Google drops software support for Pixel 4a
- ?
- Anonymous
- G2L
- 19 Oct 2023
MrMarcie, 09 Oct 2023Thanks for this tutorial. I'm gonna use a LineageOS RO... moreIs the price lower than 150
- M
- MrMarcie
- 3Th
- 09 Oct 2023
ScubadooX, 23 Sep 2023For those who install LineageOS on their 4a and need to ena... moreThanks for this tutorial. I'm gonna use a LineageOS ROM soon for my Pixel 4a. I'm absolutely flabbergasted that Google does not give more support after 3 years. This is a total waste of materials. This phone is perfectly fine for a couple of years more use.
- O
- Oda
- nUk
- 27 Sep 2023
How good is the camera on Lineage OS compared to stock rom?
- S
- ScubadooX
- 7Af
- 23 Sep 2023
alex, 23 Sep 20234a 5G has stopped its OS and security update this coming No... moreCustom ROMs are your friend. Go to https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/bramble/.
- S
- ScubadooX
- 7Af
- 23 Sep 2023
For those who install LineageOS on their 4a and need to enable Google Wallet and banking apps, there's a great tutorial at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqyyFltIx3Y&list=PLCLbksPNvvYfoGMd7YNZEhPr47vxH4_l6&index=10&t=1s. Also, if you get an error message to reinstall Magisk from within the app after you've installed it, ignore the warning and proceed with the steps shown in the video. However, substitute PlayIntegrityFix for SafetyNetFix.
- a
- alex
- IV5
- 23 Sep 2023
4a 5G has stopped its OS and security update this coming November 2023, there is no extension one yr.
- 404
- txE
- 23 Sep 2023
Gab, 20 Sep 2023It is not enough. I'm not an Apple fanboy but I still... moreQuite impressive tbh. When did last time you receive that security updates btw? I'm kinda curious.
- 404
- txE
- 23 Sep 2023
justasmile, 20 Sep 20233 years software updates? That's the mid-range standard.Maybe this is a standard for a mid-ranger in 2022. This phone is released 2 years before 2022. This phone is not also using some kind of flagship chipset y'know.
- joe nodden
- j5{
- 22 Sep 2023
emczer, 21 Sep 2023Don't base your opinion on some random reviews and com... more"Don't base your opinion on some random reviews and comments only." Good thing I didn't. Otherwise I might've listened to all you sheep flocking straight to Google's new "cheap" phone, praising it like it's the next coming of Jesus.
"Pixel 4a is greatly optimized" And that's all it's maybe got going for it. Literally.
"or well tought on components" Or? What do you mean "or"? Anyways, no the components are not well thought out and I'm not explaining it again. Read what I wrote.
"it just works as fast as it did when it got out." Congrats, it's a phone not an animal. No proper phone should slow down heavily with age. My OnePlus One still runs smooth about a decade later. Though idk if it's true that Pixels have flawless software. Marques Brownlee made multiple videos on his Pixels being full of bugs. I know you don't want me basing my opinions on reviews, and I won't, (I mean I'm not buying a Pixel for the software anymore regardless of that if they're only gonna give 3 years of support) but you can't ignore stuff like this.
"On paper it's a totally meh phone." In practice it's a totally meh phone as a result.
"But on daily use it is faster than lots of killer-specs-on-paper." Faster than pieces of garbage. MIUI is supposed to be a terrible Android skin yet my K40 feels like the smoothest thing in existence. Helps to have a Snapdragon 870, about 3x faster than the horrible 730G in the Pixel 4a. And a 120hz display, 2x higher than the mediocre 60hz display in the Pixel 4a. (not that the slow 730G could ever take full advantage of a 120hz display)
"And it's quite eco-friendly." Oh yeah gotta love how eco friendly all that plastic is. Really saving the turtles and refreezing those ice caps and all that. Zero reason whatsoever it had to have a plastic back.
"But google did a horrible bad move dropping it." No. Refer to the first thing I was saying in this reply. And refer to what I said to the other guy about marketing if GSMArena decides they're gonna approve my reply. Since they want to manually review every single thing I post now.
