iPhone SE (2020) vs Pixel 4a: Ultimate Value Phone Showdown 2.0 By GadgetMatch

Hey everyone, this video comes fresh off the heels of the Galaxy Note.20, launch and content featuring many of the devices announced at the galaxy unpacked event will be coming your way in the following days and weeks. But let's not forget that earlier this week google announced this phone, the pixel 4 a, and I remember I promised you that as soon as this phone was announced, I'd be doing a follow-up to my iPhone SE 2020 versus Pixel 3a video. So if you're, one of those folks who have been asking and patiently waiting, keep watching this is our Pixel 4a versus iPhone SE 2020 head to head. You know I'm really excited to be doing this. Video, not just because these are budget phones, because there are other 350 to 400 phones out there, but none by giants like apple and google and none that are this good. In our last head to head, the iPhone SE edged the Pixel 3a in the best of five rounds.

So I'm curious to see if, based on its recent update, the Pixel 4a has what it takes to take the cake since posting that video we've slowly been rolling out a list of nonnegotiable and optional. So we're adding a few categories to this head-to-head. Taking all of those into consideration. Are you ready to dive in before? We do? If you, like head-to-head videos like this one or in-depth review videos, consider subscribing to our YouTube channel, join us, be a match later and help us reach our next goal of 1 million subscribers. The Pixel 4a features an updated design versus its predecessor.

Its shell is still polycarbonate, but completely matte this time in the hands. It feels lightweight almost flimsy. There are pros and cons to this kind of design, it's less likely to shatter when dropped, but it is more prone to bending and flexing it's also only available in one color black, although that could be unintentional. Google says it's partly a supply chain issue due to the COVID-19 crisis. Its screen, however, more than makes up for whatever isn't happening on the phone's back, its edge-to-edge display feels more current, the iPhone SE, on the other hand, reuses a five-year-old design, it's all glass, with an aluminum frame, 7000 series aluminum to be exact, and it's available in three colors black white and product red.

Its display, however, is much smaller and the large forehead and chin now feel like a thing of the past, which phone are you more likely to pick up if they were in front of you on a table? I'd say the iPhone which of these two feels more premium, I still say the iPhone. So this round goes to the iPhone SC. If you're like wait, a minute, doesn't the display more than make up for it? Don't worry display has a section of its own. If you remember my list of nonnegotiable, a good display is on there, but I'm not fussy about resolutions and refresh rates, as some of my buddies are because take a look at the iPhone 11. It doesn't even have a full HD display, but it's still pretty good on paper.

Two one would think that the pixel's OLA display easily trumps the iPhone's lcd, but in reality it's not really that big of a difference so always remember. Specs aren't everything that said. I still recognize that a phone's display is very important. It is, after all, the part of the phone you look at the most right, so on that note, one of the biggest changes to the Pixel 4a this year is its display. While the phone is only slightly taller than the iPhone SE, it no longer has a forehead and chin.

Unlike the iPhone, I'm happy to see this form factor to finally come to a Google phone. There's plenty to love about the all screen display experience, there's much more screen real estate for all your apps, for example, take a look at Instagram. The iPhone SE doesn't have a long enough display to fit in a photo's caption. If you go back and watch my previous head-to-head you'll know that my biggest complaint about the display on the 3a was that it wasn't vibrant and bright enough. I have the same feelings about the 4a's display.

However, these two issues can be addressed when you dive in to settings to address vibrancy just switch from natural colors to adaptive colors. Meanwhile, in terms of brightness, the pixel 4s panel can actually go up to 680 nits, but, like many android phones, it won't even get close. Even if you turn brightness up all the way, that'll only get you up to 420-430, and that is, if you turn adaptive, brightness on, and you're somewhere bright and sunny. That's when the display will kick up to its full brightness potential. On the flip side, the iPhone SES can get up to about 650, regardless of what setting you have it on the Pixel 4a doesn't have the advanced display, features at the iPhone and the higher end pixel 4.

