Google Pixel 4a vs Apple iPhone 11
Here we compared two smartphones: the 5.81-inch Google Pixel 4a (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G) that was released on August 3, 2020, against the Apple iPhone 11, which is powered by Apple A13 Bionic and came out 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4a
- Modern USB Type-C port
- 36% higher pixel density (443 vs 326 PPI)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Fingerprint scanner
- Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
- Delivers 19% higher peak brightness (805 against 675 nits)
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- OLED display (versus competitor''s IPS LCD)
- The phone is 11-months newer
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 11
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- 2.3x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (808K versus 359K)
- Shows 29% longer battery life (34:46 vs 26:51 hours)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Handles wireless charging up to 7.5W
- Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Google
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
- Slow-motion recording at 240FPS
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | IPS LCD |
| Size | 5.81 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 828 x 1792 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 443 ppi | 326 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 700 nits | 625 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83.3% | 79% |
| Display features | - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 95.3% | 99.8% |
| PWM | 255 Hz | Not detected |
| Response time | 6.2 ms | 24.8 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | 999:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 144 mm (5.67 inches) | 150.9 mm (5.94 inches) |
| Width | 69.4 mm (2.73 inches) | 75.7 mm (2.98 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) | 8.3 mm (0.33 inches) |
| Weight | 143 g (5.04 oz) | 194 g (6.84 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | IP68 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | Black | White, Black, Green, Red, Purple, Yellow |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, rear | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G | Apple A13 Bionic |
| Max clock | 2200 MHz | 2650 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76) |
- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Thunder
- 2 cores at 2.65 GHz: Lightning |
| Lithography process | 8 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 618 | Apple A13 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 825 MHz | 1230 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~422.4 GFLOPS | ~629.8 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 115287 | 188856 |
| GPU | 70626 | 305641 |
| Memory | 78602 | 136959 |
| UX | 92505 | 177223 |
| Total score | 359268 | 808922 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 41.4 °C | 43.6 °C |
| Stability | 99% | 72% |
| Graphics test | 6 FPS | 45 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1003 | 7532 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 64, 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | iOS 13 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17) |
| ROM | Stock Android | - |
| OS size | 15 GB | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 3140 mAh | 3110 mAh |
| Max charge power | 18 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 25 min) | Yes (50% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:27 hr | 1:45 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:45 hr | 11:39 hr |
| Watching video | 11:16 hr | 15:16 hr |
| Gaming | 04:05 hr | 05:05 hr |
| Standby | 99 hr | 121 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12.2 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | Quad LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 120 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | - | 120° |
| Lenses | 1 (12.2 MP) | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 12.2 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Apple iSight Camera (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens | - |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
| Samples | Photo samples of Google Pixel 4a from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 11 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 23 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.12 microns | - |
| Sensor type | CMOS | BSI CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.8" | - |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth version | 5.1 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | No |
| USB version | 3.1 | 2 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 15 | 18 |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2020 | September 2019 |
| Release date | October 2020 | September 2019 |
| SAR (head) | 1.37 W/kg | 0.95 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.39 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 11 is definitely a better buy.