Google Announces Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a 5G (blog.google) 52
Google today unveiled two Pixel smartphones. First is the $349 Pixel 4A, which is available for preorder now and will ship on August 20th. And second, there's the Pixel 4A 5G, which will cost $499 and also ship sometime this fall. From a blog post: With the same incredible camera experiences from Pixel 4 and a redesigned hole-punch design, Pixel 4a brings the same features that have helped millions of Pixel owners take great shots. HDR+ with dual exposure controls, Portrait Mode, Top Shot, Night Sight with astrophotography capabilities and fused video stabilization -- they're all there. The Pixel 4a comes in Just Black with a 5.8-inch OLED display. It has a matte finish that feels secure and comfortable in your hand and includes Pixel's signature color pop power button in mint. Check out the custom wallpapers that have some fun with the punch-hole camera. In addition to features like Recorder, which now connects with Google Docs to seamlessly save and share transcriptions and recordings (English only), Pixel 4a will include helpful experiences like the Personal Safety app for real-time emergency notifications and car crash detection.
Pixel 4a also has Live Caption, which provides real-time captioning (English only) for your video and audio content. New with the Pixel 4a launch -- and also rolling out for Pixel 2, 3, 3a and 4 phones -- Live Caption will now automatically caption your voice and video calls. The Pixel 4a has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Mobile Platform, Titan M security module for on-device security, 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage with an even bigger battery that lasts all day1. [...] This fall, we'll have two more devices to talk about: the Pixel 4a (5G), starting at $499, and Pixel 5, both with 5G2 to make streaming videos, downloading content and playing games on Stadia or other platforms faster and smoother than ever. Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 will be available in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and Australia. In the coming months, we'll share more about these devices and our approach to 5G.
Pixel 4a also has Live Caption, which provides real-time captioning (English only) for your video and audio content. New with the Pixel 4a launch -- and also rolling out for Pixel 2, 3, 3a and 4 phones -- Live Caption will now automatically caption your voice and video calls. The Pixel 4a has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Mobile Platform, Titan M security module for on-device security, 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage with an even bigger battery that lasts all day1. [...] This fall, we'll have two more devices to talk about: the Pixel 4a (5G), starting at $499, and Pixel 5, both with 5G2 to make streaming videos, downloading content and playing games on Stadia or other platforms faster and smoother than ever. Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 will be available in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and Australia. In the coming months, we'll share more about these devices and our approach to 5G.
These are not phones! (Score:3)
I wish people would stop calling these smart phones. But call them Smart Camera's, or Ultra Portable PC's.
In terms of making a phone call I am no better today then I was 12 years ago with my original iPhone. There has been little to no advancements in telephone usage. But the Camera has been improving in nearly all the models by leaps and bounds, as well performance improvements in graphics, and processing speed.
But on today's devices, the Phone feature seems like an afterthought bolt on feature.
It is lik
Re:These are not phones! (Score:5, Insightful)
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Compared to the old PDAs the following are big difference on why I believe they had failed.
* The PDA's didn't have wireless internet. And relied on having a computer to sync the data back and forth. This alone had relegated them to mostly just toys. Because such features cpi;d just as easily been done via a paper.
* Lack of multi-tough: a stylus was needed, and often just finger presses. Limited what you could do on these devices. Nearly every action required focus and accuracy.
* Bad screens. B&W LC
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I'll wait for the Pixel 5. No wireless charging, no large screen option... Also it's £350 in the UK, maybe I can get it cheaper in Europe before brexit kicks in.
Re:These are not phones! (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll wait for the Pixel 5. No wireless charging, no large screen option... Also it's £350 in the UK, maybe I can get it cheaper in Europe before brexit kicks in.
I too am waiting for the Pixel 5, but only if it has a fingerprint scanner (ideally a nice fast and reliable scanner on the back, I don't want to have to press on the screen every time I unlock the phone and in-display scanners tend to be worse than dedicated scanners).
The 4 features that are dealbreakers:
1. Fingerprint scanner
2. Wireless Charging
3. USB-C charging (have heard that some phones will be going completely port free)
4. Pure android, I'd have switched to Samsung Galaxy long ago, but don't want their Touchwiz UI (or whatever they're calling it these days)
Some things I'd like to have but are hard to find:
1. Headphone port
2. MicroSD slot
3. Three day (or more) battery life
One thing I don't want is a bezel-less phone, I'll gladly give up a few mm of screen real estate to have more protection on the sides and fewer unwanted touchscreen presses.
And I'd be happy to have some extra weight and thickness for a more substantial battery.
I don't really care about 5G at this point, 90% of my phone use is on Wifi anyway. And unless carriers dramatically increase data caps for affordable plans, faster network speed just means that I'll hit my cap sooner.
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I'd add
5. Fantastic camera
Which all the Pixel phones nail. It's the main reason why I won't get a OnePlus. Something like the OnePlus 8 ticks almost all the boxes but the camera is the weak point.
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I'm using a number of devices which have most - but not all - of those features you list, and have had them for years. The crux is that point 4 - Pure Android - takes some user intervention since this involves the installation of an AOSP-derived distribution like Lineage or (earlier in life) Cyanogenmod. Going from oldest to newest, the Motorola Defy (2011) and Samsung SIII (2012) satisfy point 4 (Pure Android), 1 (headphone), 2 (SD) and 3 (battery). The Xiaomi Redmi note 5 does 1,4,1,2 and 3. With a batter
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In other words, most of these things have been possible for many years now if you're willing to put in some effort. Lineage has OTA updates so maintenance is easy.
