Pixel 4a

[...] When my pixel 4a died of a bad screen crack a couple years ago, I replaced it with a random used 4a on ebay for $80. Two years later and it's still completely fine for all my purposes (texting, phone calls, chrome browsing, tolerable camera, etc.), although I still haven't accepted google's deal for a free battery swap yet from sheer laziness. I've learned that I can accept a 90 minute screen-on phone battery, though it's an odd adjustment to make. [...]

I've been using it for more than 2 years, and I can't think of ever going back to a stock OS. I had to send my phone for a screen repair, in the meantime I picked up my old Samsung, and the sheer amount of apps I didn't want, notifications and dark patterns to tricking me into handing over my data made me anxious. I couldn't finish setting the phone up and drove to my parent's home to pick up their old, remotely nerfed by Google, Pixel 4a so I could install GrapheneOS into it and use it while I waited for my repaired Pixel 8.

[...] Some have keyboards but they don’t flip open (no moving parts). They also don’t provide regular software updates and their phones are easily damaged. [...] Newer SE models have 5G but ditched the home button, headphone jack, and got bigger, all downgrades imo. Another phone in this area is the Pixel 4a 5G, which I’ve considered buying to replace my ageing 2016 SE but haven't yet. [...] These people are drawn to dumbphones for help with screen addiction, minimalism, or just the aesthetic, which is different for me because I'm looking for a flip phone that is just as capable and well-supported as the mainline smartphones but that actually fits in my hands and my pockets and has a long battery life. [...] I've had my SE for nearly 10 years at this point and would like to be able to keep my next phone for just as long, even if 4G LTE becomes sparser/gets sunset. [...]

[...] One iPhone that was wifi only, had my entire music library local, used for car play and a few exclusive apps. [...] -even though I despise how little customization iOS lets you do, without social media or game apps, the only actual pain point with it was the nightmare of managing notifications/alert/vibration/screen wake settings -god it made me miss small phones so much. The android was a pixel 4a, the last real phone with real hardware that released at the actual ideal size for my hands(that has an unlocked bootloader, I really can't do the Samsung hellOS experience again). [...]

I use ACCA[0] to select my charge rate and limit. This can also set battery idle mode (power from USB without using the battery) when the charge limit is reached if the hardware supports it. I usually limit it to 60%, and charge at 500mA when I'm not in a hurry. Maybe that's too much fuss for most people, but I'm still using a five year old Pixel 4A on the original battery and its showing no signs of reduced battery performance. I probably wouldn't put in the effort if it was easy to replace the battery, but it is not. [...]

[...] I have been a user of android for 15+ years and have had a pixel 4a for the past three years and was happy with it. In january they had a cryptic announcement that some 4a's needed a software update to deal with an unspecified battery issue. [...] The software really nerfed the battery on the phone and it often refuses to charge or lies about the level of charge, and it needs to be charged five times a day. [...] and they won't just accept my credit card which they have on file and routinely charge things against it. It turns out, to use the code you have to send a picture of your credit card and front and back of your driver's license! Last night I bought an 8a without the discount code because I don't want to send that info. And today they announce the 9a at the same price. [...]

I’m annoyed My phone’s battery went puff so now I have to suffer with my old Pixel 4a until the replacement is installed. I hated that phone when I used it every day and I hate it again now 2 years later.

I’ve had my Pixel 4a for over 5 years, and I would keep using it, but the screen has a vertical line, the battery is bulging, and the OS is aging. [...] My issue is with the FP6 camera. It’s a mystery to me how this is possible, but: the pictures taken with the FP6 just don’t look as good as the ones taken with my old Pixel 4a. [...] when you zoom in) are resolved less accurately than on the Pixel 4a. [...] Oversaturation, overall unnatural look The Pixel 4a has a Sony IMX 363 sensor, 12MP, 1/2.55" in size, 1.4µm pixel size, f/1.7 The FP6 has a Sony LYT-700C, 50MP, 1/1.56" in size, 1.0µm pixel size, f/1.56 By these numbers alone, the FP6 should take better pictures. [...] Also, I think the forum scales the pictures, but it’s really not important, as the included crops illustrate the lower detail in FP6 pictures compared to the Pixel 4a. [...] FP6 50MP: IMG202603291827270531920×2560 2.57 MB FP6 12MP: IMG202603291827166641920×2560 2.61 MB FP6 GCam, nicer sky, overall better contrast: PXL202603291827316971920×2560 2.43 MB Pixel 4a: PXL202603291627000191920×2560 2.49 MB Here’s a crop of the top left corner. [...] But you can download and zoom into any part of the picture and while

I did a lot of research in this field and additionally in audiobooks. [...] For 60 bucks it is a remarkable non Android device (in fact it is buildroot based with a publicly available toolchain and a modding community). I have to prepare for my iPod nano collection slowly dying over the next years. I also use an old Android GrapheneOS phone (Pixel 4a) along with some apps as a backup: Substreamer APP (cross platform) DSub Navidrome (Backend) Audiobookshelf (Backend) Prologue (iOS) Voice (Android, Paul Woitaschek) Navidrome backend even supports smart playlists while Substreamer App supports Offline Sync, this is very handy to use. [...] Obtaining Audio CDs (cheap, high quality) 2. [...] use a shell script to download to USB for my old car without Bluetooth Works pretty well and after the ripping step pretty much full auto. [...]

