Google officially announces the $599 Pixel 4a, coming in one size and one colour

Last year Google made their first first-party foray into the affordable phone market, and they launched a device with almost no compromises, the Pixel 3a. Now they’re back with this years follow-up device, the Pixel 4a, and it’s bringing the same low compromise approach.

Officially announced today and available for pre-order now with delivery and online sales starting 10 September, and the price…. AU$599. So what has Google packed into their 2020 affordable device?

Before we dive into the specs it’s worth acknowledging that this device was originally intended to launch in May this year. Between COVID-19 and the social unease in the USA Google decided to hold it’s launch, so keep that in mind when looking at the launch date and it’s proximity to other devices.

The Pixel 4a will come in only one size as rumoured, a 5.81-inch FHD+ OLED hole punch display. Under the hood there’s a Snapdragon 730G paired with 6GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. The 4a includes 18W fast charging via USB-C and does NOT include Wireless Charging.

The single rear camera is a 12.2 MP f/1.7 sensor and will be powered by Google’s computational photography. Many camera features from the Pixel 4 are making their way into the Pixel 4a including: Night Sight with astrophotography, Live HD+, portrait blur and Super Res Zoom.

The Pixel 4a will once again be using a Polycarbonate unibody for the outer shell, and a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen. Check out the rest of the specs below:

Of course it’s not just camera features that have made their way into the Pixel 4a, Google will also be bringing some of their other features to the affordable market. Features include: Live Caption and a new feature Live Caption for Calls.

Live Caption for Calls will provide real time on-device captions to any phone calls, video calls, and calls made through apps such as Google Duo. It can be activated before starting a call or part way through.

The recorder app launched with the Pixel 4 is also coming down to the 4a with it’s on device ML powered fully-transcribed, fully-searchable and automatically-indexing and tagging features it’s a fantastic addition to the mid range.

Overall this is an impressive overall package on paper, and if it meets or exceeds the performance and reliability of the Pixel 3a then at $599 Google may have just brought the best upper mid range Android Phone onto the market.

Pixel 4a is now available for pre-order in Australia on the Google Store and at JB Hi Fi, Vodafone and Harvey Norman. It will be on-sale online from September 10 at those partners and Officeworks, and in store from mid-October.