Woohoo! Google Pixel 4a has finally infiltrated the Indian market. Two months of its official release, yet so, the hype does not seem to be dead. The successor of Google Pixel 3a will hit the sale as a Big Billion Day’s Special launch with an introductory price of Rs. 29,999.

Google Pixel 4a Overview:

The budget A-series from Google is famous for its own niche; not strictly a spec-sheet banger but rather a mid-range that is pivoted for user experience. Google Pixel 4a books a single camera setup, a punch-hole design, an OLED display, a headphone jack and the virtuous pure-android. Where does it stand in the spectrum of other mid-range flagships? The OnePlus Nord, The iPhone SE, Samsung Galaxy A51 and the mighty Chinese mid-ranges that look absolutely on steroid: Should you buy it?

Design & Display

Google Pixel 4a embarks the compactness of a design. If you are one of those people who still prefer a phone that fits in your palm and slides effortlessly into your jeans, Pixel 4a might just be it. Google Pixel 4a hallmarks a 5.81inch punch-hole display housed inside a strikingly “Googlish” polycarbonate body.

The phone stretches (144H x 69.4W x 8.2D) mm in dimensions and 143gm in weight. Therefore, moving your thumb around any corners of the display wouldn’t be much of a strain. It has a slim build with no sharp corners and the mint-green accented power button adds an extra flair to the design.

The 5.81inch OLED display carries a punch-hole design with bezels running edge-to-edge. It has a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and 443ppi of pixel density. Due to its higher pixel density and well calibrated display, the pictures look sharp, colorful and punchy. However, it lacks that mellow swift due to the lower refresh rate.

Google has gone with a single color variant this time- Just Black.

Performance

Google Pixel 4a is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 730G chipset. It comes in a single memory configuration- 6GB + 128GB. It would have been better if Pixel 4a had the latest Snapdragon 765G, nevertheless, it will perform as any mid-range phones. The phone can handle pretty much any apps out there, however, the high-end games like PUBG and Call of Duty: Mobile will run smoothly at medium-high settings.

Snapdragon 730G features an octa-core setup housing 2 + 6 bigLittle cores.

Camera

The camera is one of the main USPs behind most pixel phones. Quite conventionally, Pixel 4a still embraces that single 12MP camera setup.It uses Sony IMX363 sensor with an Optical Image Stabilization.

While it may sound “meh” on paper but the images generated by the sensor, in aid with Google’s computational photography, is a pure menace. Arguably, pixel 4a might just be the best camera phone in the house. From portraits to the Night Sight and Astrophotography, the camera in Pixel 4a just slays. Also, you can take advantage of OIS + EIS to capture some pleasing stable footages.

With all things considered, Pixel 4A still lacks secondary lenses. Non-accessibility of telephoto, macro or wide-angle lens stills conjures the phone in terms of versatility.

Battery & Charging

Google Pixel 4a shelters a 3,140mAh battery which supplies just enough voltage to get you through one office day. You can expect up to 6hrs of screen-on-time from Pixel 4a with some casual gaming, media consumption and web surfing. At the same time, you can get up to 24Hrs of battery life on stand-by mode.

To pair the battery comes an 18W charger inside the box. Google Pixel 4a supports up to 2.0 PD with USB Type-C. Still and all, it does not support Wireless Charging.

Other Features

With Pixel 4a, you can get all the propriety features that one anticipates from a pixel phone. This includes Pixel Feature Drops every couple of months.

Pixel 4a has a small cut-out at the back for Capacitive Fingerprint Sensor. Pinpointing the fingerprint sensor can sometimes be hard for it apparently blends with the rear of the phone.

Similarly, other features include a stereo speaker setup, 3.5mm Headphone Jack, New Google Assistant with Lens, AR Core and Titan M Security Module. Likewise, Google Pixel 4a supports single nano-SIM and no expandable storage. It offers WiFi 6, Bluetooth® 5.1 and Wi-Fi Direct for wireless connectivity.

Price & Availability

Google pixel 4a was launched on August 3 of 2020. Two months past and Google has finally announced that Pixel 4a will be available in India by October 16. The promotional offer of Google Pixel 4a is Rs. 29,999.

Verdict

Pixel 4a is quite a unique piece in the horde of competitive smartphones. However, excluding all the flares of “Pixel” it teases, it is still a mediocre hardware. No! not saying it’s a bad phone but just reminding you to sort out your priorities. It is not a performance powerhouse or a battery bank, apart from that, you may still want to account the release of new Pixel phones- the Pixel 4a 5G and Google Pixel 5- which are really good.

Howbeit, Pixel 4a is still one of the best phones that you can get under Rs. 30,000. If I were you, I would not hesitate buying it. A great software, an exceptional camera and a great display; I am sold.

Google Pixel 4a Full Specifications:

• Display: 5.81-inch; FHD+ OLED Transmissive- hole display
• Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 730
• CPU: Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Kryo 470 Gold || 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 470 Silver)
• GPU: Adreno 618
• RAM: 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, non- expandable
• OS: Stock Android Q (10)
• Rear Camera: Single 12.2MP Sony IMX363 sensor (OIS-enabled)
• Front Camera: Primary 8MP
• Battery:3,140mAh, 18W charging (Type-C)
• Security: Rear-mounted Capacitive Fingerprint Sensor
• Sensors:  Proximity / Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer / Gyrometer, Magnetometer, Barometer, Android Sensor Hub
• Connectivity: WiFi 6, Bluetooth® 5.1, Wi-Fi Direct
• Colors: Just Black

Mohit Aryal

Tech enthusiast and a movie fanatic.