Tag: Google Pixel

Google Pixel 4A India Review

I have been using Google Pixel 4A for a few weeks now. I bought it from Flipkart on the launch day and got it shipped very fast.  During the launch, the price was Rs 29,999 + Instant Discount with SBI Cards. Now the price has gone up to Rs 31,999.

Initial Impressions

When you get the phone out of the box for the first time, the first thing you would notice is how compact and small this smartphone is. It’s so easy to carry around in your pocket and can be used with one hand. If you are coming from bigger phones with bigger displays, it will take some getting used to the elements on the screen as the texts and icons would look a bit small for your eyes. You can go to the display settings and change these settings to get the look that suits you.

Performance

Pixel 4A is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Octacore processor. This is a mid-range 4G chipset and offers good performance overall. This is not made for high-end gaming and hence I wouldn’t recommend you buy this phone for a great gaming experience. During my day to day tasks, I didn’t encounter any lags or issues.

Does Pixel 4A Overheats?

I got an overheat warning on my 4A twice. The first time it was when I was setting up my phone for the first with a lot of apps downloading and installing in the background, while I got out and took lots of photos non-stop. The warning message told me some of the functionalities in the camera won’t be available. So I let it cool for a few mins, and everything was back to normal. It didn’t shut down or rebooted. The second time I got the overheat warning was again using the camera non-stop. 

Stock Android Experience

Many buy Pixel phones from the Stock Android Experience and camera. On the Pixel 4A, I got the update to Oct 2020 security updates immediately and updated it to it without any issues. Apart from some small bugs here and there, Stock Android 11 experience is great. This version of Android ships with Night mode and some great battery optimizations. 

How good are the cameras on the Pixel 4A?

If you have a Pixel 3, 3A, or 4, you are getting almost the same experience from the 4A. The hardware hasn’t changed, so the image quality is almost the same. How good is it? It is really good. HDR+ and Nightscape offer better images than your regular 30K smartphone offers. If you are an old Pixel owner and are buying 4A for the camera alone, I would recommend you wait for the next generation with a better camera sensor as the image quality difference is not that big. 

The Pixel 4A portrait mode works not just on faces, so you can take bokeh shots on any subject you like. The edge detection is often good, but it’s not always perfect. You can readjust the depth and blur using the Google Photos app if you are not satisfied with the end result. 

Astrophotography mode is another great feature Pixel phones come with. In order to capture the milky way, you would need to be in a very dark place, far away from city lights. If you live in the city, you can’t get a clear night sky due to light pollution. 

Pixel 4A can take 4K @ 30fps videos. The quality is good, but not that great. iPhone 11 series take much better videos than the 4A for sure, and it supports 4K @ 60fps as well. 

How good is the battery life on the Pixel 4A?

Older generation Pixel phones had terrible battery life, however, the newer models perform much better. Pixel 4A has a smaller battery comparing to the Pixel 5 and many other Android smartphones in this price range. However, thanks to the Android 11 optimizations Google made, I was able to get 4-5 hours of daily screen on time with the 4A. If you want to get better idle battery usage out of the pixel, I would recommend you disable the Mobile hotspot when not in use.

It does come with a fast charger in the box. If you have used an OnePlus 8 series or Oppo flagship smartphone, you would consider this charger a bit slow. In other words, it’s not that fast. 

What about the Pixel 4A display?

It’s not exceptional, but it’s an OLED screen. If you have never used an OLED screen before, you would be very happy to see the deep blacks and better colors on the OLED screen. Under the direct sunlight, the screen got bright enough, and I had no difficulty in seeing the text or photos on the screen. 

Overall, I am very happy with the purchase of Pixel 4A. In India, you get many other phones in this price range with better overall specs for sure, but if you are an Android fan and want to get fast updates, Pixel 4A is currently the best phone you can buy right now in India. 

What i like about the Pixel 4A

  • Good Camera
  • Stock Android Experience
  • Headphone jack
  • Decent battery life ( wish it had a 4000mAh one )
  • Compact and Easy to carry around size.

What i don’t like about the Pixel 4A

  • No Ultra-wide-angle Camera
  • No 4K @ 60fps support

Google Pixel 4a 5G Pre-order starts on Oct 29 on Amazon US

Pre-order Google Pixel 4A 5G from Amazon US on Oct 29th onwards. Price: $499.

Google Pixel 4a 5G unlocked is now listed on Amazon US. It will be available to pre-order from Oct 29th onwards in the US. More expensive Google Pixel 5 is already up for pre-order now in the US at a price of $699. Pixel 4A 5G has a launch price of $499.