[...] Pixel wars are well over as proven that camera modules with less megapixels can produce better quality photos then newest chips. Its all depends how optimised the software is these days and like I said above Fairphone cannot compete with them on that matter. [...] I’ve owned Motorola’s pixels and other brand phones and find fairphone enough for what I use it for. Which is mostly browsing web, taking some photos for work and personal interests, video chat with friends and family, writing emails and occasional game session on the cloud. [...] I think as in past I had to splash some cash on costly screen repairs in third party shops that crippled the functionality of a phone afterwards, so having an option that you can do it yourself is a bonus. [...] As long as software end would be optimised as well. Did anyone of you tried third party camera apps for comparison? Like open camera app from f-droid store?

My experience with Google hardware is that they shipped an update for Pixel 4a that crippled the battery. In Australia, they announced a safety recall due to a discovered battery safety issue, but in the rest of the world, it seems they wanted to save money by crippling people's phones of their own volition without much explanation. But no worries, they're offering 3 methods of compensation: free battery replacement to restore it, $50 cash, or $100 credit for another Google phone. I went to redeem my compensation - free battery replacement unavailable in your country, $100 credit unavailable in your country. [...] In effect it's as if they hacked into my phone and installed a virus that cripples the battery and there's nothing I can do about it, like this is just a normal way to do business now. [...]

[...] The Pixel 4a was the perfect phone for me: Light, screen exactly the right size to navigate with a single thumb whilst holding the phone in one hand, enough battery life, small enough to fit in my jean pockets comfortably. [...]

[...] Last year they ruined my Pixel 4a by pushing that battery patch to everyone (even to end of life devices). Their official repair center replaced the battery as per Google's guidelines and offer but during the battery swap they managed to physically break other parts of the phone over the course of multiple visits. Each visit broke a new component. [...]

[...] There's no input delay when typing or performance related nonsense that bugs me all day. [...] I have no lag when I'm editing 1080p videos even with a 4k display showing a very wide timeline. I also record my screen with OBS to make screencasts with a webcam and have live streamed without perceivable dropped frames, all while running programming workloads in the background. [...] ======== PHONE ======== I had a Pixel 4a until Google busted the battery. [...] The camera was great. I recently upgraded to a Pixel 9a because the repair center who broke my 4a in a number of ways gave me $350 and the 9a was $400 a few months ago. It also runs everything well and the camera is great. [...] It even has the same storage space of which I have around 50% space left with around 4,500 photos saved locally. [...] I use it every day and for most tasks I feel no real difference vs my machine. [...]

The iPhone 17 is the same price as the Pixel 10 I mean, flagship vs flagship idk if one has ever been significantly cheaper, but I've never been in the market for those either. It's very easy to get a higher priced, more interesting, highly specced Android phone. Both iPhones and flagship android phones are way too expensive for what they are capable of compared to any of their own prior generations of themselves, if you ignore tech specs and consider the tangible end-user functionality, but even still. [...] For that, last time I got a brand new Pixel 7 on sale, Pixel 4a, Nexus 5 etc.. [...] iPhones are just iPhones, bigger or smaller, more expensive or cheaper, big camera plateau or small, and that's all fine too. [...]

So here's a fun story on how Google completely ruined my Pixel 4a and will not help resolve it over the last 7 months. In January 2025, Google pushed an emergency Android update to Pixel 4 devices which completely killed the battery's life. They offered an extended warranty to get the battery replaced at any official Google repair center for free. They claimed a new battery would resolve the issue and your battery would drain at a normal rate. [...] --- VISIT 1: I went to their official repair center and they swapped the battery. [...] The new battery was put in and it did help but it still drained faster than pre-any updates. However it was usable from a battery life perspective. After the repair I noticed my phone's display stopped turning on when I picked up and angled the phone towards me. I also noticed that more often than not if I got any type of notification (even an incoming call) the display would not turn on. Lastly, my phone would not unlock normally. Normally I would flick the bottom of the screen with my thumb maybe 1 inch and it would turn on and prompt me for my pin. [...] They replaced the display of the phone and it made little difference. [...] The owner of the store told me it's unfortunately common for this to get damaged during a battery replacement. [...]

