It’s a tough year for Pixel lovers . Now that we know that the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 4a 5G remain without reaching Spain and Latin America (at least for now), what do we have left? Well, we have this Pixel 4a, a phone that at first might seem like a small thing , but today I am going to tell you why you should take it into account.
Small but beasty
Admit it, a phone that small and with such a moderate spec list doesn’t catch your eye at all, does it? Well, let me explain that I have had a great feeling using it for almost a month. The first thing you should understand is that this is a mid-range device , but one of those that aim high , so you will find details that will obviously be justified by its price. And we are talking about a 389 euro phone, which is not bad at all.
But of course, now you will tell me that for less money you have a bigger and more powerful phone . And that’s where we want to focus on this review, because this phone offers more value than it actually costs.
Let’s start with its 5.8-inch screen . Is small? It is if we compare it with the mastodons that we can find in stores today. But you know what? What a joy it is to wear this size. Personally it was something that I already knew because I used a Pixel 3 as a personal phone, so carrying this terminal in your pocket almost without noticing it, is something that I already knew I was going to feel.
There are phones with larger screens, yes, but the one on this Pixel 4a, in addition to containing the dimensions, offers excellent image quality since it is an OLED panel with FHD + resolution. So, better than better. The negative point, and yes, obviously there are negative points, is that it lacks a striking touch as a 90 Hz refresh . But leaving that aside, we are going to see images of excellent colors, very good viewing angles and a fairly good brightness that makes it easy to read outdoors.
Aesthetically it has a very good finish made of polycarbonate . And of course, this obviously subtracts that feeling of a Premium terminal that can be obtained in devices that use quality glass. But we go back to the beginning of the equation : the price.
Still, the phone feels very good in the hand, and the advantage it offers is that it is light, very light, at 143 grams. This is also responsible for its thickness, since it reaches only 8.2 millimeters. So thin? Surely you are already thinking about the inconvenience. Well yes, its battery. With 3,140 mAh , the battery of this Pixel 4a is fair. It is not that you are going to stay in the middle of the day of a normal day … but on days when you demand it, you will need a plug.
Continuing with the aesthetic, we must mention the hole in the screen with the 8 megapixel camera, a modern touch, but that eliminates the presence of facial recognition. I was not convinced by the Pixel 4, so the fingerprint reader on its back is worth it . It works really well, it’s fast and effective.
On one side we find the power button (with its typical color in contrast to the main box) and the volume buttons. And here is something that I have to indicate and that is the click noise. It is a very rigid and sonorous click, it is something that has caught my attention.
And to finish with the design plan, it is impossible not to talk about the camera module, a shiny black square that might make you think that we are going to find a set of cameras, but no, a solitary camera accompanied by the flash is what you are going for to find here. Could the detail of the square have been avoided? Possibly. But, what would have happened if we found a camera and a plain flash on his back?
A single camera
Something that many users have criticized endlessly about the Pixels is the presence of a single rear camera. This at first makes more than one suspect, but you just have to start taking photos to discover that we are once again before a single camera. Thanks to Google algorithms, after shooting, the system is in charge of calibrating the image in a magnificent way, obtaining perfectly defined, contrasted colors with spectacular definition. In addition, the portrait mode is once again one of the best you will find on a phone, and yes, it does everything with a single camera.
We go inside, and there we have to talk about the processor. We have a Snapdragon 730G with 6GB of RAM, and yes, there are phones with faster and more powerful processors. That is undeniable, but I must tell you that the overall performance of this phone is very good. 5G ? I don’t know how much I would need it. Coverage is still limited and not everyone will be able to enjoy it, so personally it doesn’t seem like a vital function that should be on the phone.
In short, the phone is going to work perfectly . We have been able to play all kinds of games without problems, and although the lack of a screen with a higher refreshment will not convince true gamers, in general it will convince all types of users, whether to play, manage several applications or simply use social networks.
More complete phones for less
If your perspective on the Pixels is that you can go for a phone with higher specs and for less money, the Pixel is probably not the phone you are looking for. The price is related to the experience and the Google service. You will enjoy one of the best cameras on the market, without complications, and at the software level you will always enjoy the latest version of the system and the first updates thanks to its 3 years of updates included in the official product support.
In addition, the version of the operating system is characterized, as always, by offering stock Android, or what is the same, free of third-party software and leftover add-ons that will not affect your user experience. And the feeling you get when using a Pixel for the first time is that everything is clean, orderly and in its place. For all that, the value of a Pixel goes beyond its price.
For 389 euros it is the best Pixel you can buy. You have no other choice.