Pre-order links: Pixel 5 ( $699 ) / Pixel 4A 5G ( $499 ) / Pixel 4A ( $349 ) ( Paid links )

Pixel 4A 5G vs Pixel 5 Specs Comparison

Google Pixel 4a 5G is more like a Pixel 5 Lite. It has the same processor and cameras as the more expensive Pixel 5. Both these phones are powered by the Snapdragon 765G and feature Dual cameras at the back. Both feature Full HD OLED screen, however, Pixel 5 has a higher refresh rate at 90hz offering smoother animations.

Unlike the Google Pixel 4, these phones have an ultra-wide-angle lens instead of a telephoto lens which is a good decision in my opinion. Phone like iPhone 11 also has an ultra-wide-angle lens instead of telephoto.

At 6.2 inches Pixel 4A 5G has a bigger screen than the Pixel 5 ( 6.0 inches ) and Pixel 4A ( 5.81 inches ). In my personal opinion, the 5.81 screen on the 4A is the perfect compact size for single-handed use.

Both Pixel 4A 5G and Pixel 5 can record 4K @ 60fps while the regular 4A tops out at 4K @ 30fps due to less powerful  Snapdragon 730G on board. 

In the battery department, Pixel 5 has a bigger 4080mAh battery while 4A 5G has a slightly smaller 3885mAh. Thanks to the optimization Google made, these phones are really gonna last a day of moderate to heavy usage with around 5-6 hours of screen on time. 

So which one you should buy?
If you are buying a Pixel phone for its camera alone, you should get the Pixel 4A 5G model as you get the same camera as the Pixel 5 and can save $200. If you want a better display, a bigger battery, and an IP68 rating, you should get the Pixel 5 instead. Regular Pixel 4A for $349 is a great buy as well if you don’t care much about an ultra-wide-angle lens or 4K 60p.

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Google Pixel 4a Specs and Features

Google is preparing to launch Pixel 4a – the successor to its popular mid-range Pixel 3a. According to many leaks, it will launch worldwide on May 22. Pixel 4a will be priced at $399 – the same price as the iPhone SE 2020. In India, the expected price is Rs 42,500.

Pixel 4a Specs and Features

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Octacore Processor
  • 5.8 inch Full HD+ AMOLED screen
  • Android 10
  • 4GB / 6GB ram
  • 64GB / 128GB storage
  • 12.2MP main camera
  • 8MP front camera
  • 3080mAh battery

As you can see, the 4a has similar specs as the older 3a. It is powered by 730G Snapdragon – which is a mid-range processor and comes with a Full HD AMOLED screen. The main highlights, as always in a Pixel phone, is its camera. It features the same exact main camera sensor as the more expensive Pixel 4 and 4XL phones.

Google’s computational photography, HDR+, Night Sight, Astrophotography mode etc make this one of the best phone for photography. 4K @ 30fps is supported as well with EIS stabilization.

According to rumours, there won’t be a Pixel 4a XL variant this time around. In India, Pixel 4a will be available to purchase from Flipkart / Amazon.in after the launch.

Google Pixel 5 to come with Snapdragon 765G instead of 865

Google Pixel Phones are famous for their computational photography magic. The HDR+ and Night mode Google Camera offers are second to none. They often produce usable, noiseless images in even difficult lighting conditions with often just a click.

In other areas, however, Google pixel phones often fail to achieve high flagship standards.

Let’s take Pixel 4 for an example. When everyone was pushing out phones with an ultra-wide-angle lens, google chose to ship it with a telephoto lens instead. A true flagship phone should have had all 3 focal lengths on boart – telephoto, wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle. Look at iPhone 11 Pro for an example. Pixel 4 also didn’t support 4K at 60fps, which iPhones have been doing for years.

According to many reports and leaks online, Google’s 2020 flagship Pixel 5 would be a mid-range Android smartphone. While everyone else is using Snapdragon 865 on their high-end phones, Google is rumored to be shipping Pixel 5 with Snapdragon 765G instead. Thankfully, this is also a 5G chipset.

Apple is rumored to be planning to launch a mid-range iPhone in 2020, similar to its older iPhone SE. Maybe, Google wants to compete with this upcoming iPhone and had to cut costs. That would be a good reason to go for SD765G instead of SD865.

Google is also planning to launch Pixel 4a soon with mid-range specs and $399 price. It will probably launch in India as well in the upcoming months.

Snapdragon 765G Features

  • 7nm build
  • 64-bit
  • Qualcomm Kryo 475 CPU ( Up to 2.4 GHz )
  • Wi-Fi 6 Ready
  • Up to 3.7 Gbps 5G Speeds
  • Qualcomm Adreno 620 GPU
  • Bluetooth 5.0 support
  • Quick Charge AI Technology