Oh goodie. My 6a has had terrible battery life (and actually overheated about a month and a half ago while charging) yet my phone doesn't qualify for the replacement for whatever reason. This is my 3rd google phone in a row with issues: Nexus 6p - Had to have the battery replaced and then inexplicitly died, dead to the world Pixel 4a - Similar battery issues + a screen that physically fell out of the phone Pixel 6a - Battery woes BEFORE this update in the near future

This might be a minority experience but I used to use the Pixel 4a with the reader on the back and now the Pixel 8a with reader inside the display and I find the fingerprint reader of the 8a marginally faster and much more reliable. From an UX perspective I also find it slightly more practical on the front so I can unlock the phone without picking it up.

[...] I tried the dongle approach when the jack in my pixel 4a was failing but found I didn't like it. Having the cable go out the bottom in the center is a terrible place for me, as I rest my phone on my outstretched pinky. [...] Great chipset, solid build, a form factor fitting my tiny hands(though in retrospect it's so heavy that my pinky hurts after a couple hours of reading). And a headphone jack which I use to plug my phone in my stereo and my Sennheiser headphones. [...]

I installed GrapheneOS on a spare Pixel 4a recently...through a browser window. I thought at first that I had to download a firmware flasher or something, but no, it updated the device from that webpage! [...] Yes, we are far, far away from PWAs being a complete replacement. [...]

Google has forcefully updated everyone's Pixel 4a with their new battery of death update, which destroys the phone's battery life to near zero. [...] Google is not compensating as they said they would be Here is my experience where they permanently destroyed my phone and offered no help: Here is a recent Hacker News post about the battery update: All Pixel 4a factory images have been wiped (except the battery of death): Note: This has not been officially confirmed by Google yet, but with the Pixel 4a battery update fiasco that kills the battery, it may be true and this was not supposed to be leaked. [...]

My files on my Pixel 4a are very important, and the battery barely lasts so even upgrading wouldn't work, it will surely mess up, and I am scared to lose or screw anything up with the phone. [...] Luckily the news sites now are talking about how the update made the phone bust and Google has no batteries right now. If someone can post this on the pixel4a and GooglePixel subreddit on Reddit I would be grateful as reddit is thinking I am a bot. [...]

I wish I could still use my Pixel 4a but the battery is pretty much dead and it's too much money to replace it

Planed obsolescence is such bullshit my phone's battery is dying after this update and and I tried to get it replaced in November but they broke the phone and couldn't replace the battery so they just gave me a replacement pixel 4A which battery is now going bad fantastic.

[...] Had a Pixel 4a, 5a, and currently using a 6a. But, the 6a felt like a downgrade compared to the 5a and has been having issues with the battery, and it only uses Gorilla Glass 3. Which I've had break on the 5a. [...]

[...] They're doing it for more practical reasons, like the phone getting slow, the battery wearing out, or wanting a better camera. I did this just last year because my Pixel 4a stopped getting security updates and some app I needed to use for work (I think Duo?) refused to install or run because of it. [...] I'm on a Pixel 8 now which is supposed to have 7 years of security updates, and I don't see myself replacing it until then.

[...] But it seems that: The Fairphone 6 Camera (com.fps.camera) is closed source All the noise reduction and smudging probably happens somewhere in the Qualcomm or TCT (TCL Alcatel) binary blobs anyway. [...] I’m trying to find an android camera app that allows setting NOISEREDUCTIONMODE somewhere explicitly, just to see if it makes any difference - if the binary blobs even support the option. [...] I managed to take some of the best photos so far (at least with regard to colors, not resolution) using FreeDCam, but it just requires way too much fiddling around. [...] I didn’t mention it before, but I also compared the Pixel 4a to the Pixel 9a, and in my opinion, the Pixel 4a takes better pictures than the 9a. In fact, the photos taken on 9a vs. [...] And if you start googling, it seems like iPhone and Android users have the same complaints: that older smartphones take better pictures. Probably a combination of Instagrammification (“popping colors”, read: oversaturation), megapixel-craze (higher pixel-density isn’t always good, and 50MP on a phone is ridiculous anyway - the FP6’s blurry pictures shows it), and overall over-reliance on software. [...]

I've had to turn off a lot of features. On my pixel 4a, I had to turn off a "call 911" feature that I think was initiated by shaking the phone. I took a couple of walks with the phone in my front pocket, and the movement from my leg called 911 (which I would only find out when the police would call me back to ask if everything is OK).

I upgraded from a Pixel 4a (running Calyxos) to a 8a, only because at some point Whatsapp videos broke on the 4a and friends got videos with some green encoding. [...] I could use the 4a with one hand comfortably, but that is not the case with the 8a. My thumb does not reach the top of the screen like before. [...] Camera is better. [...]

