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Google's Pixel 4a clearly focuses on camera quality, while Apple's iPhone SE clearly focuses on performance.
At the end of the day, the iPhone SE is the more "premium" of the two midrange phones due to its performance and features. It's an obvious choice for Apple fans who don't want to spend more than $500.
The Pixel 4a might not offer quite the performance as the iPhone SE, but it's no slouch, either. It's a no-brainer for Android fans looking to spend under $500.
Google's Pixel 4a and Apple's iPhone SE are less expensive options compared to each company's premium flagship phones that cost almost $1,000 or more.
Being less expensive, both phones couldn't get all the specs, features, and design perks as the flagships, so each company had to pick certain features to focus on while compromising on others. For the iPhone SE, Apple clearly decided to focus on raw performance. For the Pixel 4a, the focus is on its flagship-level camera.
Google Pixel 4a vs. Apple iPhone SE: Which is better?
At the end of the day, the iPhone SE is objectively more "premium" and feature-rich — it has flagship performance, as well as water resistance and wireless charging, which are typically premium features. With that said, the Pixel 4a isn't a slouch by any means, and it has a flagship camera. Plus, it looks sleeker and more modern compared to the iPhone SE's design, which is basically the same as 2014's iPhone 6.
Check out the major differences between the Google Pixel 4a and the Apple iPhone SE:
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Design, size, and weight
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
Screen
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Performance
Here's where the iPhone SE decidedly wins the round, and it's a major reason why it's a better phone overall than the Pixel 4a — the iPhone SE runs on the same A13 chip that powers the iPhone 11 series. That's to say the iPhone SE has serious, serious performance. Technically, Apple's A13 chip even beats the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, the top chip in premium Android phones, like the $1,000 Galaxy S20 and $900 OnePlus 8 Pro.
The fast midrange Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G in the Pixel 4a still holds its own, and Android apps run perfectly smooth. It's hard to tell how long the Pixel 4a's chip can last before it starts to slow down and make owners think about upgrading. My money would bet on Apple's A13 in the iPhone SE to last longer, though.
For the spec hounds, the Pixel 4a comes with 6GB of RAM, while the iPhone SE is said to have 3GB, according to GSM Arena. I should note that comparing RAM between iPhones and Android phones isn't a good indicator of performance, as both ecosystems manage RAM differently.
Battery life and charging
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Cameras — a photo taken with the Pixel 4a
A photo taken with the Pixel 4a.
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Cameras — a photo taken with the iPhone SE
A photo taken with the iPhone SE.
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Storage
There's only one model of the Pixel 4a, and it comes with 128GB of storage. Unfortunately, it's not expandable with a microSD card, but 128GB is a good amount in 2020.
The iPhone SE's $400 base model comes with 64GB of storage, which can make things a little tight, especially with photos and videos over time.
Either way, Google Photos cloud storage can take care of photos and videos with unlimited storage on both smartphones, so space may not be too much of an issue on the iPhone SE.
With that said, if you did want more storage on the iPhone SE, the next model up comes with 128GB and costs $449 — $100 more than the Pixel 4a.
Other features
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So, which one should you buy?
Neither phone should make one ecosystem's user move over from the other. It's just not like that. iPhone users who want a cheaper iPhone are going to get the iPhone SE, and Android users who want a cheaper Android phone should get the Pixel 4a.
But if you're a midrange smartphone buyer and you're interested in checking out "the other ecosystem," these two phones are ideal starting points.
And as for premium phone users on either ecosystem looking to step down their spending on phones, the iPhone SE and Pixel 4a are the best phones for that, too. Indeed, both are so good that you really have to question whether the premium flagships are hundreds and hundreds of dollars better.
Apple's iPhone SE is an appealing option — at $400, you get access to iOS, a great camera, the same powerful chip from the iPhone 11 series, and the Apple ecosystem, and it's a phenomenal deal as a result.
Google's Pixel 4a costs $350, which is less of a head-turner in the Android world seeing as inexpensive Android phones are fairly common. Still, Google's midranger offers virtually the same camera and photo quality as the $800 Pixel 4 flagship, a sleek design with narrow bezels, good performance, and good battery life.