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Speed Test G: Google Pixel 4a vs Pixel 3a (The Snapdragon 730G advantage)
When Google finally released the Pixel 4a earlier this month, we declared it the company’s best phone in years. Between its bright camera, solid performance, and fantastic display, the Pixel 4a has a lot going for it. But you might be wondering how much of an upgrade is it over its predecessor, the Pixel 3a. Thankfully, our own Gary Sims has the answer with his latest Speed Test G challenge.
Internally, the Pixel 4a features a Snapdragon 730G chipset with Adreno 618 GPU. The Pixel 3a, meanwhile, has a Snapdragon 670 and Adreno 615 GPU. Looking at those specs alone, you probably expect to see a difference in overall performance, but you might be shocked to find out just how much faster the Pixel 4a is in benchmarks. Putting it through his usual testing, the Pixel 4a completed the test suite a full 63 seconds before the Pixel 3a. The differences in how the two phones perform were particularly noticeable when they got to the 3D rendering portion of the testing.
While you’ll likely notice a difference in games and other demanding applications, keep in mind those may not be so stark in real-world use. When we reviewed the 3a last year, we didn’t find the phone felt significantly slower than more premium handsets. If you need more guidance, check out our Pixel 4a buying guide.