Google Pixel 4a vs Pixel 4
Here we compared two smartphones: the 5.81-inch Google Pixel 4a (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G) that was released on August 3, 2020, against the Google Pixel 4, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 and came out 10 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4a
- Shows 44% longer battery life (26:51 vs 18:36 hours)
- Delivers 81% higher peak brightness (804 against 443 nits)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Fingerprint scanner
- Comes with 340 mAh larger battery capacity: 3140 vs 2800 mAh
- Weighs 19 grams less
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
- The phone is 10-months newer
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- 52% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (488K versus 320K)
- Supports wireless charging up to 11W
- Slow-motion recording at 240FPS
- Faster storage type - UFS 3.0 versus UFS 2.1
- 12% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 625 and 559 points
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Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | POLED |
| Size | 5.81 inches | 5.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1080 x 2280 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19:9 |
| PPI | 443 ppi | 444 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 90 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 700 nits | 450 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83.3% | 79.8% |
| Display features | - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 95.3% | 95.5% |
| PWM | 255 Hz | 367 Hz |
| Response time | 6.2 ms | 2.4 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 144 mm (5.67 inches) | 147.1 mm (5.79 inches) |
| Width | 69.4 mm (2.73 inches) | 68.8 mm (2.71 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 143 g (5.04 oz) | 162 g (5.71 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | IP68 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | Black | White, Black, Orange |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, rear | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
| Max clock | 2200 MHz | 2840 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76) |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55 (Kryo 485 Silver) - 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Gold) - 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Gold) |
| L3 cache | - | 2 MB |
| Lithography process | 8 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 618 | Adreno 640 |
| GPU clock | 825 MHz | 585 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~422 GFLOPS | ~899 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 101186 | 129834 |
| GPU | 79209 | 182353 |
| Memory | 59587 | 67946 |
| UX | 78244 | 107998 |
| Total score | 320798 | 488246 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 41.4 °C | 39 °C |
| Stability | 99% | 78% |
| Graphics test | 6 FPS | 18 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1003 | 3044 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 7227 |
| Video editing | - | 7055 |
| Photo editing | - | 23818 |
| Data manipulation | - | 8992 |
| Writing score | - | 12094 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 64, 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.1 | UFS 3.0 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | Stock Android | - |
| OS size | 15 GB | 9.55 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 3140 mAh | 2800 mAh |
| Charge power | 18 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | Yes (11 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 25 min) | Yes (50% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:27 hr | 1:20 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:45 hr | 06:04 hr |
| Watching video | 11:16 hr | 08:41 hr |
| Gaming | 04:05 hr | 03:09 hr |
| Standby | 99 hr | 62 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12.2 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | Dual LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 120 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | - | 119° |
| Lenses | 1 (12.2 MP) | 2 (12.2 MP + 16 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 12.2 MP - Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12.2 MP - Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (BSI CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - | - 16 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 45 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.09", Sony IMX481 (BSI CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Google Pixel 4a from DxOMark | Photo samples of Google Pixel 4 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 22 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.12 microns | 1.22 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.8" | - |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.1 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 15 | 18 |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2020 | October 2019 |
| Release date | October 2020 | November 2019 |
| SAR (head) | 1.37 W/kg | 1.19 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.39 W/kg | 1.39 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the performance, camera, and design are more important to you, then choose the Google Pixel 4. But if the battery life and sound are more of a priority – go for the Google Pixel 4a.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 243