Google Pixel 4a review

GSMArena team, 15 August 2020.

Android 10, soon to be 11

It's interesting that Google released the Pixel 4a this close to the release of Android 11. We're expecting it next month along with the new Pixels, so we'll skim over Android 10's most prominent features.

Google Pixel 4a review

Upon setup, you'll be offered the chance to transfer data from another Android device, iOS device, or restore from a Google Drive backup. You do have the option to transfer via a USB cable (via the adapter included in box), iCloud download, or Google Drive backup, but this won't be as thorough as the other two methods.

Copy data from an old phone - Google Pixel 4a review
Copy data from an old phone

Keep in mind if you skip the initial setup, you won't be able to transfer from another device unless you reset the Pixel, so skip wisely.

Next, the setup prompted us to set up a screen lock and register a fingerprint. This process is quick, simple, and the fingerprint scanner unlocks the 4a in a pinch, and every time.

Screen lock - Google Pixel 4a review Fingerprint setup - Google Pixel 4a review Fingerprint setup - Google Pixel 4a review
Screen lock • Fingerprint setup

In case you haven't opted for Android 10's gesture navigation by now, you're offered a quick tutorial on how to use it. You can always switch the setting if you prefer the classic navigation bar. You can also adjust the back-gesture sensitivity here.

Classic navigation bar - Google Pixel 4a review Gestures - Google Pixel 4a review Gestures - Google Pixel 4a review Gestures - Google Pixel 4a review Gestures - Google Pixel 4a review
Classic navigation bar • Gestures

The home screens are clean and uncluttered. A weather and date widget are at the top, with a dock, Google Search bar and Google Assistant shortcut at the bottom. The app drawer pops up with a swipe upwards. A swipe to the right opens your Google feed. As before, there are plenty of pre-loaded and downloadable wallpapers for the Pixel launcher.

Home screen - Google Pixel 4a review App drawer - Google Pixel 4a review Google Feed - Google Pixel 4a review Wallpapers - Google Pixel 4a review Wallpapers - Google Pixel 4a review Wallpapers - Google Pixel 4a review
Home screen • App drawer • Google Feed • Wallpapers

You can change the look of the UI's icon and quick toggle shapes, fonts, and accent color.

Customize UI Style - Google Pixel 4a review Customize UI Style - Google Pixel 4a review Customize UI Style - Google Pixel 4a review Customize UI Style - Google Pixel 4a review Customize UI Style - Google Pixel 4a review
Customize UI Style

All Android 10 phones have universal live captioning that is accessed from the volume menu. Be advised that this feature will consume more battery when it's enabled. Since its launch, English is the only supported language.

Google Pixel 4a review

Dark Theme is easy on the eyes if you primarily use your phone at night. It can also be set to switch between light and dark with your local sunrise and sunset.

Live caption - Google Pixel 4a review Dark Theme - Google Pixel 4a review
Live caption • Dark Theme

Google's Personal Safety app combines an emergency contact page, a page with your health information, a Safety Check feature, and an automatic car-crash detection feature.

Personal Safety app - Google Pixel 4a review Personal Safety app - Google Pixel 4a review Personal Safety app - Google Pixel 4a review Personal Safety app - Google Pixel 4a review Personal Safety app - Google Pixel 4a review Personal Safety app - Google Pixel 4a review
Personal Safety app

Always-on display is available in the Display settings. The 4a doesn't have the Motion Sense hardware that the Pixel 4 has that woke up the phone with a wave, but it does have "Tap to check" and "Lift to check" options to make checking the time or notifications easy. Ambient Display will also briefly show notification as they arrive.

Now Playing - Google Pixel 4a review Always on settings - Google Pixel 4a review Tap to check - Google Pixel 4a review
Now Playing • Always on settings • Tap to check

With every passing year, Google's software is more solid, polished, and keeps getting deeper integration with Google Assistant. Android 11 is coming next month, so we're expecting a slew of new features to come. The Pixel 4a is expected to be among the first in the queue to receive the update.

Google Pixel 4a review

The Pixel 4a doesn't stutter, slow down, or take a second to really think about what it needs to do. It handles multitasking like a champ thanks to those 6GB of RAM.

