Google Pixel 4a, 4a 5G, and 5.

Does anyone here, use a Google Pixel 4a, 4a 5G, or the 5?

If so, what are your thoughts? Like, the reliability, software, camera, battery, performance, durability etc.

Thanks!

Conversation 11 comments

  • interloper

    20 February, 2021 - 8:06 pm

    <p>I owned a 4a for a while. Excellent phone for the money.</p><p><br></p><p><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Reliability</em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">: No issues. Frequent updates.</span></p><p><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Software</em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">: Pure Android. As clean as it gets but not without the odd glitch.*</span></p><p><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Camera</em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">: Excellent. Flagship class and far better than anything else in its price point (e.g. Samsung A71, OnePlus Nord).</span></p><p><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Battery</em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">: Fine, all-day with mixed use. As expected.</span></p><p><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Performance</em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">: Generally good, but the reason for the * above. The odd stutter and slowdown. Changing orientation could be sluggish/glitchy. I found Adaptive/Auto Brightness terrible. It would jump all over the place – switched to manual.</span></p><p><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Durability</em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">: Decent build (better than expected). Boring but solid.</span></p>

    • miamimauler

      21 February, 2021 - 12:32 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#614416">In reply to Interloper:</a></em></blockquote><p>"<em>Durability</em>: Decent build (better than expected). Boring but solid."</p><p><br></p><p>I can assure you that for many of us that is what we want to hear. We're not looking for new bells and whistles, just a reliable device that does what we require.</p><p>In fact, for me personally a recommendation of boring but solid is exactly what I'm looking for.</p>

      • interloper

        21 February, 2021 - 3:25 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#614427">In reply to miamimauler:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yup. It wasn't meant as a negative. ?</p>

  • winner

    20 February, 2021 - 10:45 pm

    <p>I have the 4a 5G and have been quite happy with it. It replaced my Pixel 2XL which never gave me any problems. It's been flawless so far. I do feel the camera is no longer ahead of the class, but it's still very good. Nice to have a wide angle, too. Love the instant Android updates and security patches, and love the call screening feature. I can go 24 hours on battery. Normally I charge to 80-85% and then run it down to around 20% to preserve battery life, and that usually takes 24 hrs unless I use it heavily.</p><p><br></p><p>I love the rear FP sensor. It's faster and more reliable than a Face ID, works with a mask on, and I can have the phone unlocked before it is out of my pocket.</p>

  • ghostrider

    21 February, 2021 - 5:26 am

    <p>I've had the 4a for about 4 months now, and I love it. It's just about the best all round phone I've owned – it doesn't excel in many areas, but there aren't any areas that I'd say are lacking either. Software, battery life, display, camera, performance are all very good indeed, and for the money, it's unbeatable. I'm certainly not a brand follower, and I'm not interested in the gimmicks used to sell premium phones, so all in all, you won't go far wrong with a 4a.</p>

  • innitrichie

    22 February, 2021 - 6:09 am

    <p>I'm still rockin' my 950XL for the camera and overall Windows experience. The Pixels are catching up, but I'm not ready to jump ship yet. I like being all in on Microsoft as much as possible.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      22 February, 2021 - 10:39 am

      The Pixels surprassed the 950 XL years ago. So did the iPhone, Huawei, and Samsung flagships.

    • ghostrider

      22 February, 2021 - 3:46 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#614513">In reply to innitrichie:</a></em></blockquote><p>I don't know what to be most surprised by – you're still using a 950XL or you're 'all in' on Microsoft. Neither are a particularly good choice!</p>

  • Paul Thurrott

    Premium Member
    22 February, 2021 - 10:57 am

    <p>I use a Pixel 4a 5G.</p>

  • bill.starr

    22 February, 2021 - 5:30 pm

    <p>I switched to a Pixel 4a (not 5G) from a Samsung Galaxy S7 (Android version 8) in December 2020.</p><p><br></p><p>I am happy so far.</p><p><br></p><p>My main criteria were that the next phone should be snappier than the S7 and still getting system updates and be reasonably priced. This phone meets those criteria.</p><p><br></p><p>I like that it is "smallish", about the same dimensions as my S7.</p><p><br></p><p>I don't do gaming, but I have a lot of apps installed and I like never needing to close any of them manually.</p><p><br></p><p>I keep Developer Options turned on just so I can check memory usage occasionally. It's at 4.3 GB of 5.9 GB used now, which is typical.</p><p><br></p><p>The only scare I have had was after dropping it on the second-floor linoleum floor a few days ago. The display was on but frozen. No response to screen taps, button presses, etc. I thought I was looking at a replacement. But after pressing and holding the power button for around 15 seconds, it restarted and came back to life.</p><p><br></p><p>There were a couple of apps that I like that were no longer on the Play Store, but I was able to port them manually. I installed "ML Manager: APK Extractor" on the old phone and transferred the APK files to the new phone via Google Drive uneventfully.</p><p><br></p><p>I bought the Tech21 Studio Color (edge) Case (Licorice with Jade buttons) from the Google Store for $30 and I like it. The cutout in this case makes the fingerprint sensor very easy to find compared to no case. The fingerprint sensor works very well for me, reliably and quickly unlocking the screen. It is pretty insensitive to the angle I place my finger on the sensor.</p><p><br></p><p>I didn't care for the default Pixel launcher. It had something at the top of the main screen that could not be removed. I had been using Nova Launcher on the S7, so I just exported all of the settings and imported them to the 4a.</p><p><br></p><p>The camera seems fine. I had been using the Open Camera app on the S7 and still use it for most of my shots on the 4a. The main killer feature of Open Camera for me is the ability to save the current date/time visibly on each photo, which the Pixel camera software does not appear to support.</p><p><br></p><p>The battery life is adequate. I have become a fan of the faster charging of the USB-C compared to the S7. I often top it back up to 80 percent or so while I am working or in the car. It goes all night without being on the charger. I use AccuBattery to get the "unplug" notification when it hits 80 percent.</p><p><br></p><p>The screen capture capability of Android 11 is not as good as I was used to on the S7. On the S7 I could capture the notifications pulldown, for example, which Android 11 on the 4a seems not to support.</p><p><br></p>

  • minke

    24 February, 2021 - 4:56 pm

    <p>4a owner since last October. Overall very happy with it. Love the smallish size–wouldn't want any bigger. Performance for me has been great. I'm not a gamer and I don't do anything that requires power on a phone. For me the battery lasts all day, I recharge overnight, then I get another full day. Great camera. I would like one thing–an option to shoot in square format. Sure, you can edit, but I really like square format and composing in it helps to get the scene you want. The one big negative for me is lack of water resistance. I dropped it in water for a second and there was definitely some inside the phone. I vacuumed it out and then put it in a sealed bag with desiccant for a few days and it seems to be back to running 100%, though I probably couldn't trade it in because they have water indicators inside that turn color. I will never buy another phone without a water resistance rating! Lesson learned.</p>

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