I’ve been a dedicated user of Google’s phones since 2018: this far, I’ve tried Pixel 3, Pixel 4 XL and, most recently, Pixel 4a.

When it comes to cellphone technology, I’ve cycled through many brands, but none have been able to provide me with the digital platform and incredible user experience that can rival Google’s phones. Using Pixel is so intuitive and easy. It turns photography into an artistic experience: you no longer need to worry about the tech side of it all – Google takes care of it, letting you focus on the composition, styling and overall aesthetic of the shot. As a journalist, I also take great comfort in the fact that all my endless files and documents can be instantaneously edited, synced and saved onto the platform of my choice. It’s convenient, easy and exceptionally fast.

Arguably, Pixel 4a is the most accessible Pixel phone. Its sleek, modern design offers a bright OLED screen, a longer lasting battery and an excellent camera to capture brilliant shots with HDR+, Night Sight with astrophotography for those long winter nights outdoors, and Portrait Mode for the best holiday snaps.

I may be a writer but I’m also a tech junkie, so let’s take an in-depth look into what Pixel 4a has to offer.

You can take great photos, even if the lighting isn’t the best. Pixel 4a claims it can even capture the Milky Way because of its astrophotography feature. If you love the outdoors like me, this is an excellent feature you can take full advantage of.

Pixel has an Adaptive Battery that lasts for about a day. I’ve always greatly enjoyed this about Google phones: their batteries are amazing. While my other smartphones could take many hours to charge, in my personal experience, Pixel fully charges in about an hour. Pixel adapts to the way that you use your favourite apps and reduces power for the ones that you rarely use.

Your apps will also look great on Pixel 4a’s 5.8″ bezel-less, OLED display. It goes from edge to edge, so that you could fully immerse yourself in your videos and apps. The front-facing camera is embedded within the display. Plus, it has a 3.5 mm headphone jack, 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM.

As a journalist, another incredible feature that I value enormously is Pixel’s exclusive Recorder app, which automatically transcribes speech and lets you search across your audio recordings. Accuracy of Live Caption certainly depends on the quality and clarity of the audio source, but any help I can get with my interviews is a big bonus.

With Pixel, you also get the best of Google services: a YouTube Premium trial, Google One and Google Play Pass – each for three months. Plus, unlimited photo and video storage in high quality with Google Photos.

One function that is also helpful is Pixel’s Google Assistant that helps control apps, send texts and even screen calls. I’ve found it particularly handy with the rise of spam and telemarketer calls this month.

All-in-all, this is a trendy, elegant, technologically advanced and very user-friendly device that would make a perfect gift this holiday season – for yourself or someone you love. Happy holidays and happy shopping!

Retails for $479.

Images courtesy of Google.