When it comes to using smartphones, I am not part of the elite who buy a phone for its camera performance only. I am actually part of huge majority that benefits from strong phone and does not lose much by having above average or good camera. So, when Pixel 4a is announced for price of 32,000/-, I felt that the phone is grossly overpriced and that Nord is a much better phone. The better features that Nord has makes it better phone 99% of the time and this is why phone like Nord is a lot better than a phone like Pixel 4a. Read On to know!
Camera
Let us get this thing out of the way first as this is the only thing that differentiates a Pixel from other phones. There is no doubt that this phone, like every other Pixel phone, takes very good photos and those photos are much much better than photos taken by other phones in same price range, if you take away zoom/wide angle out of the equation. Competing phones come with wide angle lens and zoom lens and there is no software algorithm that can generate a wide angle picture using a standard lens. Same is the case for zoom. You simply cannot use software algorithm to generate something that cannot be done without hardware support. This is similar to ‘you need 5G chip inside a phone and 5G network outside to use 5G, you simply cannot use software to turn on 5G in a 4G phone or while using 4G network’. Also, you simply cannot buy a Pixel 3a or Pixel 4a thinking that it can deliver the quality of Pixel 3/XL or Pixel 4 or Pixel 5. Those phones come with better algorithm and some come with better lens.
Google Pixel 4a has a good camera that takes very good photos in perfect lighting conditions and takes good photos in not so good light conditions. The front facing camera too, though it is a fixed focus, can create strong bokeh effect, thanks to Google’s superior algorithm. Video recording too is very good.
Display
This is where it starts to fall apart for Pixel phones. From the very first Pixel phone, these units come with display units that are constantly inferior to competition. When compared to Nord, the display is not only smaller but it also runs at lower refresh rate. While smaller display is not a negative, it is going against what majority prefer (as per Flipkart polling in India). Nearly 82% of those who voted preferred to have atleast 6″ display and 53% of those wanted 6.5″ or bigger display. I do prefer a more compact phone but I dont think I would ever go back to a phone with <6″ display. Definitely not, after using OnePlus 8. Another big miss with Pixel 4a is that it comes with older Gorilla Glass 3 while Nord comes with Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
Battery and Charging
Pixel 4a comes with tiny (by today’s standards) 3140mAh battery and in GSMArena endurance test, the battery life was average at best. The endurance rating they gave is 76 hours while Nord got 100 hour endurance rating. Whats even worse is that Nord’s 30W fast charger charged 60% or battery in 30 minutes while Pixel 4a’s 18W fast charger charged 45% in 30 minutes. If we do the math, for every 30 minutes of charge, you are getting 2057mAh battery juice in Nord and just 1413mAh battery juice in Pixel 4a.
How does this help? In direct relation, Nord will go through lower number of charge/recharge cycles when compared to the Pixel 4a. The lower number of cycles results in better battery life. If you have to run out and have to quickly charge your phone, Nord will be the one you can rely on as it charges faster, add more battery juice than Pixel 4a. Also, we should not forget that OnePlus Warp charge keeps battery temperature lower, further increasing battery life.
Chipset and 5G
The Nord is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G with 5G modem built in while Pixel 4a is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G. Can you take a guess which other popular phones are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G? Poco X2, Moto One Fusion+, Samsung Galaxy M51, Realme X2. Add 730 and 720G phones (difference between 730/730G/720 is extremely minute) and you get Redmi Note 9 series, Realme 7 pro, Poco m2 pro etc. There are few phones like Oppo Reno 4, Vivo V20 and nobody even thinks about those phones as they are overpriced for the chipset that they have.
Yes, you can say that 5G is nowhere to be seen but we will see 5G roll out in 2021 and having that chip in your phone is better than not having one. Remember, those who get 5G early get to enjoy mightly network speeds (like how we have seen during 4G transition). This is because those networks are vastly underutilized till more users switch to 5G phones.
Whats the difference between 765G and 730G? Take a look at our ranking of Qualcomm Snapdragon CPUs here. The 765G is only inferior to 8xx top of the line series while there are 4 midrange chipsets between 730G and 765G. The biggest differentiating factor is 5G modem or 765G. Other major factors include faster CPU, faster GPU, better 7nm fabrication that gives better performance and lower heat, faster RAM speed, better image sensor.
Miscellanous
Another differentiating feature of Nord is its under display fingerprint sensor. Pixel 4a comes with rear mounted antique fingerprint sensor. The world is moving on to side mounted or under display fingerprint sensors that are lot more accessible and easier to operate than a rear mounted sensor.
Nord also lets you record 4K videos using front facing camera, 8mp wide angle lens at the front so that you can take group selfies.
Pixel 4a comes in just one variant and in black body. You only get 6GB and 128GB of storage. There is no choice but this is more than enough for vast majority unless you want to do speed test comparison with other phones. The Nord comes in blue color body and that one looks so much better than the boring black body.
OS Updates
How often do you get major Android OS updates ? Once in a year. How fast does Pixel 4a get the update? Not so fast. The pixel 3a updates were slow due to a bug. It took more than two weeks since Google released Android 11 to the world. When is Nord getting the update? Those who want to get onboard can opt for beta and install but full stable update should come by October end. Thats a delay of 4-6 weeks compared to 3a. Is this bad? I do not think so.
Pixel 3a is an overpriced phone and it is not a camera monster
How often does a normal smartphone user take photos using his/her phone? Few times a week, right? How often do they update their phone? Once a year for major release. The best features of Pixel 4a are those that are rarely used. Lets see the best features of Nord (over 4a).
Every second of every minute of every hour of every day that you use Nord, you get better display experience. We charge our phone atleast once a day and every charge on Nord is better and you will literally see the difference that a 30W charger brings. Come 5G, you will see better network speeds every single minute. The under display fingerprint sensor is used lot more than the camera and every single time it makes a difference. I have moved from Poco F1 to OnePlus 8 and a front/side sensor is definitely better than a rear mounted sensor.
