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Is it time to announce the new Pixel?
According to the online mobile rumour mill, Google is set to unveil its Pixel 4a smartphone any day now. Like plenty of things over the past few months, the arrival of the latest addition to the Pixel range has been delayed and complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. But it looks like Google is now ready to let it see the light of day.
Why Now?
The industry originally expected Google to announce the Pixel 4a at its I/O conference in May – which would have marked the one-year anniversary of the company surprising everyone with the launch of the Pixel 3a at the same event the previous year. For reasons that no longer need explaining, I/O was cancelled, and the fate of the anticipated 4a has been up in the air ever since.
Time for Change
While Google is still yet to confirm anything, various analysts have now joined the dots and sound convinced that the Pixel 4a will be officially unveiled this month. A July announcement was suggested as far back as May, drawing some furrowed brows because, as far as anyone could tell, the 4a had been ‘ready to ship’ in time for I/O. But now Google has discontinued the Pixel 3a, convincing everyone that the follow-up model must be imminent.
Could the Google Pixel 4a be Budget-friendly?
So what exactly can we expect from the Pixel 4a? Like the 3a, it will be a budget-friendly riff on Google’s current flagship smartphone model, in this case the Pixel 4. According to a specs leak dating back to April, the 4a will have a 5.81-inch 1080 x 2340 OLED screen, will be powered by a 3,080mAh battery and offer 6GB RAM.
There are rumours that both 64GB and 128GB storage options will be available, while everything is expected to run on a mid-range Snapdragon 730 chipset. At least one rumour of a prototype run on Snapdragon 765, however, suggests there could also be a 5G-ready version.
Software and Features
The Pixel range is, of course, famous for the quality of its camera, both in terms of hardware and software. The expectation is that the Pixel 4a will feature much the same hardware as the 4, namely 12.2MP rear and 8MP front-facing cameras, but not so many of the cutting edge features. Still, for a mid-range smartphone, a 12MP main camera is not to be sniffed at.
So When Can We Expect to See it?
One persistent rumour is that, even if the official unveiling does happen on July 13 as mooted, the Pixel 4a may still not be available to purchase until October. As the Pixel 5 is due out about then, it could even end up seeing the light of day as the Pixel 5a. We shall wait and see.