Let me begin with the obvious. Google Pixel 4a has already made it to the top list of most valuable smartphones for less than $400. Google stood up and made the Pixel 4a with great quality for less price.
The one good thing about the Pixel 4a is that it would have a convenient time to compete with any mid-range phone. In fact, the camera is already among the best for this price range.
The camera seems to deliver a great experience and would definitely be able to contend and potentially outperform the iPhone SE 2. Google Pixel 4a is your yearly reminder that you don’t need multiple cameras for great pictures.
The new Pixel 4a brings essential features to the Google software experience at a price point of N300,000. Last year’s Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL were clearly one of the best mid-range smartphones, but Google’s approach centered primarily on providing a Google Experience software that is available exclusively on Pixel phones. Google still maintained that emphasis this year with the Pixel 4a.
Google Pixel 4a Price In Nigeria
The Google Pixel is a high quality phone but with a mid-range price. However, its price is not attractive here in Nigeria. PS it is not sold in every stores and this is due to the fact that Google doesn’t distribute it here in Nigeria.
Display & Design
The Pixel 4a comes with a 5.6-inch OLED screen and it is Google’s first device featuring a cutout display that houses the selfie camera. When compared to other Pixel devices, this makes it a lot more trendy. Nowadays most mid-range devices pack higher refresh rates but the Pixel 4a comes with a regular 60Hz refresh rate and this is not a big deal because refresh rates in displays are mostly a concern to tech-savvies. At this display, the 2340×1080 resolution is more than adequate.
Google is well recognized for its simplistic design in all of its devices and it’s no wonder that Pixel 4a also follows the tradition. The body of the device is made of a plastic body with a matte texture and it’s just sleek from top to bottom.
A fingerprint scanner brings a happy return after it was replaced for facial recognition by the Pixel 4, but a fingerprint scanner on the back of a phone is no more a trend as far as I’m concerned. If you look at the devices under $400, you would find out that most of them ditched the physical scanner for an in-screen scanner.
Pixel 4a doesn’t have any IP rating for water resistance or wireless charging but atleast it has a 3.5mm headphone socket located at the tom
A white colored power button is located on the right side of the handset. The volume buttons are also located on the right side whilst the bottom contains the USB-C socket and two speaker grille.
Camera
The single 12 MP (f/1.7) Sony IMX363 sensor on the back makes the phone look too cheap but that’s not what matters. What really matters is the functionality that this single lens can provide. Google Pixel’s superiority persists when it comes to image processing with only one camera. There’s no need for a bunch of cameras when one camera can provide low-light shooting and clear images.
Google has included all of the latest Pixel 4 camera functionality to the Pixel 4A, such as Astrophoto mode and Live HDR+. You can get a clear shot of the moon or even galaxies away.
The Pixel 4A shows still some of Google’s camera dominance. Just one camera is on the rear and frankly, it’s all you need. At the front, you get an 8 MP selfie sensor.
Performance & Battery
One of the major factors Google was able to make the Pixel 4a cheaper was the choice to choose the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 G processor.
When it come to memory, it packs 6 GB RAM and 128 GB ROM.
It may not have the most exciting performance specs on paper but surely Google needed to make compromises on the performance in order to provide this device for such price point.
As expected, Google has some handy features to render the Pixel experience greater than any Android phone. Some of these features have already been revealed, such as the car accident detection feature, Audio transcriptions, captions, intelligent battery life, and others.
Google Pixel 4A is powered by a 3,140 mAh battery which if the device is used for basic activities can last for 1 day. It comes with an 18W fast charger.
Google Pixel 4a Full Specs
| Announced Date | 3rd August 2020 |
| Release Date | 20th August 2020 |
| Build | Plastic |
| Weight | 143g |
| Water-Resistant | No |
| Dimensions | 144 x 69.4 x 8.2 mm |
| Display Size & Type | 5.81 inches OLED |
| Screen Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels, |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83.3% |
| Pixel Density | 443 PPI |
| Software | Android 10I |
| CPU | Octa-core |
| GPU | Adreno 618 |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 730 (8 nm) |
| Storage | 128 GB |
| RAM | 6 GB |
| Main Camera (Single) | 12.2 MP (f/1.7) Supports [email protected], [email protected]/60/120fps video recording |
| Selfie Camera (Single) | 8 MP (f/2.0) Supports [email protected] video recording |
| 3.5mm Headphone Jack | Yes |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G |
| Connectivity | GSM, GPS, WiFi, BT 5.1, |
| Sensors | Proximity Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyrometer Magnetometer Fingerprint sensor (Rare mounted) Barometer Android Sensor Hub |
| Battery | -Non-Removable Li-Po 3140 mAh -USB: USB-C -Fast battery charging: Yes (18W) -Wireless Charging: No -Power Share: No -Reverse charging: No |
| Colors | Just Black |
| Price | Starts from $349 ~ N150,000 |
*Pls Note that the price of this device may change with time.
Conclusion
The Google Pixel 4a price is around N300,000 and it is in no way cheaper than the iPhone SE 2020, however, it is cheaper than last year’s Pixel 3a launch price. When compared to its predecessor, Pixel 4a brings a significantly improved chipset, more Memory, a new look, an improved camera, and a bigger screen.
We can hardly criticize what the Pixel 4a provides as a mid-range device. It’s really a good phone and the camera is fantastic. The phone is petite and I believe some people may think it a bit too tiny and won’t opt for it.
Sadly, there is no Pixel 4a XL edition and this makes it one of the smallest mid-range phones available in 2020, and while I realize others would argue that it is a portable phone. But It is impossible to ignore the fact that most phones are heading towards 7in screen sizes and this is the trend.
Overall it seems like it’s a perfect mid-range phone, at least it seems a much better value phone than its predecessor.
