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Google Pixel 4a vs Pixel 3

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Google Pixel 4a vs Pixel 3

54 out of 100
Google Pixel 4a
VS
49 out of 100
Google Pixel 3
Google Pixel 4a
Google Pixel 3

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 Google Pixel 3, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and came out 23 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4a
  • Delivers 102% higher peak brightness (805 against 399 nits)
  • Shows 31% longer battery life (26:51 vs 20:31 hours)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
  • Has a 0.31 inch larger screen size
  • Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
  • More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 12
  • Has 2 SIM card slots
  • The phone is 1-year and 11-months newer
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 3
  • Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
  • Handles Qi wireless charging up to 10W
  • Slow-motion recording at 240FPS

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 4a and Pixel 3 crucial features
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
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Pixel 4a
vs
Pixel 3

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 5.81 inches 5.5 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2340 pixels 1080 x 2160 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 18:9
PPI 443 ppi 439 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 700 nits 420 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, HDR10
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Screen-to-body ratio 83.3% 78.87%
Display features - Always-On Display - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 95.3% 99.6%
PWM 255 Hz 245 Hz
Response time 6.2 ms 4.4 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
Pixel 4a +102%
805 nits
Pixel 3
399 nits

Design and build

Height 144 mm (5.67 inches) 145.6 mm (5.73 inches)
Width 69.4 mm (2.73 inches) 68.2 mm (2.69 inches)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) 7.9 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight 143 g (5.04 oz) 148 g (5.22 oz)
Waterproof No IP68
Rear material Plastic Glass
Frame material Plastic Metal
Colors Black White, Black, Pink
Fingerprint scanner Yes, rear Yes, rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Pixel 4a +6%
83.3%
Pixel 3
78.87%

Performance

Tests of Google Pixel 4a and Google Pixel 3 in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Max clock 2200 MHz 2500 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (4 + 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 1.8 GHz: Kryo 385 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 4 cores at 2.8 GHz: Kryo 385 Gold (Cortex-A75)
L3 cache - 2 MB
Lithography process 8 nanometers 10 nanometers
Graphics Adreno 618 Adreno 630
GPU shading units 256 512
GPU clock 825 MHz 710 MHz
FLOPS ~422.4 GFLOPS ~727 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Pixel 4a
1834
Pixel 3 +4%
1900
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
Pixel 4a +6%
359268
Pixel 3
338061
CPU 115287 106221
GPU 70626 68184
Memory 78602 74197
UX 92505 86932
Total score 359268 338061
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Pixel 4a
1003
Pixel 3 +64%
1647
Max surface temperature 41.4 °C 39.8 °C
Stability 99% 93%
Graphics test 6 FPS 9 FPS
Graphics score 1003 1647
PCMark 3.0
Web score - 6935
Video editing - 6412
Photo editing - 18134
Data manipulation - 6772
Writing score - 9617

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 2133 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 64, 128 GB
Storage type UFS 2.1 UFS 2.1
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) Android 9.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 12)
ROM Stock Android Stock Android
OS size 15 GB 12 GB

Battery

Capacity 3140 mAh 2915 mAh
Max charge power 18 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No Yes, Qi (10 W)
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (50% in 25 min) Yes, Quick Charge 4 (50% in 40 min)
Full charging time 1:27 hr 2:00 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 08:45 hr 06:22 hr
Watching video 11:16 hr 09:07 hr
Gaming 04:05 hr 03:04 hr
Standby 99 hr 76 hr
General battery life
Pixel 4a +31%
26:51 hr
Pixel 3
20:31 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 12.2 megapixels 12.2 megapixels
Image resolution 4000 x 3000 4032 x 3024
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 30FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 120 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (720p)
Lenses 1 (12.2 MP) 1 (12.2 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
- 12.2 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 28 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support 		- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 4a from DxOMark Photo samples of Google Pixel 3 from DxOMark
Selfie camera
Megapixels 8 megapixels 8 megapixels
Image resolution 3264 x 2448 3264 x 2448
Aperture f/2.0 f/1.8
Focal length 24 mm 28 mm
Pixel size 1.12 microns 1.4 microns
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.8" 1/3.2"
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 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 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display 		- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.1 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG 		- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC * Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM * 2 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support * Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat * 15 16
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack Yes No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speakers test
Max loudness
Pixel 4a +1%
86 dB
Pixel 3
84.9 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Flagship
Announced August 2020 October 2018
Release date October 2020 November 2018
SAR (head) 1.37 W/kg -
SAR (body) 1.39 W/kg -
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint 		- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
* 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 Google Pixel 4a is definitely a better buy.

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