With Google Pixel 4A releasing in India on 16th October at a special price of Rs 29,999 (Rs 31,999 original price), the Pixel 4A will turn some heads but a competitor is already blocking some roads for the Pixel. The OnePlus Nord to be precise. So will Pixel be able to break the blockade? Let’s have a look.
Pixel 4A vs Oneplus: Design & Display
Let’s talk about the display first. The Nord has a 6.44-inch Full HD+ Fluid AMOLED Display with a screen resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels. The phone comes with a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz screen sampling rate. The Pixel, on the other hand, has a 5.81-inch Full HD+ OLED display with a screen resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels, 443ppi pixel density, HDR support and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Talking about Size first, the Nord obviously has a bigger display which will give you a more immersive experience than the 4A. Both have a punch-hole camera on the top-left front. But if you want mid-sized smartphone Pixel will fit the bill.
Secondly, the OnePlus Nord has a 90Hz display which will give you a much smoother experience than the 60Hz display on Pixel 4A. This is coming from a person who has used both 60Hz and 90Hz displays, and the difference between the smoothness is good. Definitely, the OnePlus Nord takes the lead here in the display segment.
Talking about Design, where the Pixel 4A is completely made of plastic and there’s glass only on the front, the Nord should give you much more premium feel even though it has a plastic frame too, but on the rear, the device has glass. This might not be a deal-breaker for some people because they won’t mind the build quality, and glass also tends to attract a lot of fingerprints. But if you want a more premium feel, Nord is for you. Nord is available in 2 colours which are Blue and Grey, whereas the Pixel 4A is available only in Black.
Pixel 4A vs OnePlus Nord: Performance
Performance is an aspect which most people consider before buying a phone. As a consumer myself, the first thing I look in a device is what Processor is powering it. The Pixel 4A here is powered by the Snapdragon 730G with Adreno 618 GPU. The Nord on the other hand has the Snapdragon 765 5G processor along with Adreno 620 GPU. Nord also comes with 5G, but the 5G future in India is at least 3-4 years away so this aspect can be ignored.
Coming to the performance, it is not always dependent on the processor, but also how the company has optimized the software. The Pixel 4A runs Stock Android straight from Google, No Skins, no Bloatware. On the other hand, the Nord Runs on OxygenOS based on Android 10, and is pretty close to Stock Android, a characteristic which OnePlus is losing with its OOS 11.
OnePlus phones are known to be smooth and fast and OnePlus has never disappointed consumers in terms of performance. bUt there is a catch, OnePlus smartphones have a lot of issues when they are launched they perform best only after 3-4 months of launch when they get stable updates.
On the other hand, Pixel has a history of not ageing well where the device does tend to slow down after almost a year of use. This might not necessarily be true for the Pixel 4A, but the history of the devices from the same company always speak for the upcoming one.
If we talk about updates, currently there’s no word as to when the Nord will receive Android 11. But if updates are a matter of concern for you and you want to be on the latest version of Android before anyone else, Pixel is the one to go for as the Pixel devices are always the first ones to receive the new updates with 3 years of major OS updates.
Let’s talk about RAM. More RAM means more apps are kept in memory which means faster loading of apps and hence, better performance. The Nord comes with 3 variants which are 6GB/64GB, 8GB/128GB and whopping 12GB/256GB. The 4A on the other hand has just a single variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of Storage.
Pixel 4A vs onePlus Nord: Cameras
Cameras are a department for which the Pixels have made a name for themselves. Pixels are known to beat iPhones and every other phone in the industry with its cameras especially for still photography. Google optimizes the software so well for the cameras, that even if both the devices have the same sensor, the pictures on the Pixel will look better.
But will the Pixel 4A continue the legacy of its predecessors, we are yet to see because the device only has a single 12.2MP primary sensor on the back. The Nord on the other hand has a quad-camera setup with a combination of a 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 sensor with f/1.75 aperture, OIS, 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, 5-megapixel sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. Here one thing must be kept in mind, Mobile photography is more about software optimization than Pixel count.
On the front, we have a single 8MP camera on the Pixel 4a whereas Dual Cameras on the Nord which include a 32MP Sony IMX616 primary sensor as the main shooter and an 8MP ultra-wide angle sensor for wider selfies.
Nord has pixel numbers and Sensors on its side but Pixel has a proven legacy behind it. In the end, everything will boil down to output.
Pixel 4A Battery
Battery life is a thing which everyone is concerned about. Everyone needs more battery and wants their phones to last at least a whole day as the regular daily tasks are becoming heavy as we progress. The OnePlus Nord is backed by a 4000mAh battery and it comes with Wrap Charge 30T 30W Fast charging support. The Pixel 4A is backed up by a 3140mAh battery with 18W fast charging.
We cannot comment on battery life on either of the phones yet because it depends on the usage of a particular person. Also, as the Nord has a 90Hz 6.44-inch display, it needs more battery. A bigger battery means it needs faster charging to charge quickly.
On the other hand, we have a bit smaller display on the Pixel 4A which is just 60Hz, meaning even if it has a smaller battery, the device should last you long enough as the device is not much power-hungry. And a smaller battery means that the device will charge quickly enough even with 18W fast charging.
Battery Life of a device is based upon a lot of aspects, like the number of apps installed, how much time the screen is ON, and various usage scenarios which vary with every single person.
Pixel 4A Price
As an Indian consumer, we always look for the price of the product which should be reasonable and like any other person, we want the best value for our hard-earned money. So let’s talk about price.
The Pixel 4A is priced at Rs 31,999 for the sole 6GB/128GB variant but will be available at a special introductory price of Rs 29,999 for a limited period of time through Flipkart. The OnePlus Nord on the other hand is priced at Rs 24,999 for 6GB/64GB variant, Rs 27,999 for Rs 8GB/128GB variant and Rs 29,999 for 12GB/256GB variant.
Even though we await a lot of things for the Pixel 4A such as the camera samples, performance, battery life, etc, we can say that the OnePlus Nord is better on paper. All the 3 variants of the Nord are priced less than the Pixel 4A.
The Nord has a better display, more RAM, more storage, more cameras, better processor and better performance than the Pixel. The only positives we see for the Pixel here are quick updates and the cameras which are still not confirmed to perform better than Nord’s.
So to answer the question in the title, in the head-on comparison Pixel is struggling but maybe consumers buying behaviour might surprise us. Remember when Pixel 4a was launched a lot of people were expecting it to be priced at around Rs 40,000 in India.