Apple's $400 iPhone SE beats Google's $350 Pixel 4a midrange phone in one all-important way

The iPhone SE's design is classic, even if it's the iPhone 6 design from 2014, and it's made of metal and glass compared to the Pixel 4a's polycarbonate plastic, which technically means it's a more premium phone.

But I have to give the design award to Google's Pixel 4a here, largely because of the sleek and modern screen with narrow bezels. Indeed, the top and bottom bezels on the iPhone SE just look plain old and stale at this point, even if you're paying "as low as" $400 for a new iPhone.

The Pixel 4a's polycarbonate plastic doesn't bring down its overall look and feel, either. It's solid, and the frosted matte texture gives a back metallic look. The matte coating on the Pixel 4a's back does scuff fairly easily, however, but that shouldn't be much of an issue if you use a case.

Otherwise, both phones have pretty similar sizes, with the Pixel 4a coming in slightly wider, taller, and thicker. The Pixel 4a is slightly lighter at 143g versus the iPhone SE's 148g.

Despite their similar sizes and weights, the Pixel 4a has a dramatically larger 5.8-inch screen compared to the 4.7-inch screen on the iPhone SE. A screen that's over an inch bigger while maintaining a similar size and weight as the iPhone SE is a huge advantage to the Pixel 4a.

The Pixel 4a has an OLED screen, which is superior to the iPhone SE's LCD screen for displaying colors and contrast. On top of that, the Pixel 4a's screen is technically sharper than the iPhone SE. To be fair, however, you can barely tell the difference in sharpness.

The iPhone's screen isn't a disappointment by any means, but the Pixel 4a does win this one.

Google's midranger has a larger 3,140mAh battery while the iPhone SE supposedly has a smaller 1,821mAh battery, according to GSM Arena.

One of the main complaints about the iPhone SE is its unimpressive battery life. Meanwhile, the Pixel 4a has pretty good battery life. It doesn't especially wow, as it comfortably lasts a full day before needing a charge like most other phones, but it does impress more than the iPhone SE.

Both the Pixel 4a and iPhone SE have the same number of cameras — one on the back, and one at the front.

Both phones have rear cameras with 12 megapixels. The iPhone SE has a 7-megapixel selfie camera, and the Pixel 4a has an 8-megapixel selfie camera.

Both phones take excellent photos, but they're slightly different and may appeal to different preferences. The Pixel 4a's photo above is natural and conservative.

The iPhone SE's photo has boosted contrast and colors, making for a photo that looks more striking. It may bother some (like myself) knowing that the iPhone SE boosts your photos a little bit to make them look better rather than keeping them natural.

• The iPhone SE has two major advantages over the Pixel 4a, including an IP67 water resistance rating, as well as wireless charging support. These are meaningful features to a lot of people, and can easily justify the iPhone SE's higher price.
• The iPhone SE comes with Apple's ancient and slow 5W charging brick, whereas the Pixel 4a comes with a faster 18W charger in the box. The iPhone SE supports up to 18W charging, too, but the Apple 18W charging brick is a $29 optional extra.
• The iPhone SE doesn't have a headphone jack, whereas the Pixel 4a does. It's not an absolute necessity these days, but some argue that it's convenient to have. I still have a pair of wired headphones that I like to use, and it's nice to use them without relying on a dongle.