Google Pixel 4a benchmarks leaked — and they're destroyed by iPhone SE

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Google Pixel 4a will have solid performance but can't beat Apple's budget phone

Google Pixel 4a
(Image credit: Future)

There appears to be no stopping the Google Pixel 4a leaks, with the latest giving a better picture of the phone’s performance with its medium-tier Qualcomm chip. 

The new leak comes courtesy of YouTube channel TechnoLike Plus, which previously leaked the Pixel 4A’s photography performance, and has now put Google’s next phone through its paces. This includes going through a series of benchmark tests and even running emulators of old Nintendo Gamecube titles on the phone.

With its Snapdragon 730 chipset, the Pixel 4a managed a score of 268,973 in the AnTuTu benchmark, which beats the old Pixel 3a XL but is way behind the 441,752 that our iPhone SE scored. And it’s the same story for other benchmarks, with the Pixel 4a managing a score of 8,867 in the PCMark tests, and a score of 6 in the GFXBechmark running the Aztec Ruins OpenGL1440p test, both of which lag behind the more powerful Pixel 4 flagships. 

In the Geekbench 4 single-core test, the Pixel 4a got a score of 548 and managed a 1,628 for the multi-core score. And a suite of other tests showed that the Pixel 4a is a solid performer.

It's worth noting that the tests are likely on an engineering sample of the Pixel 4a, so the performance of the final retail phone might differ slightly from the final product.

In our tests, the iPhone SE scored 3,226 on the multi-core test and 1,337 in the single-core test in Geekbench 5. While Geekbech 4 and Geekbench 5 use a different scoring system, we know that Apple's A13 chip beats Android flagships with the Snapdragon 855 chip. If fact, on other Geekbench 4 comparisons we've seen, the A13 Bionic beats even the top-end Snapdragon 855 Plus, which is a more powerful chip than the Snapdragon 730. 

As such, it's not hard to predict that Apple's budget iPhone will still trounce the Pixel 4a in terms of raw performance. But for everyday phone use and a little bit of smartphone gaming, the Pixel 4a looks to be more than capable.  

All this feeds into the other leaks we’ve seen, which suggest that its Snapdragon chip and 6GB of LPDDR4X could make the Pixel 4a a pretty capable phone for an estimated price tag of $400. 

But the real pull of the Pixel 4a should be its photography performance, which was very impressive in the Pixel 3a. With the iPhone 11 Pro, Apple has stepped up the smartphone photography game, arguably beating the Pixel 4. Google is likely to use some smart software wizardry to boost the Pixel 4a’s camera performance, as the phone is set to get only a single rear camera.  

If Google can deliver the photography goods combined with solid performance and a pure Android experience, the Pixel 4a could be a tantalising affordable alternative to most flagships. 

Roland Moore-Colyer
Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.