My experience was kid dropped my old phone on holiday, we tried to remember why my spouse's old phone got replaced, and remembered she had a pixel 4a and the battery life had gotten really poor. There was some news at the time that the 4a would be getting a 'battery performance update' and that it would result in some users getting a warning about their battery performing poorly and some would be eligible for $50 or a repair. When I eventually got around to prepping the phone for the kid, lo and behold, the update was ready, I did it, and the battery was bad, and it linked me to the battery performance campaign page... [...] I brought it in and they swapped the battery in about 2 hours with no extra drama. I don't know why you would throw your phone out from this update... Although I wouldn't be surprised if you had already thrown it out because the battery performance was an issue before the update too.

My Pixel 4a is not feeling well. I have already replaced the battery and USB port once. [...] As I am very pleased with my phone, and I wanted to hold on to it. But I think it is time for a replacement. [...]

I've considered this before, but the short software support timeframe given by device manufacturers makes this a costly endeavour. [...] I have a pixel 4a, and although it works beautifully running a supported version of lineage it's very likely that the modem baseband has a significant vulnerability that Google isn't patching. I don't think running banking or crypto wallet software on those devices is any smarter than running it on my daily driver pixel 8.

Google have burnt me twice by abandoning phones… first was Nexus 4, next was Pixel 4a Both were abandoned within two years of me buying… never buying a phone from Google again

I did! As much as I could as someone who can't stand iOS, anyway. I used the Pixel 1 and then the Pixel 4a, for 4 years each.

My last pixel (4a) started falling apart after about a year and a half. [...]

I’ve got a Pixel 4a… released August 2020, discontinued in Jan 2022 and updates stopped in Aug 2023 Perfectly good phone but Google just abandoned it why would I ever buy another phone from them again

I've been using a Google Pixel 4A for 7 years and love it. Camera is super good especially for being that old. Will probably upgrade to an 11 this year

Well, I bought that Pixel 4a with that idea. [...] But the 4a started having battery issues after about a year and it got worse and worse. When they pulled support for it (meaning: no updates), it was time for a new one. [...]

Even Google abandon perfectly good devices Pixel 4a… launched August 2020 abandoned August 2023 I mainly use it as a test phone these days but it’s still a perfectly good phone just reluctant to use as a daily driver due to lack of updates

I’ve got a Pixel 4a as a second phone just for work… it’s a perfectly fine phone I’ve stopped using it because Google abandoned it after 18 months There are plenty of Android phones out there that are usable but get abandoned by the makers

The most exciting thing for me about this phone is the physical size. It's not a "phablet" like every other phone these days, it's basically Nexus 4 sized (perfect size for my big hands) which means easy one-handed use. Not sure if I will actually get one since my Pixel 4a 5g (w/ LineageOS + microG) is still going strong, but I will admit that I'm tempted by this.

My Pixel 4a would also still be fine. If Google had not killed the battery. I think by now Google has asked (=paid) people to swap batteries on at least 3 different Pixel phones.

That's why I had kept my pixel 4a for years until is finally kicked the bucket 2 years ago. [...] I worry this will kill off the still-decent battery life, as has happened with my OG Pixel. [...]

Yep, same boat. That's why I had kept my pixel 4a for years until is finally kicked the bucket 2 years ago.

[...] I am also using a used Pixel 4a which I got from eBay. Still has good battery. [...]

I dived into a niche world of small phones recently while looking for replacement to malfunctioning Pixel 4a (which is apparently now considered compact phone). There's a few small manufacturers in China making some, with 4 inch or 5 inch screen, like Aiphor or Unihertz. [...]

I had a Pixel 4a until I got a 10 a few months ago... they had a couple updates even after support officially ended.

After the battery problems that the Pixel 4a, 6a, and 7a have had, I'll stick to the regular Pixel phones (well - who knows far this sideloading clampdown will go). I know people have had battery problems with non-a Pixel phones, but the number of 'a' phones with battery problems caused Google to publicly respond.

Apple is miles ahead of Android when it comes to phones and tablets Eh, I had to use a variety of iPhones for work recently, don't remember which models, from probably the last 7 years though, and they really felt limited and frustrating on the software side. My already years old Pixel 7 feels miles ahead, and so did my Pixel 4a, even with the worse hardware of the latter. [...]

[...] Coupled with the recent "mandatory" (read: forced) upgrade of my Pixel 4a, I get the impression Google's attitude towards phones has become equivalent to Apple's: namely, the illusion of choice. Since there are no viable alternatives, I guess it's time to go back to owning a cheap corporate/government approved phone for official business (i.e. [...]