I'm not willing to put in that effort any more. Maybe a decade or 2 ago, but in my day job I support thousand of computers, the last thing I want to do is do IT support for my own phone, if it breaks I want the manufacturer to replace it, no questions asked about what software it's running or whether or not some software update broke it.
Besides, my work doesn't allow rooted devices to be used for email or other work related tasks.
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Pixel phones (including the older ones) just got realtime transcription for phone calls too. That's a pretty big deal, and not just for those who are hard of hearing.
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What advancements in telephone usage are you seeking? I pick up the device, dial a number, and the call goes through.
To use the dreaded car analogy, your comment seems along the lines of "there has been little to no advancements in brake usage...on today's cars, the brake seems like an afterthought bolt-on feature." Sure, it's a necessary feature in something
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The same is true with telephony. There are lots of advancements that have happened in the underlying technology (adding microphones for noise ca
Re:These are not phones! (Score:5, Insightful)
In terms of making a phone call I am no better today then I was 12 years ago with my original iPhone. There has been little to no advancements in telephone usage.
My Google Pixel XL -- now three years old, released about four years ago -- automatically flags potential spam calls as they come in and can even send them straight to voicemail without ringing the handset. I can't remember the last time I even saw or answered a spam call on my phone. And about a year ago it got call screening with real-time on-screen transcription, which has helped distinguish [legit] robocalls from human callers. Maybe Apple is lagging but there have definitely been improvements on the core phone functionality in cell phones.
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I wish people would stop calling these smart phones.
It's a phone that's smart. Not a smarter phone. Hope that helps.
Re:3.5M jack? usb-c? simslot? yes,yes,no (Score:2)
https://www.androidcentral.com... [androidcentral.com]
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USB-C is a given for 2020.
The micro-SD card slot is very nice to have, because if the phone doesn't have one then you're paying outrageous Apple-level prices for more internal storage if you care about that sort of thing. Looks like the Pixel 4a doesn't have one though so you're stuck with 128 GB (the only option?).
3.5 mm headphone jack is necessary if you like listening to music, don't want to futz around with dongles, or want to be able to listen and charge at the same time. Looks like the Pixel 4a has
Now with new spyware (Score:2)
In addition to features like Recorder, which now connects with Google Docs to seamlessly save and share transcriptions and recordings (English only),
Now with brand new excuse to send your recordings to google HQ, and a dozen menus to disable it if it is even possible at all. To HELP you!
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90% of Slashdot comments nowadays.
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Slashdot is just so full of hate of anything any company does. Any remotely positive comment is accused of being a corporate shill.
Fingerprint scanner is back (Score:1)
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The 3 has a finger print sensor, it was the 4 that dropped it.
I'm guessing it's a pretty popular feature, given that it's absence only lasted a single phone model ( hence it was remarkably stupid to remove it ).
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Punch out = bleh (Score:2)
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I agree. They could have made the top and bottom only a couple mm wider, like on this year's Sony Xperia phones and it wouldn't have bothered anyone. That would also have allowed them to square the corners.
I would have chosen a Pixel 3a with this years' guts over this design had it been available (but I'll probably buy it anyway).
Another issue is one-handed use: for which you'd buy a phone in this size for. But you would also need to be able to reach the top and bottom of the screen with your thumb -- and
If you're going to buy an android phone (Score:4, Informative)
The Pixels are pretty much the best of the best.
They make $1000 samsungs look like the overpriced, adware loaded junk they are.
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Maybe so. But I'm looking for a good phone that has an interchangeable battery. I really hate the current smartphone status-quo that the devices are completely locked up and you can't even replace the battery. You can send it to a phone repair shop to do that, but more often than not this will break something in the phone, like dead spots in the display or camera issues, because the devices are simply not designed to be opened after manufacturing.
We really have to stop this throwaway culture of discarding a
Nexus (Score:2)
I was so glad they started bringing the Nexus back with the "a" series Pixels.
Still no removable storage, but with 128gb in base model, I'm not as worried about that (but I'd still prefer it).
But it has a plastic body and a headphone jack! And 3 years guaranteed updates. And a great camera.
128 GB is too low (Score:1)
Still no removable storage, but with 128gb in base model, I'm not as worried about that (but I'd still prefer it).
I have a 512 GB iPhone 11 Pro Max, and have been bumping Into even that limit recently - primarily from photos/video.
You just can't produce a phone that can take 4k 60FPS video and sell it with such a small storage base (though in fairness the lowest iPhone 11 tier is I think 64 GB which is even way too lower! But at least you can go higher.).
Does it even have a way to add more storage? I wen
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At least on my Pixel 3, I get unlimited full resolution storage of my photos and videos on Google Photos, so they are always being backed up. I don't need them all on my phone all the time. I can't remember how much storage I have, but I have never hit it ~2 years in.
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At least on my Pixel 3, I get unlimited full resolution storage of my photos and videos on Google Photos, so they are always being backed up.
Yes I also do the same thing with iCloud but even with that I am bumping up on space.
I'd still back up that photo data if I were you just in case....
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Backing up 4K video to the cloud is a fantastic way to boost your data provider's profits.
Shit, I don't take 4k video on my proper camera because of storage constraints and I swap out 128GB SD cards on that.
Re: 128 GB is too low (Score:1)
Another versiohn of the GooGooGaGa POS (Score:1)
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Maybe you should have got a Google Pixel instead of a cheap knockoff then.
Non-PRC Manufacturing? (Score:2)
Good. Another Android Without Samsung (Score:2)
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No Pixel 4a XL (Score:1)