The $599 4a,arriving September 10,is small by 2020 flagship standards,weighing a mere 143g and sporting a sharp and colourful 5.8-inch OLED screen. The physical design is minimalist with black matte plastic on the rear,a very light green power button and the display up front interrupted only by a hole-punch selfie camera in the corner. It's the most modern-looking phone Google has made yet,though the company has opted to keep the 3.5mm headphone jack.
The simplicity of design flows through to the software which is clean,proactive,free from bloat and a joy to use,especially compared to other lower-price Androids. The device focuses on delivering everything you need and very little extra,with Google's services and AI doing the heavy lifting rather than powerful and expensive components.
In the couple of weeks I've been using the 4a as my main phone I honestly haven't felt the need to go back to the much bigger and more powerful Oppo I was using previously. Google's take on Android is supremely comfortable and I find I'm browsing around on my phone less given how accessible everything is from the home screen.
A boost in RAM and processing power over the 3a means this phone is just as slick and smooth as a flagship outside of the most demanding apps,while Pixel-exclusive AI features like on-device Google Assistant,live captioning (of everything from Facebook videos to phone calls) and astrophotography work great. There's 128GB of storage,though of course Google's online solutions are closely integrated as well.
Most impressively the camera here is as good as on the $1200 Pixel 4 XL,which for my money puts it among the best there is. Google's software does incredible things with just the one 12MP main shooter,including phenomenal night mode shots,consistently clear and in-focus snaps,industry-leading portrait mode and competent 2x-5x zooms.
Everyday pics are nicer here than on phones three times the price. If you leave everything on auto you get natural colours and great definition in both the lightest and most shadowy areas of the photo,while dual exposure sliders make it much easier to adjust in real time versus most"pro"or manual modes.