Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This phone was purchased after extensive research and positive first hand experience with the Pixel 3a. After several weeks of waiting for the new phone to ship after it was released, I am very pleased with the functionality of this new Pixel 4a. One of the biggest selling points for this phone is the price. I didn’t want to finance another $800 phone from Verizon so I opted for an unlocked phone that I could purchase and connect to their network. This phone was a bargain at $349, but there is nothing cheap about this phone except for the price. The Good: Besides winning on price, this phone was a breeze to set up. The SIM card easily inserted into the phone and it quickly connected to the Verizon network without issue. The set up instructions were easy to follow to get the phone up and running quickly. The Pixel 4a also transferred all data, apps, and pictures from my old Galaxy S7. It used a USB cable to connect and download everything. Even texts, voicemails, and everything else transferred over so I never felt lost. Google Chrome and Gmail are my primary browser and email so browsing history and saved passwords also transferred over. Apps needed to be logged into again and there were some forgotten password issues, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. Once connected this phone operates smoothly and it is easy to navigate. It is a bit different than th 3a and other Android phone as there is no back button and everything is controlled through swipes. It takes some getting used to but works smoothly once you get it down. The camera is outstanding and surpasses any phone previously used. Another bonus with this phone is the battery life which ranks high on my list of important features. This battery lasts all day long even with regular use. The battery on the 3a is great and the battery on the 4a is awesome! It also charges very quickly with the provided charger and I estimate a full charge takes approximately one hour. The Bad: The bad really isn’t all that bad when taken in proper context. There is a reason this phone is half the price of other models since it’s missing some luxury features. Apparently this phone isn’t waterproof, which comes as a surprise to me since I’ve never known any phone to be waterproof and am always careful with my phones around water. Wireless charging capability is also missing from this phone so you may miss that feature if wireless charging is your thing. It really isn't a big deal though since the battery lasts so long this phone is rarely on the charger anyway. This phone does take a USC-C cable so it isn't compatible with the cables from older Android and Kindle devices, which use Micro USB cables. It comes with one USB-C cable but you may want to purchase another if you like extra ones around the house or in the car. Again, not a huge deal because of the battery life. Summary: This is an outstanding phone and should work well for the vast majority of users. It operates and looks far more expensive than it really is, making me realize how much the phone companies are ripping us off selling overpriced phones. It wins in value, setup, camera, operating speed and battery life. Minor points are lost for missing some of the fancier features like wireless charging and being a different charging cable than most people already have, but those don’t weigh heavily on my opinion of this Google Pixel 4a so I am giving this a strong four stars.