The Pixel 4 may be the best Android phone of the year, at least for those users looking for Google’s unadulterated version of Android 10, but it’s hardly the perfect iPhone rival out there. The design is by far the worse thing about the Pixel 4, as the phone features an “all-screen” display that reminds us of 2017 handsets. We’re looking at large and uneven bezels at the top and bottom (image above), with the top one housing what might easily be one of the best smartphone innovations of the year, but a useless nonetheless. Strangely enough, Google will soon fix that with a cheap phone whose design will look a lot better than the Pixel 4. That’s the Pixel 4a series that will likely launch in spring 2020, just like its predecessor.
The following renders, created off of CAD designs by @OnLeaks and 91mobiles show a Pixel 4a phone featuring the same punch-hole design that Samsung popularized this year. Interestingly, this is the kind of design that we saw in the first Pixel 4 leaks a few months ago, up until Google confirmed the huge bezel compromise.
The Pixel 4a will have a uniform bezel around the sides and top bezels, while the bottom chine is a bit thicker, just like on most Android handsets. The phone features a USB-C port on the bottom and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, and a single-lens on the back.
In other words, the Pixel 4a (and the Pixel 4a XL) will feature many compromises when it comes to features and performance. An inferior processor will likely power the whole show, and the phone’s camera game can’t match the Pixel 4’s capabilities, considering that Google is going for a downgrade here. Also, with no notch on the front, don’t expect 3D Face unlock on the phone — the rear-facing fingerprint sensor also suggests there’s no other biometric sensor on board. Also, there’s not going to be any Soli radar chip inside the phone.
The Pixel 4 will still be the better choice between the two, and that’s the phone to get if you want a flagship Google phone. But those shoppers looking for affordable handsets running the latest version of Android will be able to buy a Pixel phone featuring a much better design than all Pixel phones launched to date.
