Tech

Google Pixel 4a vs iPhone SE: Which is better? – Android Authority

Published

4 years ago

August 3, 2020

4 hours ago

Flagship smartphones have blown past the $1,000 mark over the past couple of years and continue to get more expensive. However, not everyone needs or wants a maxed-out flagship and consumers are clamoring for more affordable alternatives. Surprisingly, it’s two companies that are well-known for over-priced flagships that are delivering: Google with the Pixel 4a and Apple with the iPhone SE.

Apple took everyone by surprise with the 2020 edition of the iPhone SE, and while the idea of an affordable Pixel isn’t new, the Pixel 4a has still been one of the most highly anticipated smartphones of the year.

Well, the wait is finally over! After months of rumors, leaks, and unfortunate delays, Google took the wraps off of the Pixel 4a and it jumps right into the ring against the iPhone SE. How do the two compare? Let’s find out in this quick look at the Google Pixel 4a vs iPhone SE (2020)!

Our verdict: Google Pixel 4a review: Google’s best phone in years

Google Pixel 4a vs iPhone SE

Specs

	Google Pixel 4a	iPhone SE (2020)
Display	5.81-inch OLED 2,340 x 1,080 resolution 19.5:9 aspect ratio Gorilla Glass 3	4.7-inch Retina HD 1,334 x 750 Touch ID via home button
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Adreno 618 GPU	Apple A13 Bionic
RAM	6GB RAM	3GB RAM
Storage	128GB No microSD slot	64GB/128GB/256GB
Cameras	Rear: 12.2MP, f/1.7 OIS + EIS Front: 8MP, f/2.0	Rear: 12MP, f/1.8, OIS Front: 7MP, f/2.2
Battery	3,140mAh 18W fast charging No wireless charging	1,821mAh 18W fast charging Wireless charging (Qi)
IP Rating	No IP rating	IP67
Software	Android 10	iOS 13
Colors	Just Black	Black, White, Red
Dimensions and weight	144 x 69.4 x 8.2mm 143g	138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm 148g

Design and display

Vintage chic is the best way to describe the design of the iPhone SE. Granted, it’s largely identical to an iPhone from just three years ago. But the way things have changed since then makes the iPhone SE seem distinctly old-school. That’s far from a bad thing though. The tiny and easily-pocketable footprint has its charm and the physical fingerprint scanners are typically more accurate than in-display variants.

Google takes a similar route with the Pixel 4a, but certainly not as extreme. The latest affordable Pixel is leaps and bounds more “modern” than its predecessor and even its flagship namesake. A near bezel-less front and punch-hole front-facing camera are hallmarks of new generation Androids. That said, a single rear camera unit and a physical fingerprint scanner are practically unheard of in the Android world now, and a headphone jack is an undeniably welcome addition.

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Design is entirely subjective so it’s up to you as to which one you prefer. While I appreciate what Apple is doing with the iPhone SE, I’d give the Pixel 4a the leg up here. The Pixel 4a comes with a display that is more than an inch larger, but its overall size isn’t that much bigger. On the flip side, some may like the metal and glass build of the iPhone SE, compared to the polycarbonate body of the Pixel.

Both the iPhone SE and the Pixel 4a come with “tiny” displays compared to other mid-rangers. The 4.7-inch HD screen of the iPhone stands out in particular, but a less-than 6-inch Full HD display on an Android mid-ranger is a surprise in 2020 as well. You don’t get any faster refresh rate tricks here, unfortunately.

It’s ultimately the battle of different screen technologies here. Resolution isn’t an issue on either, but the OLED screen of the Pixel 4a is one of the best we’ve seen on an affordable device in a while.

Performance and battery life

As old-school as the iPhone SE is on the surface, it’s anything but under the hood. Keeping this affordable mid-ranger running is the same powerhouse processor found with Apple’s flagships and goes head-to-head with the Snapdragon 865. Apple’s excellent RAM management ensures then even the 3GB of RAM you get is more than enough to keep things chugging along smoothly, and you certainly won’t get any performance complaints here.

Dive deeper: Is a $400 iPhone SE really faster than the most powerful Android phone?

On the other hand, Google keeps the price of the Pixel 4a low by opting for the decidedly mid-range Snapdragon 730G. The 6GB of RAM on-board and an excellent software experience backs the processor up really well though, and we found no hiccups or noticeable issues with everyday performance.

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Given the difference in battery capacity, it’s no surprise that the Pixel 4a offers better battery life than the iPhone SE 2020. More power-efficient processing packages and relatively small displays help, but around 4.5 hours and 6.5 hours of screen-on time have been our experience with the iPhone and the Pixel respectively. That will be enough to get you through a full day, but might cut too close for comfort for some users.

The one advantage the iPhone has in the battery department is wireless charging. The flagship Pixel feature hasn’t made to affordable series this year either, which is quite disappointing.

Software

The age-old war of iOS vs Android comes to the fore once again as we turn to software. Google’s take on Android may not be to everyone’s liking, but it’s undeniably one of the cleanest and most minimalistic options around. The Pixel 4a will also get access to all the new features that are exclusive to the Pixel line, like the new Google Assistant, Call Screening, Now Playing, Google Recorder, and updated Google Camera.

