Google provided us with a review unit for our writer to test, which they returned after their thorough evaluation. Read on for their full thoughts.

Google’s experiment with expensive, full-blown flagship phones appears to be coming to an end, as the company realizes its true strength: capable, affordable smartphones that emphasize Google’s smooth Android software rather than flashy hardware. We first got a glimpse of this with 2019’s Pixel 3a, a $399 mid-range phone that proved more appealing than the twice-as-expensive Pixel 3, combining modest specs with an excellent camera for a seriously brilliant package.

The Pixel 4a is even better, and it’s also cheaper. For $349, you’re getting a phone with more power than its predecessor, a smarter design, and a better display, while still having a camera that easily beats anything else in its price range. It’s just enough phone for almost everyone, and if you don’t want to drop $700+ on a new handset, the Pixel 4a is a near-perfect budget option.

Like the Pixel 3a before it, the Pixel 4a opts for plastic in an effort to save on material costs, with a plastic back in place of a glass back and metal frame. Thankfully, the Pixel 4a cuts out the excess bezel that was visible above and below the Pixel 3a’s display, instead opting for a small punch-hole camera cutout in the top-left corner to provide nearly all-screen viewing with its 5.8-inch display.