That said, it's 20 20 and all that extra screen, goodness the Pixel 4a offers, makes it the winner of this round. Tear downs reveal the iPhone SE packs a 1 821 William hour battery, while the Pixel 4a has a 3140 William hour battery. One would assume that, with a 60 larger battery, the Pixel 4a should be the absolute battery champ versus the iPhone SE. But in reality that really isn't the case. In my test, the iPhone SC lasted a little longer than the Pixel 4a.

Although some of my friends insist they get otherwise. The good news, though, is that Google bundles an 18 watt fast charger in the box that can get you up to 80 in an hour and a full charge in 98 minutes. The iPhone SE comes with a slow 5 watt charger and a full charge takes over two hours. Even if the iPhone is the only one with wireless charging, I'm still going to give this one to the pixel in terms of raw power. The iPhone has definitely got an edge.

It's got the same: a13 bionic chip, that's on the iPhone 11 Pro max. The Pixel 4a has a mid-range processor from Qualcomm for everyday tasks like emails, browsing the web or Instagram you'll be hard-pressed to notice, but when it comes to things like photo processing, you can really feel the pixel takes its time, and if you do things like edit, a video rendering and export times are going to take you twice as long while. I don't think this is necessarily a big issue, particularly at this price point. Apple is really disrupting the market by putting its top of the line processor on all of its phones across all price points. It would be remiss for me, however, to not mention that the Pixel 4a has also twice the amount of ram as on the SE, six versus three gigabytes, but, as you saw in our battery category double the spec doesn't always mean double the performance.

Optimization plays an important part in all of this, and somehow apple has managed to level the playing field. The performance round goes to the iPhone SE. Alright, this next category is going to be a long one. So pause. This video take a bathroom break, grab a snack or a drink, and when you're ready, let's go, we start the shoot on a cloudy day, we're hoping for sun, but hey.

Sometimes we all get gray days too. Both of these photos are good with creamy depth of field, but the iPhone's photo is warmer, which helps bring this dull day to life. We go for a walk and chai takes a break from her filming duties to pose for this photo which, to be honest, looks pretty much identical, except when you zoom in the iPhone, has more detail and is more flattering on the subject. One thing I love about Williamsburg is that you'll find plenty of graffiti on brick buildings telling the story of today on the canvas of yesterday. The sun's come out, and both phones manage the highlights and colors.

Without going overboard, we walk to the water to cool off. I love living on this side of the river and being able to see Manhattan from a distance. Just like the 3a did the pixel a will always produce cooler photos while the iPhone produces warmer shots, just like it did in our first shot. The warmth gives the iPhone's photo more life on a warm summer's day here in New York, a good apparel spritz hits the spot a habit. I picked up from my travels in Europe.

Both phones did well in this shot with the sun peeking through the trees, although I like the pixels better overall because of how it kept the flowers and the drink in focus and how the bushes, in the background, aren't hidden in the shadows. I enter frame for a portrait test. You'll find the pixel crops in while the iPhone keeps it wide. I prefer the iPhone's cut out here. It's also kinder to my face.

We retreat to my roof deck to watch the sunset. These cattails swaying in the wind are a great way to test the phone's ability to focus quick and, as you can see, both phones pass the test. I love a good sunset and, if you're just looking at the horizon, both phones manage to capture the sky's colors well. But if you take a look at the buildings in the foreground, it's the pixel's, better HDR abilities that give you more details. It's the other way around, though in this photo forgive the exhausted face here.

It was an exhausting day. iPhones historically, are better at lighting faces and that's evident in this photo of me shot against the bright sunset. This next shot was taken during blue hour. The hanging lights on my roof deck are on. By now, this photo could go either way.

I prefer the iPhones because of the more vibrant yellows in the flower, but I don't mind the pixels either finally to test its extreme low light abilities. I set up this scene in my living room with just a bit of spillover light coming from my bathroom. The iPhone SC doesn't do that bad of a job, but, to be honest, it's pretty noisy, while the Pixel 4a does a superb job. Everything is as crystal clear as that wine glass, it's almost as if this room was sufficiently lit. If you want a more in-depth video comparison, you should definitely check out my BFF tom, the tech chaps video by clicking up here.

