Pixel 4a thoughts?

[kirbyrj]

My Pixel 1 I bought at launch was perfect, never a problem. Well, I mean, the battery aged, but I replaced it. Then it suddenly was just dead. Woke up one morning and it would not power on. Black screen, nothing.

Gave me just over 3 years of trouble free use though, which is the longest I've kept a cellphone as long as I've had a cellphone, so I guess I can't complain.

I replaced it with a Pixel 3 when they were selling off the last ones at a discount after the 4 launched in October.

I'll with all likelihood keep this one until support ends, and then poke around at whats available. That should be Pixel 5a time. I hope they keep up the trend of keeping the fingerprint sensor and analog audio jack with the 5a.

In fairness, I got $350 for the microphone glitch from the class action lawsuit so I can't really complain since I used the phone for over a year, traded it in for ~$100 toward my pixel 3a, and still got $350 from the lawsuit.

I kind of like the Pixel 2 the best. I wish they made that screen ratio with smaller bezels for the "a" phones.

 

[somebrains]

Our pixel 1s were the stuff of 100s of pages of complaints.
I can't remember why we didn't get in on the mic thing.
Lot of people got Pixel 2 off that.

Our Nexus 6 were the experience Kirby described his pixel 2
That was a great phone.

3a is turning into a similar experience.
No drama.

My Nexus 4 died one morning too, just didn't wake up.
That phone and the N5 were ok.

The Nexus S was the most fun I had bc I loved screwing with my phone back then. Back when everyone was a ROM cook.

 

[kirbyrj]

Our pixel 1s were the stuff of 100s of pages of complaints.
I can't remember why we didn't get in on the mic thing.
Lot of people got Pixel 2 off that.

Our Nexus 6 were the experience Kirby described his pixel 2
That was a great phone.

3a is turning into a similar experience.
No drama.

My Nexus 4 died one morning too, just didn't wake up.
That phone and the N5 were ok.

The Nexus S was the most fun I had bc I loved screwing with my phone back then. Back when everyone was a ROM cook.

I agree. The 3a has been pretty drama free for me also. I expect the same from the 4a.

The Nexus S was my first Nexus (as it was the first CDMA Nexus at the time). Good times. Had to skip the Nexus 4/5 because they were GSM only.

 

[techie81]

Looks like my 4a just shipped. Should have some hands on action soon.

 

[kirbyrj]

Looks like my 4a just shipped. Should have some hands on action soon.

Mine should be here today. Was supposed to be here yesterday, but FedEx dropped the ball.

Edit: Just started it up. As I expected, slightly shorter than the 3a (half inch or so). Not sure I like the punchhole camera (first one), but I'll probably get used to it. Just have to transfer everything to the new phone and off I go.

 

[troisanh]

Got the pixel 4a as backup to my samsung s20+ and like the size very much.

As to camera, same as the pixel 3 but newer assistant is nice.

 

[kirbyrj]

The thing I don't like is the gesture navigation. I finally got used to the 2 button navigation from the Pixel 3 and 3a, and now I can't use that anymore with the 4a. I can't get used to the "back" swipe. I ended up going to the old 3 button style.

I don't really mind the punchhole camera. It doesn't really affect me.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

The thing I don't like is the gesture navigation. I finally got used to the 2 button navigation from the Pixel 3 and 3a, and now I can't use that anymore with the 4a. I can't get used to the "back" swipe. I ended up going to the old 3 button style.

I don't really mind the punchhole camera. It doesn't really affect me.

I don't have a 4a, but usually you can change it back. At least on my 3.

Settings -> System -> Gestures -> System Navigation:

If they remove this option, I'm out. Never buying one again.

 

[kirbyrj]

I don't have a 4a, but usually you can change it back. At least on my 3.

Settings -> System -> Gestures -> System Navigation:

View attachment 271954

If they remove this option, I'm out. Never buying one again.

Yeah, I only have 3 button and gesture navigation. 2 button is gone from the menu. I didn't like it with the pixel 3 launch but I got used to it (no 3 button back then). Now you either get the old style 3 button or the new gestures. I like having the back button on screen.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Yeah, I only have 3 button and gesture navigation. 2 button is gone from the menu. I didn't like it with the pixel 3 launch but I got used to it (no 3 button back then). Now you either get the old style 3 button or the new gestures. I like having the back button on screen.

