The Pixel 4a was announced a couple of weeks ago, and while it may be old news at this point, it’s going to be arriving at consumers’ doorsteps any time now, so let me quickly explain how this is going to be way more successful than its predecessor, the Pixel 3a.
Why is there a Pixel “A” Series?
Google is finally taking an approach to soothe all consumers with what they would be looking at for a smartphone manufacturer. A company that makes high-end phones at high prices. But, also gives consumers the option to use mid-range phones for usually, not much cheaper, but a lower price nonetheless. Since the Google Pixel 3a, Amazon’s #1 best-selling phone, was a great success, people were really looking forward to the next-gen model.
The specs are amazing…for $350.
Obviously, they aren’t the best in the whole world, but last year, if you compared the specs of the Pixel 3a series, you would notice that they are not very different from Motorola’s G7 phone, which is still my daily driver after using it for over a year straight. You’re getting 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage. Comparing it to the previous generation, it is quite an upgrade.
While the specs of the Pixel 4a isn’t anything special, you were paying at least $400 for the base model 3a device with only 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Now you can pay $50 less for double the storage and 50% more RAM. That is quite the bargain.
End Of Update Cycles? WHAT ARE THOSE?
All phones, including the Pixel 4a, do have an end to security updates. The device comes with three years of operating system and security updates. You’ll officially be getting Android 10 pre-installed, along with Android 11, Android 12, Android 13, and maybe even Android 14. Assuming that Google’s Fuchsia Project doesn’t take over the world by then.
The only thing that you’ll have to worry about is app developers, such as NTG Developer, cutting off support for older operating systems for their apps to make them more compatible with newer app frameworks only supported by newer operating systems.
But, since most smartphone manufacturers allow you to unlock the bootloader, flashing LineageOS shouldn’t be a huge issue. The friendly community over at XDA-Developers can help you out.
Is the Pixel 4a Right for Me?
The only reason why I’m not getting the Pixel 4a is that my current phone is working perfectly fine at the moment. It just received the OTA update for Android 10 and I’m supposed to be getting security updates for about another year or so, but if you’re looking to upgrade to a new phone, or even switch to Android from iOS (which I’ve been seeing many people do because of this phone for some reason), then the Pixel 4a is a no-brainer. You get the benefit of a low-cost and powerful device.
I even recommended the device to a family member and they’re upgrading from their Moto G6 to this device. It’s going to be quite the upgrade. But, it shouldn’t be too unfamiliar with the software experience from their current phone, running Android 9 Pie.
So far, this is one of the best phones that I’ve seen this year. I’m going to award it with the Chay Chay Tech Time Budget Phone of the year. I just haven’t seen a phone this great at such a low price in a long time. But, if Microsoft didn’t make the Surface Duo so goddamn expensive, that’s what I would be ordering right now.