Pixel 4a: Everything We Know About Google’s Next Phone
Let’s take a look at everything we know so far about Google’s next budget smartphone.
Google’s Pixel 3a was a huge hit in the tech community, with people praising its great value and astounding camera for such a low price (Pixel 3a costed $399 and Pixel 3a XL costed $479 at release). With Google’s recent discontinuation of the Pixel 3a and 3a XL, we are left to wonder what the next Pixel “a” device will be like and when it will be announced. In this article, I will show you everything we know about Google’s next mid-range device.
Design and Display
Firstly, notice how I said “Phone” in the title of this article. That is because many rumors are suggesting that Google will not be making a Pixel 4a XL, meaning that it will be a one-size-fits-all scenario for Pixel 4a consumers. Various renders of the Pixel 4a portray the smartphone to have a display that goes to the edges with nearly equal bezels on every edge. The front camera will be housed in a small circle cutout in the upper-left corner of the screen, similar to Samsung’s “Infinity-O” display. According to Droid Life, the Pixel 4a will sport a 5.8-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,340 x 1080. Unfortunately, this panel will only have a 60Hz refresh rate, making it seem slower and less fluid than many other phones in the same price range.
As for the chassis, the Pixel 4a will look like a slightly worse Pixel 4 with the same square camera-housing area and colored power buttons (button color varies with phone color). According to 9to5Google, the Pixel 4a will come in two different colors: Just Black (carried down from Pixel 4) and a new Barely Blue color. This phone will use USB-C for charging and according to many rumors, the Pixel 4a will retain the headphone jack, a feature seldom seen anymore on the smartphone market. The fingerprint reader on the back of the phone will also be retained, which means that we will have to wait another year for Google to implement an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner in a Pixel “a” device. Stephen Hall has also tweeted that the Pixel 4a will drop “Active Edge,” which allowed users to squeeze the sides of the Pixel to summon Google Assistant.
Specifications
The Pixel 4a will house a Snapdragon 730 chipset according to XDA Developers. Compared to other phones in the same price range, this phone is considerably less powerful, as phones like the iPhone SE, which houses Apple’s A13 Bionic chip, have much faster and newer CPUs. Additionally, this mobile CPU does not support 5G connectivity, meaning that consumers who want a mid-range phone with 5G capabilities will have to look elsewhere, as the Pixel 4a will only support up to 4G LTE. The phone will also come with an Adreno 618 GPU, 6GB of RAM, and either 64GB or 128GB of storage. The phone is also rumored to have dual-SIM support.
As for the device’s battery, the battery will have either a 3,080 or 3,140 mAh battery, which is slightly larger than the Pixel 3a’s battery capacity. The Pixel 3a had one of the longest-lasting batteries of any Android phone last year, so the Pixel 4a will most likely follow in its predecessor’s footsteps. Unfortunately, the Pixel 4a will probably not be able to charge wirelessly, which is disappointing considering that many Android devices have already had this feature for a long time.
Camera
The Pixel 3a’s camera was one of, if not the biggest selling point of the device. Consumers were amazed that a single-lens camera setup on such a cheap phone could produce photos capable of rivaling those taken on phones selling for twice its price! The Pixel 4a will also have a great camera, sporting a 12.2MP rear camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and electronic image stabilization (EIS). These technologies should counteract shaky hands and other things that could ruin photos and videos. As for the front camera, the 8MP lens should be extremely similar to the one on the Pixel 3a.
The video recording capabilities on the Pixel 4a will be far better than those on the 3a, as it is believed that the video recording capabilities of the Pixel 4 will be brought to the Pixel 4a. This means that Pixel 4a users will be able to record 1080p at up 120 fps, 720p at up to 240 fps, and 4K at 30 fps. A Cuban YouTube channel called TecnoLike Plus posted a Pixel 4a camera review, which hasn’t even been released yet. The video detailed features like astrophotography mode, Night Sight, and more.
Wallpapers
Thanks to leakers, we have found out that Google has created 16 vibrant wallpapers, all with different themes, for the Pixel 4a. You can download them using this link.
Price and Release Date
The Google Pixel 4a is expected to be cheaper than the Pixel 3a. 9to5Google’s Stephen Hall stated that the 128GB of storage variant of the Pixel 4a will be sold for $349, which means that the 64GB variant will be even cheaper. Because the Pixel 3a was just discontinued, we can expect to see the announcement of the Pixel 4a later this month, but we never know.
