The Google Pixel 4a may be even cheaper than expected, and could soon dethrone the iPhone SE for the title of best cheap phone.
Last week, Stephen Hall of 9to5Google announced the phone's potential $349 price tag on Twitter and on the Alphabet Scoop podcast. If true, that price would position the Pixel 4a as the budget smartphone to beat.
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Hall isn't the only one pointing to a lower-than-expected price for the Pixel 4a. Google may have just tipped its in hand in a survey that asks respondents who interested they'd be in a $349 phone with features that sound an awful lot like those coming to the Pixel 4a. (That same Google price survey also hints at a lower price for the Pixel 5, which could cost $699.)
Not only does Hall's original pricing rumor claim there's a $50 gap between the iPhone SE and the Pixel 4a, but it also says that the basic Pixel model will have 128GB storage. That's twice as much as the iPhone SE's basic 64GB model.
Based on previous leaks, the Pixel 4a will have other advantages over the iPhone SE. It will feature a 5.8-inch OLED display, which will dwarf the 4.7-inch Retina display on Apple's phone. Plus, you won't have to deal with large bezels on the Pixel 4a.
The Pixel 4a will also reportedly feature a 3,080 mAh battery, which is a lot larger than the 1,821 mAh battery in the iPhone SE. The previous Pixel 3a's 3,000 mAh battery lasted nearly 12 hours on our web surfing test — landing it on our best phone battery life list. The iPhone SE lasted just 9 hours and 18 minutes.
There's still a lot to love about the iPhone SE, though. It's the cheapest way to get all the apps and software experiences that make up iOS 13, plus its superpowered A13 Bionic processor should outperform the Pixel 4a's Snapdragon 730 chip.
The most interesting battle between the Pixel 4a and iPhone SE should be the camera shootout. The iPhone SE performed very well in our testing, but it lacks the Night Side mode for low-light shots that the Pixel 4a should have, which we consider to be the Pixel 4a's secret weapon against Apple.
The Pixel 4a is expected to be announced in June, so stay tuned for more leaks as we get closer to launch.
