340 euro smartphone with a difference: Google Pixel 4a is compact, cheap and good

Good news for users with small pockets: Google's Pixel 4a is a compact smartphone that costs little but has a lot to offer. The only stupid thing is that you have to wait even longer for the little gem.

In recent years, smartphones have been getting bigger and screen sizes up to 7 inches are almost normal. Smaller devices have become rare, which many users do not like at all, who would rather have something more handy. But the situation is improving. After Apple successfully closed the supply gap in the spring with the iPhone SE 2, Google is now also offering the Pixel 4a, a compact smartphone that does not break your pocket or wallet.

Inexpensive but not cheap

Due to the sales tax reduction, the device currently only costs around 340 euros (otherwise 350 euros), but it doesn't look cheap at all. The Pixel 4a does not have a glass back, but wears a matt plastic dress. The design is as simple as it can be. But that doesn't bother at all. On the contrary: the smartphone is very safe and comfortable to hold. And if it falls off, at least you don't have to worry about the back.

Google hardly saved on the front. The Pixel 4a has a 5.8-inch OLED display with realistic colors and strong contrasts. It can shine very brightly if necessary and it is really sharp with a pixel density of 443 ppi. Because the edges of the screen are very narrow and the front camera snaps through a small hole, the device, which weighs 143 grams, has a slim size of 144 x 69.4 x 8.2 millimeters. The Pixel 4a does not have an integrated fingerprint sensor or even 3D face recognition, but the fingerprint sensor on the back does its job quickly and reliably.

The general impression that the smartphone left in the test is also brisk. His Snapdragon 730 is a good mid-range chip and with 6 gigabytes (GB) there is more than enough RAM available. There is also nothing to complain about in terms of the endurance of the cheap Google cell phone. With 3080 milliamp hours, the battery gets you well through the day, with the intelligent software you usually even have enough reserves if it should be later. In an emergency, the device can also be quickly recharged using the supplied 18-watt power supply.

Flagship camera on board

The smartphone has only one camera on the back, but it is the same main camera that also delivers images in the Google flagship Pixel 4. This means that the smartphone snaps into the upper class rather than the middle class. The camera not only delivers very successful pictures in daylight, but also shines with pretty night shots. In addition, there are Google's sophisticated algorithms that get as much out of the individual camera as other devices with multiple snaps have to offer. So the digital zoom is sometimes better than what some telephoto cameras produce optically. The artificial bokeh in portraits is also impressive, although the device has no special depth sensor.

Otherwise, Google's software is a good reason to buy the Pixel 4a, especially if you are not too fussy about your data. No manufacturer has a better digital assistant to offer, and he will soon be able to convert German dictations and dialogues into text in real time. But the device also has an AI sweetie for data-efficient users: Google's music recognition works offline. In addition, the built-in Titan-M security chip makes the smartphone very safe from attacks. Despite the high reward, no hacker has yet been able to crack it.

Fast updates, long waiting times

Finally, Google guarantees fast updates of the operating system and security patches for all Pixel devices for at least three years. That means you always have the latest version of Android on board. So you can assume that the device will stay up to date for at least four years if you buy it immediately after the market launch. Unfortunately, Google takes way too much time with that. You can only pre-order the Pixel 4a from September 10th, it is only available from October 1st.

Basically, the Pixel 4a is a smartphone that many users have been waiting for: it is compact and inexpensive, but it has a lot to offer technically. However, you have to wait a long time. If it can be a size bigger, there is the OnePlus Nord for around 50 euros more, which is even better equipped. Among other things, it has a good quad camera and a 90 Hertz display and is 5G capable.