Stinks. I wonder why they would remove the feature.

I prefer the 3 button mode myself. If they were to take that away, I'd be looking at a different phone.

I wish it would be handled better in apps though. Just having a solid background behind the buttons is a waste of screen real estate. At least make it semi transparent... (Which it is in some Google apps)

 

[techie81]

So far I am really liking the phone. Performance is good. Screen is really nice. Feels good in hand. Seems like I am getting slightly better signal. Speakers are good. Going to test battery performance today now that its fully charged.

 

[kirbyrj]

Stinks. I wonder why they would remove the feature.

I prefer the 3 button mode myself. If they were to take that away, I'd be looking at a different phone.

I wish it would be handled better in apps though. Just having a solid background behind the buttons is a waste of screen real estate. At least make it semi transparent... (Which it is in some Google apps)

The back gesture is kind of spotty and not always well liked in apps. Plus, with a case, it's not always easy to get to the very side of the screen to start the gesture. I don't see why they couldn't have just left the 2 button navigation as an option. It's not like they don't support it with existing phones.

 

[FrgMstr]

Screen is going out on my wife's 2XL. Going to give her my money 2XL and give the 4a a try. Should be here in a couple days.

 

[kirbyrj]

Screen is going out on my wife's 2XL. Going to give her my money 2XL and give the 4a a try. Should be here in a couple days.

It's definitely a much smaller phone for starters. Overall, it's a nice phone though. Updated mine to Android 11 and haven't had any issues. Transferring data was simple from old Pixel 3a to new Pixel 4a. Just hook up cable and it does it's thing. For $350, it's a pretty good deal.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Screen is going out on my wife's 2XL. Going to give her my money 2XL and give the 4a a try. Should be here in a couple days.

I lost interest in the 4 when I heard they got rid of the fingerprint sensor in favor of AI face ID tech. The 4a brings it back, so if I were shopping right now, that's definitely what I would get.

My Pixel 3 I bought at closeout sale prices when the 4 launched is likely going to last me a bit longer, but otherwise I'd very likely be looking at the 4a.

Reviewers make a big deal out of the CPU performance and lack of 5g, but I don't think that 5g will be hugely relevant any time soon (other than in marketing) and the tested CPU performance of the 4a is roughly equivalent to my 3, and it is more than acceptable to me.

I think you'll like it, as long as the size difference coming from the XL doesn't bother you. It's a hell of a bang for the buck phone. Reminds me of the good old Nexus days.

 

[FrgMstr]

Reviewers make a big deal out of the CPU performance and lack of 5g, but I don't think that 5g will be hugely relevant any time soon (other than in marketing) and the tested CPU performance of the 4a is roughly equivalent to my 3, and it is more than acceptable to me.

I think you'll like it, as long as the size difference coming from the XL doesn't bother you. It's a hell of a bang for the buck phone. Reminds me of the good old Nexus days.

I do nothing that is CPU intensive on my phone, so not worried about that. I don't see 5G coming to my neck of the woods any time soon, so again, no biggy.

Yeah, not sure on the size, will see. There are times when I wished this 2XL was not as large for one handed usage.

 

[FrgMstr]

Well, suckage. Shipment due tomorrow. Looked the order up, only the extra charger I ordered has shipped. No movement on the phone for two days.

 

[kirbyrj]

Well, suckage. Shipment due tomorrow. Looked the order up, only the extra charger I ordered has shipped. No movement on the phone for two days.

Direct from Google? When I ordered mine it was a day or two later than it should have been. I think that was FedEx's fault though.

 

[FrgMstr]

Direct from Google? When I ordered mine it was a day or two later than it should have been. I think that was FedEx's fault though.

Saying 8th or 9th for delivery, has not shipped yet. Guess they are waiting for inbound....

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Saying 8th or 9th for delivery, has not shipped yet. Guess they are waiting for inbound....

A lot of supply lines are still disrupted from this stupid pandemic thing.

I've been waiting for a keyboard to ship from mechanicalkeyboards.com since early June. The date keeps getting pushed out due to their delivery from China getting pushed out. Now it's late October.

I'm sure Google has better control of their vendors...