- joe nodden
- j5{
- 22 Sep 2023
TruthSerum, 21 Sep 2023I'll respond to your paragraphs as they appeared
Pi... moreMy bad about the OIS. Remembered the original Pixel didn't have it and I think I kinda let that slip out without thinking about it. I'm no Pixel fanboy.
But still, no, that 1/2.55" 12MP sensor is not beating any 1/2" 48MP sensors. Sensor size >>>>> Pixel size. Even ignoring megapixel count. A larger sensor has more surface area to take in more light. Ofc you can cram larger pixels into a lower megapixel count sensor. That's a given. But you're gonna get worse images due to the overall smaller sensor. I mean you wanna talk about low light performance? The 4a is only good in low light when you're using night sight. That's not compliments of the mediocre sensor. And night sight isn't some one of a kind software anymore. Almost every phone has a proper night mode nowadays and that's only assisted by the larger sensor sizes. Still, there are some phones with better sensors but worse software and those could perform worse. Again, it doesn't make a mediocre sensor any better.
Why are you so obsessed with plastic? This $350 garbage phone did not justify having a plastic back over a metal back whatsoever. Why are you so complacent with that? You say "Plastic back is cheap" but you aren't getting any of those savings in your phone that costs 75% more than it should.
You can't be serious. "Why snapdragon? It just works."? You literally cannot be serious. Did you forget the entire 2 years the Snapdragon SoCs were terrible? "both Google & Samsung pushing out Exynos even after numerous complains"? My brother in Christ, the whole reason Snapdragon chips were terrible for two years was because they were being made by Samsung. 💀 And you're hating on Google now? After you're trying to defend one of their phones (that's literally one of the worst phones in history) like it's the best thing since baked bread? Stay consistent. And you're forgetting about the existence of Mediatek. Y'know, the company making arguably the fastest SoC on the market at the moment. (depends on which score you look at, they fluctuate by a couple hundred thousand in Antutu) Regardless, their SoCs "just work". Are you not forgetting about them? Are you simply not including them because you're another "haha mediatek bad snapdragon good" tool? I mean considering you haven't mentioned a single SoC by name I'm inclined to believe you're down at that level.
"Finding a perfect phone requires right balance of hardware, size & software, which Pixel 4a was."? But it only delivers in the easiest of those areas, size? 3 years of updates is to be expected of any company. Any less is a flaw not average. As the creator of Android you'd expect at least 5 years of updates in their phones.
"iPhone sells on that foundation unfortunately it is costly in so many markets."? No. Apple sells on the foundation that regular people don't care about their phone and think, "ooo iPhone good, Android bad, Android battery fall out and have potato camera". I bet you $20 if you walked up to a hundred iPhone users and asked them what SoC is in their phone, less than 15% would know. And the 85% probably wouldn't know what an SoC even is.
"Again I'll tell you there is huge silent majority of people that don't want fancy marketing, only something that works!" Ironic that you fell victim to Google's fancy marketing instead of buying something that works better.
- ?
- Anonymous
- Sc$
- 22 Sep 2023
that sucks ... time to buy xiaomi phone
- e
- emczer
- dQM
- 21 Sep 2023
joe nodden, 21 Sep 2023No, it was unimpressive. That single camera was underwh... moreDon't base your opinion on some random reviews and comments only. Really. Pixel 4a is greatly optimized (?) or well tought on components side and well programmed on software side - it just works as fast as it did when it got out. On paper it's a totally meh phone. Nothing lookworthy. But on daily use it is faster than lots of killer-specs-on-paper. And it's quite eco-friendly. But google did a horrible bad move dropping it. And it won't be forgotten.
- T
- TruthSerum
- CbC
- 21 Sep 2023
joe nodden, 21 Sep 2023No, it was unimpressive.
That single camera was underwh... moreI'll respond to your paragraphs as they appeared
Pixel 4a has OIS. Wondering if you even used it. That 12MP 1/2.55" 1.4um sensor is way superior even today to the usual 48MP 1/2" 0.8um resourcefully in low light photography. And in this price range most cameras suck at low light, only creating dirty oil paintings with that 48 & 50MP. Daylight was never an issue that needed solving hence not discussing.
