AAA 469: Pixel 4a vs. iPhone SE

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No matter how cheap the SE is, there will always be an almost-as-capable and much cheaper Android phone that much of the developing world will buy instead.

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To me whatever I buy will be iOS, so the SE wins.

Reading on the Pixel 4a specs, it has the headphone jack!

I don’t see the SE competing with any Android device or vice versa. I think most are going to stay in their system of choice and iPhone users will rejoice for an inexpensive iPhone. How many people that aren’t phone reviewers actually jump between Android and iOS? There can’t be many.

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The 3a did too. Makes me a bit sad that I didn’t wait.

Both the Pixel 4a and the iPhone SE are excellent all-round options for people who want a lot of bang for their scarce lockdown Covid-19 bucks. They illustrate the marketing fact most feared by the manufacturers: That smartphones are now commodities requiring them to compete on price and less on features that might justify far higher prices. Is 5G today the marketing equivalent of yesterday’s 3-D hoopla for television makers, as the big flat screen manufacturers tried to prevent for as long as possible the slide of their products into the slim margin commodity swamp. I bought a Pixel 3a that was at $300 a few weeks ago. A great phone with plain vanilla Android by Google. I won’t buy an iPhone SE since it doesn’t have an earphone jack.

Not just the developing world.

I know a lot of people in Germany who think a 200€ phone is a bit on the expensive side for a 5 year investment.

And, for a lot of people, 400€-500€ is still considered the start of the high-end or luxury segment of the market.

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I “splurged” on my Pixel 4 on sale at $400. Before that the ranges were $100-$300. I don’t think I would ever spend my own money on a $1000 phone unless I win some sort of lottery.

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