DIGILIFE: Google Pixel 4a, shining example

Let’s start with how it feels in your hand. At a time when every other manufacturer offers a mix of glass and metal at this price point, Google chose to go with a polycarbonate back. Outrageous, you’d think. But actually, in more ways than one, that is an incredibly smart move. 

Compared to the huge slabs of metal and glass that we are used to holding, the Pixel 4a aided by its tiny dimensions seems feather light and that can only be a good thing. With its soft touch finish and curved edges, it is also a lot easier to hold and use. The capacitive fingerprint reader is positioned perfectly and is a joy to use, unlike a number of in-screen ones. Another advantage to the plastic build - it is a lot more resilient to drops.

Towards the front, the notch has disappeared (in favour of a small cutout for the front facing camera) and the bezels are a lot more palatable. The 5.8-inch display and the small bezels mean that it is extremely easy to use the phone single-handedly.  The OLED panel is bright enough and has good colour reproduction. There’s no fancy high-refresh rate here but you hardly miss it.

Enthusiasts would scoff at the Snapdragon 730G that does duty inside but, clearly Google knows a trick or two that other Android manufacturers don’t. The Pixel 4a never struggled in day-to-day tasks and coupled with Google’s slick UI, everything seemed like a breeze. True, it did have the occasional frame drop while playing resource intensive games but that is hardly what this phone is intended for. The 3140mAh battery was easily able to handle a day’s worth of browsing, calling, messaging, social media and photography with no trouble.

The rear-facing camera – notice the singular use of the word – produces outstanding images with great clarity, sharpness and good colour. In fact, it is very close to the current flagships in this regard, closer than a mid-range smartphone has any right to be. Google’s image processing tech is simply outstanding. The 8MP font shooter also produces great image with good exposure, lighting and colours. The 730G’s limitations however mean that you have to wait a tiny bit longer for the photos to be processed once shot.

The Pixel 4a, in my opinion, has everything most people would ever need in a smartphone. In fact it has a number of additions over and above that make it truly special. With a seamless UI, well matched hardware and a great camera, the Pixel is hard not to recommend.