Synthetic benchmarks

The Pixel 4a gets a modest performance update over its predecessor (which used a Snapdragon 670 chipset built on the 10nm process). It runs the Snapdragon 730G chipset built on the 8nm process with a total of eight cores. There are 2 high-power Kryo 470 Gold cores clocked at 2.2GHz, and 6 efficient Kryo 470 Silver cores clocked at 1.8GHz. Powering the graphics is the Adreno 618 GPU.

Google Pixel 4a review

The Pixel 4a uses UFS 2.1 storage, which is vastly superior to the 3a's eMMC 5.1 storage. In Androbench, we saw significant improvement in storage speeds over the Pixel 3a's. Otherwise, UFS 2.1 is suited well in this class, glad to see Google catching up. 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM makes the Pixel 4a feel like it isn't breaking a sweat when trying to juggle a bunch of apps. Day-to-day usage is great.

Androbench results: Pixel 4a - Google Pixel 4a review Androbench results: Pixel 3a XL - Google Pixel 4a review
Androbench results: Pixel 4a • Pixel 3a XL

Jumping into benchmarks, the CPU-intensive GeekBench test shows the Pixel 4a has improved its single-core performance over last year, gaining roughly a 50% improvement. Overall, multi-core results show a marginal improvement. The Pixel 4a won't be getting any impressive performance scores from here on out. This chipset was built for efficiency.

GeekBench 5.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

  • Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
    3332
  • Apple iPhone SE (2020)
    3237
  • OnePlus 7T
    2858
  • OnePlus 7 Pro
    2721
  • Google Pixel 4
    2542
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
    2141
  • OnePlus Nord
    1953
  • OnePlus Nord (Fnatic)
    1945
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
    1927
  • Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
    1898
  • vivo X50
    1827
  • Oppo Reno4 Pro
    1781
  • Motorola One Fusion+
    1705
  • Realme 6 Pro
    1666
  • Google Pixel 4a
    1626
  • Sony Xperia 10 II
    1413
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
    1307
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
    1175

GeekBench 5.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

  • Apple iPhone SE (2020)
    1334
  • Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
    916
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
    789
  • OnePlus 7T
    776
  • OnePlus 7 Pro
    720
  • Google Pixel 4
    623
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
    616
  • OnePlus Nord
    610
  • OnePlus Nord (Fnatic)
    605
  • Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
    589
  • Oppo Reno4 Pro
    569
  • Realme 6 Pro
    565
  • Google Pixel 4a
    553
  • vivo X50
    552
  • Motorola One Fusion+
    542
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
    352
  • Sony Xperia 10 II
    315
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
    309

The compound results from AnTuTu 8 show the gap in performance above the Snapdragon 670 and MediaTek Helio P65. A smaller gap separates the SD730 from the SD765G. A difference in performance may be noticeable between the 670 and the 730 but we're talking small fractions of seconds.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

  • Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
    538221
  • OnePlus 7T
    485585
  • Apple iPhone SE (2020)
    462253
  • Google Pixel 4
    395351
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
    389694
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
    318117
  • OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
    315641
  • OnePlus Nord
    312794
  • Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
    299926
  • Realme 6 Pro
    268785
  • Google Pixel 4a
    268714
  • Motorola One Fusion+
    267980
  • Oppo Reno4 Pro
    261359
  • Sony Xperia 10 II
    196545
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
    176612
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
    170044

How about GPU performance? The Adreno 618 pumped out 30fps in the least-intensive GFX 3.1 Manhattan test. 16fps was achieved in the most-intensive GFX test. Not stellar, but that shouldn't stop you from playing any game on the 4a. All games have software optimizations for general smoothness with some of the crust cut off.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

  • Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
    87
  • OnePlus 7T
    79
  • OnePlus 7 Pro
    68
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
    67
  • Google Pixel 4
    62
  • Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
    56
  • Huawei P30
    54
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
    38
  • OnePlus Nord
    38
  • OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
    38
  • Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
    33
  • Oppo Reno4 Pro
    31
  • Google Pixel 4a
    30
  • Realme 6 Pro
    30
  • vivo X50
    27
  • Motorola One Fusion+
    27
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
    20
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
    13
  • Sony Xperia 10 II
    13