 

[EnthusiastXYZ]

When changing volume on Pixel 4a, aside from standard volume side-panel that pops up on the right, there is a new button right under it with some symbol image. Pressing that button places a cross on that image. I don't have a screenshot of it and I can't figure out what it does...

 

[techie81]

When changing volume on Pixel 4a, aside from standard volume side-panel that pops up on the right, there is a new button right under it with some symbol image. Pressing that button places a cross on that image. I don't have a screenshot of it and I can't figure out what it does...

I think it's live captioning

 

[Uncle Humjaba]

Anyone have some real world battery results on this thing? I have a oneplus 6t, and I'm sick of all the software glitches that came with the Android 10 update (android auto only works 50% of the time, bluetooth to my truck no longer works, random low FPS on-screen until lock/unlock cycle, recently the stock messaging app stopped sending or receiving MMS messages). I use it pretty heavily for communication (text, what's app, instagram messenger) and music but that's really it. Will the 4a get through a full day? Or should I step up to the 4a 5G?

 

[FrgMstr]

Mine is supposed to be here Wednesday. Will put my initial thoughts here after a few days.

 

[techie81]

Anyone have some real world battery results on this thing? I have a oneplus 6t, and I'm sick of all the software glitches that came with the Android 10 update (android auto only works 50% of the time, bluetooth to my truck no longer works, random low FPS on-screen until lock/unlock cycle, recently the stock messaging app stopped sending or receiving MMS messages). I use it pretty heavily for communication (text, what's app, instagram messenger) and music but that's really it. Will the 4a get through a full day? Or should I step up to the 4a 5G?

I have had several heavy usage days and I can say the battery is very good. There are some small glitches with android but I am hoping they get those fixed sooner than later - but nothing deal breaking as of yet. The other good thing about the battery is that it charges very fast. So far I am really happy with it (coming from an iPhone).

 

[kirbyrj]

Anyone have some real world battery results on this thing? I have a oneplus 6t, and I'm sick of all the software glitches that came with the Android 10 update (android auto only works 50% of the time, bluetooth to my truck no longer works, random low FPS on-screen until lock/unlock cycle, recently the stock messaging app stopped sending or receiving MMS messages). I use it pretty heavily for communication (text, what's app, instagram messenger) and music but that's really it. Will the 4a get through a full day? Or should I step up to the 4a 5G?

I would probably step up to the 4a 5G if you want better battery life as the battery is pretty significantly larger. Not sure how much the "5G" part eats away at battery though. Personally, the 4a has had good enough battery life for my uses. Generally a day and a half per charge.

 

[Tactlesss]

Well, coming from the refurbished pixel 2 that I had been previously using the 4a certainly holds it's charge better.

I don't know if it's the phone or Android 11's "aww fuck it." Attitude towards camera apps but something's not working right.

 

[FrgMstr]

Spent the first day with the 4a, and I am very much liking it. Here is the battery usage screen. I don't think I am going to have any problems with battery life.

 

[ThatOtherGuy314]

This seems like a good phone for the price; now I just have to figure out when to pick one up, as my old LG can barely hold a charge. Does Google reliably discount their phones on BF?

 

[kirbyrj]

This seems like a good phone for the price; now I just have to figure out when to pick one up, as my old LG can barely hold a charge. Does Google reliably discount their phones on BF?

They usually have some sort of deal. if the phone is not discounted then they will throw in something like a nest mini or something. I definitely wait until Black Friday and see if your phone still works.

 

[patric]

I picked one up yesterday. I was hoping my old phone would hold out a few more weeks until the 5G version came out, but it bricked itself yesterday morning.

So far it seems pretty snappy. Of course I'm also coming from an original Pixel XL so I'm sure anything is going to be an upgrade.

The battery life is great so far. I charged it fully on the drive home. It's been about 30 hours and even after installing all my apps, turning off a ton of notifications, and all the other typical customizations it still is at 26% charge.

The new gestures are going to take some getting used to. I'm really tempted to turn them off and go back to the normal triangle/circle/square buttons at the bottom.

 

[kirbyrj]

I picked one up yesterday. I was hoping my old phone would hold out a few more weeks until the 5G version came out, but it bricked itself yesterday morning.

So far it seems pretty snappy. Of course I'm also coming from an original Pixel XL so I'm sure anything is going to be an upgrade.

