How underpowered really is the Pixel 4a?

[binaryhermit]

I believe the 730G and Snapdragon 845 (Pixel 3's chip) are in the same ballpark benchmark-wise, I think the 845's GPU is better, but the 730G's CPU is better.

Realistically, unless you're slamming the CPU or GPU, it's likely you'll not notice a huge performance difference.

 

[vzwuser76]

I believe the 730G and Snapdragon 845 (Pixel 3's chip) are in the same ballpark benchmark-wise, I think the 845's GPU is better, but the 730G's CPU is better.

Realistically, unless you're slamming the CPU or GPU, it's likely you'll not notice a huge performance difference.

I had the Pixel 3, and honestly I don't see a downgrade in performance. If anything, the 4a feels snappier than the 3. I don't know if that's due to better optimization, more RAM, or it just being a newer device. I know that startup times are much quicker than my Pixel 3, and standby times are much better ( when I'm sleeping over a 6 hour period, battery drop ranges from 1-3%, compared to 8-10% drop on my Pixel 3). And all this for less than half the price (I had the 128GB Pixel 3 which ran around $800 IIRC).

No regrets about going with the 4a. The Pixel 5 looks great going by the rumors, but I don't know if it's twice the money great. I'll watch and see though, and if it's really a noticeable improvement over the 4a, I might consider it. I just wonder if the 4080mAh battery is there more for the 90Hz screen or 5G, which I won't see for at least another few years, if at all. Where I live, we barely have LTE, and from what I've read 5G towers cover a smaller area, so unless Verizon increases the number of tower's, it's doubtful.

 

[kbz1960]

I had the Pixel 3, and honestly I don't see a downgrade in performance. If anything, the 4a feels snappier than the 3. I don't know if that's due to better optimization, more RAM, or it just being a newer device. I know that startup times are much quicker than my Pixel 3, and standby times are much better ( when I'm sleeping over a 6 hour period, battery drop ranges from 1-3%, compared to 8-10% drop on my Pixel 3). And all this for less than half the price (I had the 128GB Pixel 3 which ran around $800 IIRC).

No regrets about going with the 4a. The Pixel 5 looks great going by the rumors, but I don't know if it's twice the money great. I'll watch and see though, and if it's really a noticeable improvement over the 4a, I might consider it. I just wonder if the 4080mAh battery is there more for the 90Hz screen or 5G, which I won't see for at least another few years, if at all. Where I live, we barely have LTE, and from what I've read 5G towers cover a smaller area, so unless Verizon increases the number of tower's, it's doubtful.

Hi. Do you get a good signal on Verizon with the phone? Compared to other phones?

 

[vzwuser76]

Hi. Do you get a good signal on Verizon with the phone? Compared to other phones?

Compared to my Pixel 3, it seems to be better. In some areas where I'd get dropouts before I'm not now, or at least not as bad. I don't have any measurements or anything if that's what you're looking for.

 

[kbz1960]

Compared to my Pixel 3, it seems to be better. In some areas where I'd get dropouts before I'm not now, or at least not as bad. I don't have any measurements or anything if that's what you're looking for.

Thanks. Just real world experience. I had a moto G6 and now have a Nokia 7.1, the Nokia doesn't get as good of a signal.

 

[vzwuser76]

Thanks. Just real world experience. I had a moto G6 and now have a Nokia 7.1, the Nokia doesn't get as good of a signal.

Glad I could help. The way I look at it, for what I do, the 4a has better signal, is a bit snappier (except for maybe the camera but lack of the visual core chip is probably why), more durable (hated the glass back on the Pixel 3), all for less than half what the Pixel 3 cost.

 

[kbz1960]

Glad I could help. The way I look at it, for what I do, the 4a has better signal, is a bit snappier (except for maybe the camera but lack of the visual core chip is probably why), more durable (hated the glass back on the Pixel 3), all for less than half what the Pixel 3 cost.

All sounds good

 

[john_v]

So I had my first issue on Saturday. Was on a three-hour call with my sister in another state, catching up, but the whole time, my 4a was useless for anything but the call. I could swipe out of the call, but then just get a black screen. Hit the power button, wait a minute, then turn the screen back on and it would be at the home screen. Basically same for anything I was trying to do, had to wait quite a bit. Once the call was ended, it went back to normal.