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
    59
  • OnePlus 7T
    59
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
    57
  • Google Pixel 4
    55
  • Huawei P30
    48
  • Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
    48
  • OnePlus Nord
    34
  • OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
    34
  • OnePlus 7 Pro
    33
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
    32
  • Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
    29
  • Google Pixel 4a
    27
  • Realme 6 Pro
    27
  • Oppo Reno4 Pro
    26
  • Motorola One Fusion+
    25
  • vivo X50
    24
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
    19
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
    12
  • Sony Xperia 10 II
    10

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

  • Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
    51
  • OnePlus 7T
    48
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
    42
  • OnePlus 7 Pro
    41
  • Google Pixel 4
    39
  • Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
    33
  • Huawei P30
    29
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
    21
  • OnePlus Nord
    21
  • OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
    21
  • Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
    19
  • Oppo Reno4 Pro
    18
  • Realme 6 Pro
    18
  • Google Pixel 4a
    17
  • vivo X50
    16
  • Motorola One Fusion+
    16
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
    11
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
    8.1
  • Sony Xperia 10 II
    7.1

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • OnePlus 7T
    41
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
    40
  • Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
    40
  • Google Pixel 4
    31
  • Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
    28
  • Huawei P30
    26
  • OnePlus Nord
    19
  • OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
    19
  • OnePlus 7 Pro
    19
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
    17
  • Google Pixel 4a
    16
  • Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
    16
  • Realme 6 Pro
    16
  • Oppo Reno4 Pro
    15
  • vivo X50
    14
  • Motorola One Fusion+
    14
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
    11
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
    6.9
  • Sony Xperia 10 II
    5.6

3DMark SSE OpenGL ES 3.1 1440p

Higher is better

  • Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
    7223
  • OnePlus 7T
    6296
  • OnePlus 7 Pro
    5462
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
    4385
  • Google Pixel 4
    4294
  • Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
    4279
  • Huawei P30
    4055
  • Apple iPhone SE (2020)
    4015
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
    3294
  • OnePlus Nord
    3285
  • OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
    3187
  • Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
    3031
  • Oppo Reno4 Pro
    2512
  • Realme 6 Pro
    2506
  • Google Pixel 4a
    2487
  • vivo X50
    2263
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
    1630
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
    1149
  • Sony Xperia 10 II
    1125

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1440p

Higher is better

  • Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
    6660
  • OnePlus 7T
    5540
  • OnePlus 7 Pro
    4833
  • Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
    4264
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
    4258
  • Huawei P30
    4163
  • Google Pixel 4
    3760
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
    3080
  • OnePlus Nord
    3067
  • OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
    2960
  • Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
    2821
  • Oppo Reno4 Pro
    2377
  • Realme 6 Pro
    2334
  • Google Pixel 4a
    2275
  • vivo X50
    2082
  • Google Pixel 3a XL
    1544
  • Samsung Galaxy A41
    1161
  • Sony Xperia 10 II
    1121

To give you the skinny: the Pixel 4a will play pretty much any game you want it to. Casual gaming is fine for any smartphone of any price range these days, but if you're looking for a powerhouse with optimized cooling and game-specific settings then the Pixel 4a won't be what you're looking for.

Performance gains over the Pixel 3a aren't too significant, but they are noticeable in the benchmark results. In daily usage, the Pixel 4a performs wonderfully with minimal stutter and without hesitation even after loading many apps and content. The switch to UFS storage should speed up app loading/installation times as well. Even though it isn't the speediest device in its class, the Pixel 4a will deliver reliable performance.

Reader comments

  • Anonymous
  • 29 Jul 2024
  • XTk

Camera is 100% same as 6a

  • Siad
  • 24 Mar 2024
  • XWp

Question: How is the picture quality compared to 6A ? In my brief comparisons I found the differences especially on open sunny days with the sun facing me. The 6a did better with flare control obviously HDR

  • Alan
  • 20 Mar 2024
  • fjU

I'm amazed at many of these negative comments. I've had a 4a since it came out, nearly 4 years. Now it's a second phone to my 6a which I got nearly 2 years ago. The 4a has performed outstandingly. The battery is as as good as new. Even...