I'm an iPhone guy at heart, having used Apple's smartphone in one form or another since the days of the iPhone 3G. And thanks to its compact size and equally low price, the iPhone SE has long been my model of choice. I bought the original iPhone SE when this phone first came out and used it until its charging port died.
A new model that iPhone SE (2022), came out this spring, but if I was looking for a phone right now it wouldn't be my pick for a new device. And the $429 device certainly wouldn't be my pick for that best cheap cell phone under $500. If I wanted to save money on a discounted phone instead, I'd turn to the newly introduced one Pixel 6a from Google.
That's not necessarily a blow to the iPhone SE, which despite its shortcomings is still a solid option for many people. Instead, my recommendation tends to reflect all of the things Google got right with the Pixel 6a. Google simply packed more value into its sub-$500 phone, showing Apple what it takes to build a more compelling budget device.
As our Google Pixel 6a vs iPhone SE (2022) Face-off shows that the choice between these two phones boils down to the one that differentiates less between a budget device and a flagship phone. For now, that's the Pixel 6a.
Google Pixel 6a vs. iPhone SE: A Tale of Two Phones
You wouldn't necessarily think that if you judged a phone by its finish. Holding the Pixel 6a in one hand and the Pixel 6 in the other, it's pretty easy to tell which is the cheaper device, and it's not just because the Pixel 6a has a smaller screen. The plastic feel of the Pixel 6a is noticeably different from the glass back of the Pixel 6. It's very clear where Google saved the money to offer the Pixel 6a at such a low price.
Personally speaking, though, I'm fine with a budget phone that feels like a budget phone if its more important features match what I'd get from a more expensive device. In my experience, that's exactly what you get with the Pixel 6a.
Apple is trying something similar with the iPhone SE (2022). After all, this phone runs on the same A15 Bionic chipset as the current one iPhone 13 relay a message. Buy the SE, the argument goes, and you'll get the same world-best performance as Apple's most expensive phones - and with 5G connectivity to boot. It's a compelling case for a phone.
The problem is that the iPhone SE shares few other characteristics with the rest of the iPhone range. Its design is straight out of 2017, with bold bezels that feel out of place in a world of borderless screens. The iPhone SE still only offers one camera, and that's one with night mode for better photos in low light conditions. As with the Pixel 6a, you have to cut corners somewhere to offer a cheaper phone, but Apple asks for a lot of compromises in exchange for the iPhone SE's lower price point.
What the Pixel 6a does right
Compare that to what Google did with the Pixel 6a. Cheaper stuff aside, the new phone mirrors the distinctive look of the Pixel 6 that Google unveiled last fall, with a horizontal camera bar running the length of the phone's back. The Pixel 6a has an under-display fingerprint sensor, just like the Pixel 6. (In fact, the 6a's sensor is much more responsive.) Even the front-facing camera is in the same spot on the phone's display.
The Pixel 6 has a better-resolution main camera -- 50MP versus 12.2MP for the Pixel 6's wide-angle lens -- and the Pixel 6 Pro throws in a telephoto lens to trump the Pixel 6a's dual-camera setup. But the Pixel 6a still uses Google's expertise with computational photography to produce some very good-looking images - so beautiful, in fact, that we think the Pixel 6a is best camera phone under $500. It certainly outperformed the iPhone SE when we pitted the phones against each other.
In the closest similarity of all, the Pixel 6a features the same Tensor chipset that Google uses in the rest of the Pixel 6 range. That means all the machine learning-powered experiences Pixel 6 owners can enjoy are also available for less on the Pixel 6a. Your phone for less than $500 can monitor phone calls, provide on-the-fly translation, and even give you one-tap editing to remove photo bombers from your pictures. That's a pretty compelling set of features for a budget phone.
If Google's approach is flawed, then the price difference between the $599 Pixel 6 and $459 Pixel 6a isn't as big as the $250 gap between the iPhone SE and the iPhone 13 mini, the next cheapest iPhone with A15 Bionic chipset. Instead of buying a Pixel 6a, some buyers might be tempted to pay more to get the Pixel 6 with its better camera and larger screen. I'm sure Google will cry all the way to the bank.
The important point here is the different approach Apple and Google take to their budget phones. Apple clearly wants more differentiation between the iPhone SE and its flagship device. Google is clearly less concerned with this. There's certainly a business case for Apple's approach, but I know which phone offers more value to potential owners, and it's not the SE.
Source link https://vmvirtualmachine.com/google-pixel-6a-google-just-showed-apple-how-to-make-a-better-cheap-phone/?feed_id=64317&_unique_id=62df7c2d4a912
No comments:
Post a Comment