Apart from 5G, the 4A 5G performs well, easily fast enough for everyday chores. When compared to high-end phones such as the Galaxy S20 or even the iPhone 11, the Pixel 4A 5G is substantially slower at things like as displaying websites and launching large applications. However, if you use it on a daily basis, you will see no difference. The 4A 5G is fast enough and should give adequate performance for many years, especially at its $499 price point. It's noticeably speedier than the standard Pixel 4A, which has a lesser chipset and lacks 5G connectivity. Battery life was the primary performance concern going in. Because the Pixel 4's battery life is famously poor (the 4 XL's is marginally better, if only due to its larger size and larger battery), Google is not given the benefit of the doubt. Fortunately, the Pixel 4A 5G has an excellent battery life, owing to its large battery and powerful chipset. I had no problem getting through a day on it, clocking up to six hours of screen time.
The Pixel 4a 5G scored 588 for single-core (SC) performance and 1,579 for multi-core performance on Geekbench 5, a series of tests that measures raw performance (MC). This is almost identical to the Pixel 5â€TMs (582 SC/1,604 MC), but falls slightly short of the Samsung A71 5Gâ€TMs (609 SC/1,879 MC). Having said that, we saw no discernible difference in day-to-day performance across the three phones. A 3,885mAh battery powers the Pixel 4a 5G. It lasted 9 hours and 12 minutes in our battery drain test, which streams HD movies over Wi-Fi at maximum brightness. While this is much less than the Pixel 5's (11 hours and 41 minutes), it should carry you through the day with more cautious use, as long as the phone isn't constantly hopping between LTE and 5G.
This is âstockâ Android as designed by Google, which means itâs a pure experience devoid of bloatware or contentious design decisions. Google normally releases new versions of Android first on its own devices, so if you purchase the Pixel 4a 5G, youâre likely to be among the first to get Android 12. Many individuals prefer stock Android over the bespoke builds used by many smartphone makers; if this is a significant enough selling factor for you to sway your handset selection, then the Pixel may be for you.
You may have heard about 5G speeds of up to 1 Gbps, but keep your expectations in check. At the moment, the most widely deployed variant of 5G is just slightly faster than standard LTE. I can connect to T-Mobile 5G with a T-Mobile SIM on the Pixel 4a 5G, however I only get 25 Mbps download rates, which is just a hair or two faster than T-Mobile LTE in my location. Such small speed increases â for sub-6GHz 5G, at any rate â may make you question whether the cheaper Pixel 4a with its LTE-only connection is a better deal. That is dependent on how long you want to keep your phone. 5G performance is expected to increase over time, and those who have already purchased a 5G phone, like as the Pixel 4a 5G, will benefit from that development.
