Google Pixel 4a One Week Later - Is it Worth it?? By JSL Review

What is going on everyone. My name is Jason, and this is the Google Pixel 4a one week later. So, if you were to ask me to name some of the most important smartphones ever made, there's no doubt that the Google Pixel 3a would be on that list. That phone changed the landscape of the budget smartphone market forever and at the time of its release, it was hands down the best budget option available. Sure there were concessions given its 399 price tag, but what you got was a very capable phone with the best android software experience and the best camera on any smartphone which is kind of insane. So it's no surprise that the 3a was a pretty big hit, which made the announcement of the Pixel 4a that much more exciting, especially because it's 50 off its already cheap price.

Well, Google was cool enough to send one out to me early for me to check out, and I've been using this phone for about a week now. So I wanted to put together a review of how my experience has been thus far and whether it lives up to the widely loved phone that came before it now before we get into the review, if you're into checking out the latest consumer tech products before you buy them or if you're, just a ticket. Like me, I make a video like this every single week, so make sure to hit that thumbs up button and don't forget to subscribe. So you could be the first to know when a new Jason views out- and you don't miss anything and quick question for you guys. I mean, let's face it.

If you're in the market for a budget phone, it's likely going to boil down to either the Pixel 4a the new iPhone SE or the OnePlus word, depending on where you live. So if that's you? What phone? Do you end up going with curious to get your thoughts? Let me know what you guys are thinking in the comments down below okay. First, let's talk about the Pixel 4a's physical design, right out of the box. It's pretty apparent that one of the main areas in which google was going to save costs on this phone was through build material. Now, that's not completely out of the ordinary, as the Pixel 3a was the same way, but we do have a polycarbonate plastic body and because it's a pretty compact phone, it feels super lightweight in the hand.

That being said, though, the casing is made out of this matte material that not only feels nice. It's spotless with this all black color, I've always found the utility first approach pixels have taken when it comes to build kind of refreshing and the stealthy all black with the mint green home button. Aesthetic keeps this phone from looking boring and honestly, I have no problem at all that it's made out of a cheaper material. I do wish, however, that the matte coating wasn't used for the fingerprint sensor on the back, it's harder to identify with your finger, because the texture blends in so much with the back of the phone. But aside from that, I think the design and build of the Pixel 4a is par for the course.

In terms of general expectations, where I think google nailed it with this phone is with its size, the physical dimensions makes this a compact phone in today's smartphone landscape. But it's perfect for one-handed use and using this phone is an absolute breeze and because the Pixel 4a has a more immersive edge-to-edge display, you get the perks of a convenient size with the benefits of a more up-to-date screen to body ratio. Speaking of display, let's talk about that a little more because it's one of the best-selling points on the Pixel 4a. It's a 5.8 inch, full HD, plus OLED display that again, Google finally made full screen, and they did a good job. Colors are bright and saturated, get those inky blacks, because it's an OLED and HD content.

Consumption on this phone is outstanding. Everything comes out sharp, and again you get excellent contrast with those rich blacks and the edge to edge design makes it way more enjoyable than models in the past. It does have a hole punch in the corner for the front facing camera. But, honestly, you don't notice it after a few minutes of using the phone. All in all, you do have some budget areas when it comes to the physical design of the Pixel 4a, but Google's continued focus on a solid display and finally, making it up to date with 2020 standards is a move that I think a lot of people are going to appreciate.

Okay. Next, let's talk about performance. A major concern revolving around the Pixel 4a is the use of the snapdragon 730 processors, not exactly a bad processor, but one that is pretty clearly mid-tier. Now, when it comes to day-to-day use, this early in this phone's life, the chip's lack of power isn't going to be too noticeable navigating around the UIs, for the most part, lag, free and even spec intensive gaming is pretty doable. Now, where you'll see some limits of this processor right away will be in the image processing times when you're taking a picture, and you press the shutter button.

