we are mainly interested in the 'Passport', which should be the first foldable Pixel to be released somewhere in the fourth quarter of 2021. Anything can still happen in the meantime, so don't blame Google if it's going to be different in the end. The Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 should be released in October and in the second quarter of 2021 we can expect the Pixel 5a. Again, everything is subject to change.
The end for Pixel 4
And even before the Pixel 5 is announced, Google will stop selling the Pixel 4 and 4 XL. With this, Google further fuels the rumor that the sales numbers were not very good. Both devices, which were the first to use radar for its interface, never received good reviews. Battery life was too low, functions too gimmicky, the price too high and (not unimportantly) the device broke relatively easy during the bending test of JerryRigEverything. And so at Google they prefer to forget the Pixel 4 as quickly as possible.
Today Google finally announced the long-awaited Pixel 4a; an inexpensive Pixel phone with non-waterproof plastic body and a fantastic camera. Also remarkable was that the company announced the arrival of the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. These will follow in the autumn.
Usually manufacturers don't give statements about unannounced products. But Google likes to do things a little bit different. In addition to introducing the long-awaited Pixel 4a, Google reports that the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 will arrive somewhere during the fall. We don't have images of those last 2. We do have images of the Google Pixel 4a, although the 5G version will undoubtedly look a lot like that.
.The Pixel 4a in 'Just Black'
The biggest advantage of the 4a is its price. With a recommended retail price of $349, the device is not expensive at all. For this money you get a device with the following specifications:
Borderless 5.8 inch OLED display
Single 12.2 MP camera with f/1.7 lens and OIS
8 MP selfie camera in punch-hole
128 GB storage (not expandable)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor with 6 GB of RAM memory
3140 mAh battery, no wireless charging
So the thick screen bezels of the Pixel 3a and even the Pixel 4 are finally gone. Google switched to screens with a so-called hole-punch. What Google did remove is a larger XL model. The Pixel 4a XL was canned and does come to market despite earlier rumors. That makes choosing something simpler although we would have liked to see a slightly larger battery in the 4a.
Competitors Pixel 4a
The competitively priced Pixel 4a will go head to head with some other premium mid-range models such as the Apple iPhone SE (2020) and the OnePlus Nord. The latter features a smoother display with 90Hz refresh rate. And Apple's competitor has a much more powerful processor. Expect the 4a in stores in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, Japan, Taiwan and Australia.
He should have been announced already; the cheap brother of the Pixel 4. The Pixel 4a was supposed to be announced at the I/O event but that event got canceled because of corona. And the rumor now is that the sales date has been postponed again, possibly to October.
Of course anything can change, but if the date of sale of the Pixel 4a is indeed October they better call it the Pixel 5a. That date is rather close to the launch of the Pixel 5 and 5 XL. Google doesn't seem to know what to do with the device. What's taking them so long?
They already advertised the Pixel 4a
The Google Pixel 3a is a very strong product. We even dare to say that it is at the great grandfather of the iPhone SE (2020). The best camera you can get in an otherwise simple (and affordable) phone. So we are eagerly looking forward to the Pixel 4a. It didn't meet its original launch dat in March, and it might not make it to July either. Or will it? Because maybe it will be announced in July, but according to Jon Prosser it will not be in stores before October. Now the usually rude Prosser doesn't have a flawless track record so we'll just have to wait and see.
13 July announcement?
Question remains; where is the Google Pixel 4a? Why is Google having so much trouble releasing it? Is it a marketing thing or are there technical problems? Possibly we'll hear it on July 13th when it's announced and when a journalist has the balls to ask Google whats the deal.
A picture emerged showing retail boxes of the Google Pixel 4a. It seems the still unannounced and cheaper brother of the Pixel 4 is ready to go on sale. But when exactly?
The Google Pixel 3a was announced in May of 2019 during Google I/O. Now, thanks to the coronavirus, Google I/O 2020 has been canceled but that doesn't mean that the Pixel 4a will suffer the same fate. For the Pixel 4a XL that's a whole other story but more on that later.
The retail boxes above not only show that the Pixel 4a is ready to be sold, they also confirm some specifications. For example, we see a single camera in a square module. Also, the dual finish that was used by Google up to the Pixel 3a is gone. A shame because up until now it as a good way to recognize Pixel phones. The different color of the power button thankfully remains.
Specifications Pixel 4a
Expected specifications of the Google Pixel 4a are a 5.81 inch OLED display with Full HD+ resolution, a Snapdragon 730 processor with 6 GB of RAM and a 3080 mAh battery. The single rear camera gets a 12.2 megapixel sensor, just like previous Pixel phones. Expect good photo results thanks to Computational Photography for which Google is known. On the front, an 8 megapixel self-image camera is expected.
By the way, there doesn't seem to be an XL variant of the Pixel this year. Despite the fact that parts of this 4a XL recently appeared on eBay the device seems to have been canceled by Google. Why exactly is unknown, maybe Google wants to keep things simple, or maybe it doesn't want to offer too many options besides the more expensive Pixel 4 and 4 XL.
The source is unknown, the photos are blurry and the information is contradictory. In other words: all signals are red. Still, we don't want to withhold these pictures of the possible Pixel 4a which looks nothing like an existing Pixel phone.
Thanks to the @onleaks renders we already know what the Pixel 4a will look like. A camera with a punch-hole and a square camera module with only 1 camera. The Google Pixel 4a thus promises an interesting and modern looking successor to the interesting Pixel 3a of 2019.
Is it the Pixel 4a or isn't it?
Roughly speaking, the photos somewhat similar to the @onleaks renders, but there are key differences. For example, the screen borders are much narrower and the punch-hole is not in the corner but to the right of the clock. In other words, there is enough doubt to give the advice to take this report with a grain of salt. What also doesn't help is that the source is new and has deleted its original message.
Surprise
However, that Google will come up with a successor to the 3a seems certain. That model was one of the big surprises of 2019. It was something we never saw before; an affordable smartphone with a flagship camera. Earlier it appeared that the Google Pixel 4a probably has a 5.8 inch screen and a fingerprint scanner on the back. So it is not in the display and you cannot unlock it by facial recognition such as on the Pixel 4 and 4 XL.
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