The iPhone SE runs iOS 13 for now, so all the arguments you’ve had for or against iOS holds true. All your apps are on home pages and there’s no app drawer, notification grouping isn’t available, and widgets aren’t a thing. Of course, all that will change this fall when iOS 14 drops. With the app library, home-screen widgets, picture-in-picture, and more, things are getting a little more alike.

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iOS vs Android is always going to be a point of contention though, and your preference essentially determines the ecosystem you’re a part of. When comparing the iPhone to another Android device, a huge positive for the former is always the fact that it’ll get the latest version of iOS really quickly. However, that will also very likely be the case with the Pixel 4a as Google prioritizes its own phones for Android upgrades.

What remains in favor of the iPhone SE is long-term support. Given the fact that iPhone 6S will get iOS 14, the iPhone SE is safe for the foreseeable future as far as software updates are concerned. Google guarantees updates for its Pixel phones for at least two years and probably three.

Camera

The camera is arguably the most important feature of any current-generation smartphone. The Pixel 4a has the same 12.2MP main rear sensor as the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 3’s before it. A single rear camera unit is so out of place in the current Android landscape, but if the Pixel 4a proves one thing: more is not always better.

The camera hardware might not have changed much, but its software has progressively made image output better and better. The Pixel 4a adopts features from the Pixel 4 series, such as Astrophotography Mode and the dual exposure sliders, and takes some great looking photos.

Because the Pixel 4a shares the sensor with the Pixel 3a and Pixel 4, most images look fairly similar. Sharpness and contrast are generally the same, but the processing has changed a bit. The Pixel 4a produces images with better white balance, employing warmer tones and more balanced shadows.

The iPhone SE also comes with a similar setup. A single 12MP camera on the back and a 7MP selfie shooter. The SE produced images similar to the Google Pixel 3a, with blue tones in the shadows. The iPhone SE certainly delivered more dynamic range than the Pixel 4a. But that’s not always a good thing. The iPhone seems to have raised the shadows quite a bit without much regard for contrast and contour, which leads to the image looking a bit washed out in comparison.

The big selling point of the Pixel 3a was the fact that it featured a flagship camera. The Pixel 4a follows along, but an identical setup as its predecessor may not be to everyone’s liking. All said and done though, both the Pixel 4a and iPhone SE take really good photos.

We’ve already pit the iPhone against another extremely popular mid-ranger, the OnePlus Nord, with results falling overwhelmingly in favor of the SE. We will be doing the same with the Pixel 4a very soon to see how Google’s latest fares against Apple’s budget phone.

How do the prices compare?

The iPhone SE is available in key markets around the world. Let’s take a quick look at its price:

64GB storage: $399/£419/ €499/42,500 rupees
128GB storage: $449/£469/€549/47,800 rupees
256GB storage: $499/£569/€669/58,300 rupees

On the other hand, only one version of the Pixel 4a, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The Pixel 4a will be available with a price tag of $349 in the US with shipping starting from August 20.

UK buyers will be able to buy the Pixel 4a for £349. It’ll be available for pre-order September 10 and on sale starting October 1. Meanwhile, in Europe, the Pixel 4a will retail for between €349-€389.

Google has yet to announce an India release date or pricing for the Pixel 4a.

Google Pixel 4a vs iPhone SE: Which should you buy?

Choosing between the Pixel 4a and the iPhone SE is very tricky. We’re witnessing a resurgence in compact and affordable phones, and both the iPhone SE and Pixel 4a are excellent options if that’s what you’re looking for.

Google and Apple have made two of the best compact and affordable phones to date.

Both fall in the same price range, but the Pixel does have a decent price advantage. The iPhone SE offers metal and glass build quality, wireless charging, water-resistance, and a flagship processor. It’s very difficult to deny the value that the phone brings. But it’s missing the super-bright OLED display, headphone jack, and arguably better camera offered by the Pixel 4a.

Ultimately, both phones are wonderful additions to a severely lacking mid-range segment in the US, especially if you want a fantastic camera phone on the cheap.

The final choice between the Google Pixel 4a vs iPhone SE is down to you! Let us know which phone you’ll be buying in the poll below.

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News

The Internet is Littered in ‘Educated Guesses’ Without the ‘Education’

Published

2 weeks ago

October 8, 2024

Nick Kossovan

Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.

The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.

Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.

The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.

Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.

On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.

The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.

More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.

Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:

You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!

Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.

Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.

There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.

Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.

Successful people tend to be secretive.

Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.

Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.

Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.

______________________________________________________________

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what’s

on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan.

Tech

Tight deadlines on software projects can put safety at risk: survey

Published

2 weeks ago

October 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.

Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.

The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.

The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.

The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.

Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.

“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.

The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.

“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”

The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.

However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.

That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.

“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.

“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”

The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.

About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.

“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.

Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.

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Tech

Beware of scams during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sales event: cybersecurity firm

Published

2 weeks ago

October 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.

In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.

The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”

“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.

“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”

Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.

Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.

In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.

The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.

Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.

“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.

“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.

Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.

Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.

“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.

“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”

Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.

As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.

But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.

Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.

The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.

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