He does an awesome comparison of the two phones and the OnePlus word. To summarize, I personally prefer the daytime photos of the iPhone SE, but recognize that it's mainly because I tend to prefer warmer photos. Some folks may, like the cooler more subdued tones of the pixel video performance, was neck and neck too, as can be seen from these shots, I personally have a slight preference for the iPhone's footage, there's a bit more punch, and it seems to do a better job of managing both shadows and highlights. The sky is bluer the scene richer, but overall I wouldn't mind using either of these phones for some extra shots. For my review videos, and to be honest, I still can't get over the fact that this impressive of a camera can be found in a smartphone, this affordable.

Having said that, this round goes to the Pixel 4a, while it is something that we oftentimes take for granted. Security on a smartphone is of paramount importance. After all, a bulk of our digital life lives on these phones, so it would be foolish not to protect them. That is why this is a non-negotiable for me. Both the iPhone SE and the Pixel 4a have built-in fingerprint scanners, older technology, yes, but also more robust and mature, they're, fast, reliable and work with masks.

This round is a tie while reviewing and comparing android phones against each other. It's easy to tell which one has the more intuitive software experience and whatnot, but when comparing iOS to android, that's a discussion, I try to stay away from there's nothing more clean and simple than iOS, but I will admit the pixels' OS is the gold standard. When it comes to android, I mean it's: a Google OS running on a Google phone, it better be both have its pros and cons, but one way to break the tie is in terms of software updates. Google is promising three years of security and OS updates with the Pixel 4a apple promises at least five years case in point. The original iPhone SE from 2016 released four years ago, can still run the beta of iOS 14 smoothly.

That's pretty impressive, and this is a big deal because you can hold onto your phone longer if you so choose by virtue of that I'll give this round to the iPhone, but just by a small bit, if you haven't been keeping tabs, let me recap it for you, after seven rounds, because of that one tie in the biometrics category, the Pixel 4a and the iPhone SE have four points. Each now, a good way to break the tie is price and, like I always say it is as important as a factor as any must have featured last time around at 399 a piece. It was an even field, but Google has wisely priced the 4a 50 cheaper than the iPhone SE 2020. So if we were to score this round, it would be the tiebreaker that would give the Pixel 4a the edge and the win. But, let's not forget my list of optional things that might be must haves for some people, but not to other people.

We can call them extras. So, let's take a look at my checklist fast refresh rate nope and nope fast wireless charging, both don't have it, although the iPhone has wireless charging headphone jack, yes, on the pixel micro SD card, none on bot hip rating, the iPhone SE has an ip67 rating. The Pixel 4a has none case options. Both phones have plenty to choose from and one more. This is new stereo speakers.

Both phones do have stereo speakers and both sound reasonably good, but I will say that when you cover the bottom firing speaker on both phones, the iPhone still produces a much decent sound. The pixels are just muffled. Don't worry, I'm not taking away points, I'm just putting it out there now. One way to go about this is to ask yourself: is that 50 worth the price for wireless charging and an IP rating? If the answer is yes, then the iPhone SE is your gadget match. If the answer is no, then the Pixel 4a is your winner.

One last thing before we end the iPhone SE comes with headphones in the box. The pixel doesn't, except in France and Australia. Apple's website sells these headphones for thirty dollars a pop. I know this video doesn't end with a clear winner and I can see why that could be disappointing, but that's also the reason why this is gadget match. Each of us has a different preference and in a battle so fiercely fought.

It really boils down to those personal preferences that really spell the difference. Go through my checklist or better yet make your own with your own tally. Based on my findings, I'm really curious to see how you scored this head-to-head and let's do something different for a change based on what you value the most you tell me which of these two phones is your gadget match, and that was our iPhone SE 2020 versus Pixel 4a head to head for more videos like this one. You know the drill folks subscribe to our YouTube channel, hit that bell icon so that you get notified as soon as we post a new video, and you really want to because the long three four months of phone apocalypse has officially begun, and we have a lot of content coming. Your way.

Follow me on social media. For all the behind the scenes, fun stuff and as always, make gadgetmatch. com your daily habit until the next video, I'm Michael josh, thanks for dropping by you.

Source : GadgetMatch