With Google all set to unveil it’s Pixel 4a, they’re about to embark on a budget-smartphone arms race with Apple. The previous year’s Pixel 3a’s sibling aims to dethrone Apple’s iPhone SE 2020 in just a matter of a few months. 

But the iPhone isn’t just every other smartphone to kneel without a fight. It has some strong features which rival the Pixel. And subsequently, the Pixel isn’t the one to get intimidated by the iPhone. It also has a few tricks up its sleeve which just makes the Pixel a better phone. 

That leaves us, the consumers, with a dilemma. Which phone should we buy? Should we consider Apple’s offering or Google’s? And why is the Pixel a better offering than the iPhone? Read on as we reveal the answers further down the article.

What’s Common?

The chief commonality between these two is the price point. While Apple has already released the iPhone SE in $399, Google, following the Pixel 3a’s footsteps, is also rumored to release the phone at $399. But as Google hasn’t announced the official release date and price of the Pixel, that might be subject to a change.

Aside from the price, they share almost similar form factors. Both are designed to be small, compact, and lightweight. Hence, using them with a single-hand wouldn’t be a huge problem. 

What’s different?

On the front, the iPhone possesses outdated design with clunky bezels whilst the Pixel boasts the modern bezel-less display with a punch-hole camera, almost making it a full-screen device. Talking about the screen, there too, Google’s offering outshines the iPhone with its 1080p OLED panel compared to Iphone’s 1334×750 LCD panel.

In the camera department, the iPhone SE keeps the Iphone’s 8 sensor. And although the newer processor improves the image processing slightly, it’s no match to the Pixel 4a, which has the Pixel 4’s camera sensor. 

Besides display and camera, they both have differently placed fingerprint scanners. Google retains its back placed fingerprint scanner from the pixel 3a while the iPhone houses it in the front. Both should be fast, reliable, and accurate. I personally prefer the former because of its intuitiveness and ease of use. But that’s just my personal opinion.

Another area where the Pixel excels over the iPhone is the headphone jack. Yes folks, Pixel 4a has the nearly extinct once-ubiquitous headphone jack. Bet you didn’t guess that one. 

However, Apple has one competitive advantage over Google, its secret sauce, its magic potion, the A13 bionic. The A13 is the same processor that powers Apple’s flagship iPhone 11 line-up. And it’s arguably the fastest smartphone processor out there. Google offers a little less on raw processing power with Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 730.

Why should you consider the Pixel 4a over the iPhone SE 2020?

Now let’s tackle the main question. Why is the Pixel 4a a better smartphone?

Let’s be honest. If there’s any hardware on a smartphone with which we interact the most, it’s the display. Be it media consumption, web browsing, and social-media surfing, the quality of a smartphone’s screen has a huge effect on our experience. 

Adding to that, in an era where almost everyone is shifting to no-bezel, fullscreen display smartphones, you don’t want to be stuck with an outdated, huge-bezeled device. And that’s exactly what Apple’s offering is, an outdated, half-screen half-bezels device.  

With a punch-hole camera upfront, the Pixel 4a isn’t exactly a fullscreen. But it’s miles ahead compared to apple. The display resolution, hardware (OLED vs LCD), and clean bezel-less immersive experience that the pixel provides is no match for the iPhone.

You might argue that the Iphone’s superfast processor makes up for its other caveats. However, that’s only for a minority of people, namely hardcore gamers. For everyone else, the snapdragon 730 that Google offers is enough. Day to day usage, taking pictures and gaming casually would be no hassle for the snapdragon. 

And even with hardcore gamers, the small size and huge bezels of the iPhone leave more to be expected. 

The pixel also claims superiority on the camera side. Albeit the SE has a good enough camera, the 4a is just better. Bringing in it’s older brother Pixel 4’s sensor and image processing algorithm, the pictures taken from the 4a are expected to be sharper, color-accurate, and nice-looking. And who doesn’t want to take better photos?

Another minor thing where the Pixel has an edge is the headphone jack. Although the western world is moving away from the “Older-generation” wire technology, people in the Asian region might find it a dealbreaker. For them, not having a headphone jack isn’t just a minor inconsistency but a major flaw. And even for people who have ditched wired headphones, having a headphone jack comes of use more often than not. 

Conclusion

In the end, everything depends upon you, the end consumer. If you’re an age-old iPhone user, you might find switching to android a bit difficult and vice versa. Both of these operating systems are equally good and you can’t go wrong with any. 

If a faster processor is what you wish for, go for the iPhone. But if you wish to buy an overall better smartphone, the 4a is just a superior offering, period.