As a mid-range phone we can hardly fault what the Pixel 4a offers. It's very capable and delivers a great camera experience. Some people might find it a little too small, but for those looking for a compact phone we can't really see why you'd need to look any further.

Great camera; Plenty of power; Great display; Compact format; Clean Android software; Great speakers;

Battery life a little variable; Might be too small for some; Not the latest hardware;

The Google Pixel 4a has now been announced, and we've been lucky enough to spend time with it. Here's what we think so far.

Stupidly cheap for what you get, great camera, solid battery, impressive software, nice design

No 4a XL this year, no water resistance, no wireless charge

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...

The Pixel 4a is Google’s best smartphone in years. It is small, light and feels great. It has an OLED screen that is colourful, crisp and big enough for most things. Performance is good, the battery lasts a solid 31 hours between charges and the camera is leagues better than the price may suggest.

Pros: great camera, good screen, good software and update support, good battery life, headphone socket, relatively small, fairly inexpensive

Cons: no 5G, only single camera, no wireless charging, no water resistance, no expandable storage

It’s official: you don’t need to splash the cash for a great camera on a phone anymore. Instead, you just need ...

The Pixel 4a is a great starting point for anyone looking for a basic, capable smartphone. You get a modern design, a great camera, a headphone jack, good enough performance, and a great software build with timely, day-one updates direct from Google.

The $350 price tag. You could buy three of these for the price of a $1000 smartphone., From the front, it's the best-looking phone Google has ever produced, with slim bezels, a hole punch camera, and no crazy design decisions. It's a rare Pixel phone that just looks... normal.

It's a budget phone, so don't expect wireless charging, water resistance, or a fast 90Hz or 120Hz display., The back, which is plain and cheap-looking, and not because it's plastic. An exact copy of the Pixel 3a back would have been a huge improvement.

Google Pixel 4a Software And User Experience Google’s take on Android has always been very clean and streamlined. Pixel phones run an almost stock build of Android 10 with a few minor (and welcome) tweaks -- much like handsets from OnePlus and Moto.

Fantastic camera, Good display, Solid battery life, Great audio, Stock Android, Incredible value

Low-grade materials, Only comes in black, No wireless charging, No water resistance

Techaeris readers know that our reviews are as objective as we can make them and are based on specifications, price, value, and performance. That said, I’ve long been of the opinion that most people do not need smartphones that cost upwards of US$1000.

As phone prices have increased dramatically in recent years, lowering expectations some to find a phone that still ticks enough boxes, yet does so at a more appetizing price has become more common. It’s not that the $1,000+ phones aren’t any good or are overpriced, it’s that there are more...

Much of the money spent advertising smartphones typically centers around flagships, and that makes sense for the most part. It’s the bleeding-edge tech, heavy with hardware and coupled with the latest software. It’s big sexy designs with curves and gorgeous colors.