Apple probably isn't too worried about the Google Pixel 5a, which debuted last week and goes on sale August 26 However, Apple, which is reportedly preparing next year's iPhone SE 3, will notice the changes Google has introduced to this more affordable Pixel Because in several important respects, the Pixel 5a outperforms Apple's current iPhone SE

There's a reason why the Pixel 5a instantly made the list of best phones overall, and why it's the phone to get if you're looking for a budget model This year's Pixel A series costs $100 more than the Pixel 4a, but is a better value than both the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5

Even if the Pixel 4a doesn't make Apple tremble, here are some of the advantages Google's new phones enjoy over the iPhone SE and Apple's other lower-priced options

The Pixel 5a has a Snapdragon 765 system-on-chip, so Google's new phone will offer 5G connectivity on both sub-6GHz and mmWave-based networks The Samsung Galaxy A32 and OnePlus Nord N200 come to mind, but you won't find a sub-$500 5G phone that boasts the photographic prowess of the Pixel 5a (more on that later)

You won't find such a device at Apple, as Apple only began releasing 5G phones last fall The cheapest model is the iPhone 12 mini, which costs $200 more than the Pixel 5a It is unlikely that a lower-priced 5G option will be introduced to Apple's fall iPhone 13 model lineup

In fact, we may not see such a phone from Apple until next year, when the iPhone SE 3 is rumored to arrive For now, the cheapest iPhone, the $399 iPhone SE, is only available with LTE

Speaking of the iPhone SE, it ranks among the best camera phones despite having only one rear camera lens This speaks to the power of Apple's computational photography and the cleverness of the iPhone's photo processing once the shutter button is pressed

The situation was similar for the Pixel A series phones until the Pixel 5a was introduced They had only one rear-facing camera but the best photo processing software for a mobile device The new model adds a 16MP ultra-wide camera to the 122MP main shooter, and in our tests, it makes a world of difference

In our review of the Pixel 5a, we took head-to-head shots of Google's new model and the iPhone SE In many cases, the Pixel 5a took better photos, partly because of the flexibility of the additional lens

Dual camera arrays are now a common sight on lower-end phones If Apple wants to remain competitive, it would do well to embrace this trend

While talking about the camera, as good as the iPhone SE's is, it lacks a key feature - there is no night mode as found on other Apple phones On the other hand, Google has launched two Pixel A series phones (first the Pixel 4a and now the Pixel 5a) since the iPhone SE was launched in spring 2020, both of which feature Night Sight for taking photos in dark locations

A frontal comparison of the Pixel 5a and iPhone SE cameras shows the impact: the Pixel 5a successfully produces a crisp image of a smoker taken at night, with details such as bricks and fences behind the smoker iPhone SE with The image taken is nothing more than a large black blob

With the iPhone 12, Apple switched all phones, including lower-priced models, to OLED panels However, this move came too late for the iPhone SE, which was released a few months before the switch to OLED It still has an LCD screen

In contrast, Google has an OLED panel on the Pixel 5a the Pixel 5a's display, while not the best panel we have seen, outperforms the LCD with deeper blacks and better contrast between the LCD-based iPhone SE and the Pixel 5a The gap between OLED phones like the Pixel 5a and LCD-based iPhone SE is growing wider and wider, and Apple can no longer ignore it

Neither the Pixel 4a nor the iPhone SE set the world on fire when it comes to battery life, with below-average results in our battery tests (We let the phone surf the web continuously until the phone ran out of power) Google decided to solve this problem with the Pixel 5a [This is larger than the meager 3,140 mAh power pack on the Pixel 4a, the largest battery ever installed in a Pixel phone; the Pixel 5a's battery test time of 9 hours and 45 minutes is average for a smartphone The Pixel 5a's 9 hours and 45 minutes in battery testing is average for a smartphone, but it is better than the 9 hours and 18 minutes recorded when testing the iPhone SE

The iPhone SE still has plenty of power While not as fast as the recent iPhone 12 model, the iPhone SE is powered by the A13 Bionic chip and is on par with many Android devices It also offers wireless charging, which Google omitted from the Pixel 5a Fans of compact phones will also appreciate the iPhone SE's design more than the Pixel and its larger 643-inch display

However, the iPhone SE's advantage over other low-cost phones is rapidly fading, and Apple will have its work cut out for it with the iPhone SE's successor, tentatively named the iPhone SE 3, which is rumored to add 5G and feature a faster chipset The phone, tentatively named the iPhone SE 3, is rumored to add 5G and a faster chipset But if Apple wants to steal back the low-cost smartphone thunder from Google, it would do well to take a cue from the Pixel 5a and incorporate some of its features into its next budget handset