Also, I've had a few times where I went to unlock the phone and it hung, had to do a back gesture or home gesture to get it to come up.

I'm assuming those are processor related, but those are really the only issues I've had performance wise. While I do love the smaller screen for one-handed use and thumb travel, I'm thinking my eyes need a bigger screen, so I may end up trading in the 4a on something else down the road, maybe during Black Friday sales.

 

[kbz1960]

So I had my first issue on Saturday. Was on a three-hour call with my sister in another state, catching up, but the whole time, my 4a was useless for anything but the call. I could swipe out of the call, but then just get a black screen. Hit the power button, wait a minute, then turn the screen back on and it would be at the home screen. Basically same for anything I was trying to do, had to wait quite a bit. Once the call was ended, it went back to normal.

Also, I've had a few times where I went to unlock the phone and it hung, had to do a back gesture or home gesture to get it to come up.

I'm assuming those are processor related, but those are really the only issues I've had performance wise. While I do love the smaller screen for one-handed use and thumb travel, I'm thinking my eyes need a bigger screen, so I may end up trading in the 4a on something else down the road, maybe during Black Friday sales.

Thanks for the info, interesting

 

[Maximo_Mark79]

So I had my first issue on Saturday. Was on a three-hour call with my sister in another state, catching up, but the whole time, my 4a was useless for anything but the call. I could swipe out of the call, but then just get a black screen. Hit the power button, wait a minute, then turn the screen back on and it would be at the home screen. Basically same for anything I was trying to do, had to wait quite a bit. Once the call was ended, it went back to normal.

Also, I've had a few times where I went to unlock the phone and it hung, had to do a back gesture or home gesture to get it to come up.

I'm assuming those are processor related, but those are really the only issues I've had performance wise. While I do love the smaller screen for one-handed use and thumb travel, I'm thinking my eyes need a bigger screen, so I may end up trading in the 4a on something else down the road, maybe during Black Friday sales.

What would make you think that your issue was processor related?

 

[john_v]

What would make you think that your issue was processor related?

Just the fact that it was hanging and moving extremely slow. I could get to the home screen but it required turning the screen off, waiting a few minutes, and then turning it back on. Same with opening apps. Basically no multitasking.

So just seemed like it to me, but I could be wrong

 

[Deleted member 2609113]

Just the fact that it was hanging and moving extremely slow. I could get to the home screen but it required turning the screen off, waiting a few minutes, and then turning it back on. Same with opening apps. Basically no multitasking.

So just seemed like it to me, but I could be wrong

My wife and I haven't had a single hang up or slow down on our Pixel 4a's.
Maybe you should get a replacement.

 

[john_v]

My wife and I haven't had a single hang up or slow down on our Pixel 4a's.
Maybe you should get a replacement.

It was during a phone call on speaker. Normal everyday use it's totally fine.

 

[Deleted member 2609113]

It was during a phone call on speaker. Normal everyday use it's totally fine.

Hmmm...never use speaker phone. I do use my Bluetooth earpiece all day without issue. My have to try speaker to see what happens.

 

[vzwuser76]

It was during a phone call on speaker. Normal everyday use it's totally fine.

I use speaker quite a bit when I have to look up things like tracking numbers or part numbers. I've done it a several times since I got the 4a and haven't seen what you're describing.

 

[can3gxw]

I've had my 4a for a little over a week, fairly heavy use and I've been on the phone (usually listening on conference calls) with general browsing and the odd game. I'm impressed, not a stutter.

I would suggest a factory reset of your phone and see if the problem persists. If it does then I would contact Google for support and/or replacement. That behaviour is not normal in the least.

 

[john_v]

I use speaker quite a bit when I have to look up things like tracking numbers or part numbers. I've done it a several times since I got the 4a and haven't seen what you're describing.

I've had my 4a for a little over a week, fairly heavy use and I've been on the phone (usually listening on conference calls) with general browsing and the odd game. I'm impressed, not a stutter.

I would suggest a factory reset of your phone and see if the problem persists. If it does then I would contact Google for support and/or replacement. That behaviour is not normal in the least.

Thanks for the feedback. I haven't had any other issues but I'm not on the phone all that much, especially with calls where I'm wanting or needing to look at other stuff. If it happens again I'll think about a factory wipe but for now I'll just leave it.