If you click on the image quickly, you'll see some stutter, while the image processes, something that will be more apparent when using more advanced features like portrait mode now. Is this a big deal to me? No, especially because the pictures coming out of this phone are incredible and totally worth a seconds weight and all in all performance on this mediocre, chipset really isn't too bad. Now, where I have most of my concerns in relation to performance with this phone is long-term outlook, sure it's okay now, but how this phone reacts after a few big software updates is a totally different conversation, and this may not be the most future-proof phone- it's something I'll have to assess over time, but definitely something you should keep in mind. If you're thinking about getting this phone and when it comes to battery performance, it's rocking a 3140 William hour battery. It doesn't have any fancy wireless charging capabilities, but it can quickly charge and comes with a quick charging set in the box, which is really appreciated, and over the past week, battery life has been fine.

I could get through a regular day without any issues on days of heavy use. I will get close to the red, but I haven't had any panic moments where I've had the emergency charge in the middle of the day. Now, when it comes to biometric security measures, google decided to go with its tried and true fingerprint sensor on the rear of the phone. Now I've always thought that the pixel's fingerprint sensor was one of the best, and it continues to perform great. I love the very slight haptic feedback when you get when you're authenticating.

My only complaint here again is with the powder coating that they put over the sensor. It does make it harder to identify with your finger at the end of the day when it comes to overall performance, it's really kind of a mixed bag. It's definitely a capable phone that can do an incredible amount for the space that it occupies, but there are certain limitations here that only time will tell if there'll be any significant negative impact to the phone's performance. Okay, last up: let's talk about the star feature of this phone and any other pixel before it. It's cameras.

The Pixel 4a is rocking an 8 megapixel front-facing camera and to get straight into it, it's pretty freaking great. The selfies you're able to get out of this camera are classic pixel, they're, sharp and true to the pixel name. They come off really punchy and eye-catching in comparison to some of its competitors. This is especially true with the portrait mode selfies. The blur effect is quite aggressive, and the photos are heavily processed with sharpening and what looks like noise reduction.

But Google really has the secret sauce here, because the photos come off. Super enjoyable and ridiculously good for a 350 phone now may come off a bit too processed for your liking, but you can adjust the blur mount and post to get a more natural look and overall, the front-facing camera is up at the top in terms of quality, not only within this price range, but within the smartphone market. Overall, it's really that good and the same could be said about the camera. On the back, it's a single wide angle, 12 megapixel camera with a 1.7 aperture and though it's nothing to write home upon on paper. What it can do in terms of image processing is seriously like magic.

The images come off razor, sharp colors, are saturated and have that signature, cooler, profile, dynamic range is on point. Portrait photos come off great, with pretty good, performing edge, detection, and again they're really enjoyable. To look at. I think the best way to explain the image quality on this phone is to say that the pictures that you get straight out of the camera look very close to the style that most people, edit their photos to look like their sharper, have a ton of contrast and overall punchier man. The cameras on this phone are so good, plus it's great having google's night sign on this phone.

The low light pictures come out fantastic another not to just how good the image processing is, even if it is a bit slower. Now I haven't tested out the video capability too much yet with the Pixel 4a, my initial impressions, it's okay, but not nearly as impressive as It's still image quality. I am going to test it out a bit more to see how it fares against some top competition, so keep an eye out for future reviews soon to come. So one week later, I think the best way to summarize the Pixel 4a is to say that it's the best basic phone available today. Let me quickly clarify that, because it doesn't sound so nice on face value.

What I mean is the Pixel 4a is a no-frills unapologetic utility-first phone. That is super easy to use and enjoyable enough to the extent that most will be willing to live with concessions. Think about it. A plastic build a mid-tier processor and an old-school fingerprint sensor would sound absurd on a lot of phones out there, but most will make an exception for the Pixel 4a, which, if you really think about it, speaks a lot to what this phone can do. It's definitely a top contender for best budget phone in 2020 and lives up to the original Pixel 3a's reputation.

But hey, that's just me, and I want to hear what you guys think: what do you guys think of the new Pixel 4a? Do you think it's a value, buyer's dream come true, or do you think it cut too many corners to be at that price point? Let me know what you guys are thinking in the comments down below. Okay, that's about it, for this review. Don't forget to leave me a thumbs up if you guys find it useful. It really helps me out if you guys have any questions about the Pixel 4a leave them down in the comments, and I'll be sure to get to you. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you guys in the next one you.

Source : JSL Review