The battery life is great so far. I charged it fully on the drive home. It's been about 30 hours and even after installing all my apps, turning off a ton of notifications, and all the other typical customizations it still is at 26% charge.

The new gestures are going to take some getting used to. I'm really tempted to turn them off and go back to the normal triangle/circle/square buttons at the bottom.

I got used to the Pixel 3 gestures, and that's not an option for this phone unfortunately (unlike my old 3a). My biggest gripe is the opening the app drawer vs. bringing up the close app screen, and now that I think about it, the back button is tough depending on what case you have.

 

[FrgMstr]

The new gestures are going to take some getting used to. I'm really tempted to turn them off and go back to the normal triangle/circle/square buttons at the bottom.

Once you get used to it, I like it better. I almost did turn that back on too. Forced myself to go a couple more days and I fell right into step.

Still liking this more than my Pixel 2 XL. Smaller screen allows me to one hand it easier...and we all know we need an extra hand for other gestures.

 

[TheSlySyl]

So, i've been trying to figure out what's been going on weird with my Pixel 2 for a few weeks now, including random reboots. I was planning on holding out for a Pixel 6.
However, i finally took my pixel 2 out of its case and its screen is VERY noticeably being pushed away from the body to the point that there is a seam between screen and body that you can see through due to battery expansion. It's bulging at both the front and the back. I don't trust this at all. Especially for a daily driver phone. So I need a new phone NOW, not later.

So i'm gonna be using my Google Fi $9 a month lease to get a pixel 4A ASAP and use it as a stopgap till the Pixel 6 is launched/on sale, etc. At $9 a month for the 128GB model, even if I don't use it for the entirety of its lifespan it still works out way cheaper than spending $250-$400+ on used 128GB models of the Pixel 3 or 4. (Yes, I do need 128GB at minimum.)

Anyone still using a Pixel 4a in this thread? What are your thoughts after nearly another year of updates, anything I need to consider?

 

[kirbyrj]

So, i've been trying to figure out what's been going on weird with my Pixel 2 for a few weeks now, including random reboots. I was planning on holding out for a Pixel 6.
However, i finally took my pixel 2 out of its case and its screen is VERY noticeably being pushed away from the body to the point that there is a seam between screen and body that you can see through due to battery expansion. It's bulging at both the front and the back. I don't trust this at all. Especially for a daily driver phone. So I need a new phone NOW, not later.

So i'm gonna be using my Google Fi $9 a month lease to get a pixel 4A ASAP and use it as a stopgap till the Pixel 6 is launched/on sale, etc. At $9 a month for the 128GB model, even if I don't use it for the entirety of its lifespan it still works out way cheaper than spending $250-$400+ on used 128GB models of the Pixel 3 or 4. (Yes, I do need 128GB at minimum.)

Anyone still using a Pixel 4a in this thread? What are your thoughts after nearly another year of updates, anything I need to consider?

The only thing I didn't like after moving to it from the 3a was the forced gesture navigation. The 3a allowed you to have a back button with limited gestures. I got used to it, but not every app always likes the "back" gesture. Other than that, great phone. It's easy to use one handed and has great battery life.

Personally, I just bought a 3a from Swappa to tide me over to see what Google does with either the 5a or the 6. My 4a worked fine but someone tried to hack my MEID onto another SIM to steal my identity so I didn't feel comfortable using that phone anymore or else I'd still have it.

 

[TheSlySyl]

There's no way to turn off gesture navigation? Well that's dumb.

Guess I'll find out soon.

 

[Supersnake]

Google has subsequently included the option to turn off gesture navigation and enable 3 button navigation.

 

[Vengance_01]

4a is a solid option. My mom loves hers. Simple and everything works well. Still plenty of time of for updates

 

[TheSlySyl]

Yeah, my wife has a 3a and its been awesome for her, I was really trying to hold out for a 6 XL, but given that the screen on my 2 is literally seperating from the body and its randomly rebooting (likely cause of a loose connection due to battery swelling) I don't want to wait till its actually dies and i'm without a phone for a bit. I'll post pics of my old phone once the new one arrives, its a bit jarring now that i've seen it without the case that was likely helping it actually hold together, but it now barely even fits inside.

 

[kirbyrj]

There's no way to turn off gesture navigation? Well that's dumb.

Guess I'll find out soon.

It's only 3 button or gestures. No 2 button like on the 3 and the 3a