Plastic back is cheap, flexible, durable and that translates to lightweight and worry free usability. Even if it breaks there is no urgency to replace like glass. I don't really care about metal or plastic, only one less expensive thing to worry about when my phone drops.
Why snapdragon? It just works. Look around, both Google & Samsung pushing out Exynos even after numerous complaints. They have their "long term" goals which I get, but customer is suffering for very long time. Samsung has just 2 Snapdragons in their lineup right now - one is costly (S21FE) other is unusable due to size (A23/F23).
Finding a perfect phone requires right balance of hardware, size & software, which Pixel 4a was. iPhone sells on that foundation unfortunately it is costly in so many markets.
Again I'll tell you there is huge silent majority of people that don't want fancy marketing, only something that works!
- joe nodden
- Q$@
- 21 Sep 2023
AngryLithuanian, 21 Sep 2023"The Pixel 4a was a rather unimpressive smartphone, an... moreOnly good thing was the headphone jack. It was not remotely affordable. It priced 75% higher than the Redmi 10X 5G which is all it could compete with, and it was worse in quite a few aspects.
In what universe is being priced 75% higher than competitors "affordable".
- joe nodden
- Q$@
- 21 Sep 2023
Comical. They legit created Android yet can't give longer software support than rival companies.
- joe nodden
- Q$@
- 21 Sep 2023
TruthSerum, 21 Sep 2023"Unimpressive" ?? Maybe 2-3 useless cameras (yeah... moreNo, it was unimpressive.
That single camera was underwhelming. You sound like those Sony fanboys that will accept death before accepting that 12MP is underwhelming nowadays. I don't know what to tell you about that subject other than look at the tests. It doesn't have OIS. Since it's a single camera setup it's got no ultrawide, no telephoto, nothing else. It doesn't even have that Pixel Visual Core thing which is one of the only appeals of most Pixels. So it relies on the crazy slow SoC to process images.
Even if you don't like glass, a plastic back isn't a pro. A metal back is. Idc if nobody's offering metal backs anymore, the reason is supposed to be due to wireless charging, but this has no wireless charging! Zero excuses. Especially not at that $350 price point with the lack of any good features. A plastic back was acceptable on phones like that old $129 Poco M3, especially considering they owned up to the fact that it was plastic rather than making it some sort of mockery of glass.
And really? "Snapdragon"? You think that's a pro? You realize what SoC it has, right? The 730G is atrocious. I may complain quite a bit quite often, but I'm dead serious when I say that was a horrendously slow SoC at that $350 price point. Almost the same SoC as the Redmi K20 that released over a year earlier which was almost a hundred bucks less despite being FAR superior in other areas. Don't you realize how horrible that is?
- A
- AngryLithuanian
- xQI
- 21 Sep 2023
"The Pixel 4a was a rather unimpressive smartphone, and when we reviewed it, we were puzzled why Google released it"
Because that's exactly what majority of consumers wanted. Afordable, compact, good camera, had dying features like headphone jack and rear fingerprint scanner. 4a sold like hot cakes here in UK.
- T
- TruthSerum
- CbB
- 21 Sep 2023
"Unimpressive" ?? Maybe 2-3 useless cameras (yeah 50/100/200MP), fragile glass backs, unusable huge phablets might be impressive to you.
For most others, Pixel 4a is "no nonsense". Single camera that is rock-solid superior (12MP), hard plastic rugged back, Snapdragon, small yet frigging usable phone.
- d
- dbjungle
- mAL
- 21 Sep 2023
hmm, 20 Sep 2023They never advertise that there are models that have less a... moreThey literally say how much is promised for every phone they release. I believe it was 3 years total for all Pixels up until the Pixel 6 which started the 3 years of Android versions and 5 years of security updates. It is rumored (but not confirmed) they are increasing the Android versions for the Pixel 8 series to 4 or 5 years. HUGE.