After a three-month-long delay, the Google Pixel 4a finally landed at the beginning of August. In a very un-Google move, the company also confirmed a new variant of the Pixel 4a would be coming soon. That phone will be called the Google Pixel 4a 5G.
Naturally, one would assume this future smartphone would just be a 5G-powered Pixel 4a (it’s right in the name!). However, rumors suggest that there might be quite a few differences between the Pixel 4a and the Pixel 4a 5G.
Related: Google Pixel 4a review: Google’s best phone in years
Below, we’ve summarized all the various rumors and leaks we’ve seen so far related to the Google Pixel 4a 5G. We also have a few bits of confirmed info directly from Google itself. Altogether, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect when the Pixel 4a 5G lands later this year.
Be sure to bookmark this page and visit often, as we will be continuously updating it as new information lands!
When is the Google Pixel 4a 5G release date?
On August 3, the same day the Pixel 4a launched, Google pushed out the image above and confirmed that a Google Pixel 4a 5G would land alongside the Google Pixel 5 in 2020.
Unfortunately, Google didn’t also confirm exactly when we would see the new device launch. The next day, though, a savvy 9to5Google reader noticed that the French version of Google’s Pixel 4a announcement included a date for Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 pre-orders. That date was listed as October 8, 2020.
Google has confirmed that the Pixel 4a 5G will launch sometime in 2020, so you can take that to the bank... unless there's another delay.
Not long after this discovery, Google removed the date from the French blog post. It’s totally possible this was an error and the Google Pixel 4a 5G won’t be up for pre-order on October 8. However, we are fairly certain that the date was likely correct and Google simply made a mistake in announcing it.
As of now, you can feel free to pencil in October 8 as the Pixel 4a 5G release date (and probably the Pixel 5 too) . Even if that’s not the exact date, an early October launch is almost assured as that’s when Google traditionally launches its latest flagship phones anyway.
Design
In the image header of the previous section, you can see the side profile of two phones. The one on the left we expect to be the Pixel 5, while the one on the right (with the white button) is likely the Google Pixel 4a 5G. That’s as much as we’ve seen on either device from official sources so far.
However, accessories maker Pigtou — with the help of relatively new leaker “xleaks7” — posted some images in July which it claimed showed early renders of the Google Pixel 5. However, we now are under the assumption that the renders are actually for the Pixel 4a 5G. Check out a selection of the leaked renders below:
These leaked design images suggest that the Google Pixel 4a 5G will look a lot like the Pixel 4a. However, it could be physically larger than the Pixel 4a and also feature a dual-lens rear camera system — a nice upgrade over the excellent single-lens shooter on the Pixel 4a.
Aside from those changes, though, these renders give us the impression that the Pixel 4a 5G will be very similar to the Pixel 4a as far as design goes. The only other notable thing is that these renders do not show a headphone jack. Considering the Pixel 4a and the Pixel 3a both have headphone jacks, it would be strange for this one to drop it. Hopefully, that’s just an inaccuracy with these renders and the Pixel 4a 5G does have a headphone jack. We’ll need to wait and see.
Specs and features
The most obvious upgrade needed for a Google Pixel 4a 5G is the processor. The Pixel 4a’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 is a terrific chipset, no doubt, but it can’t connect to 5G networks. As such, we expect the Pixel 4a 5G to sport a Snapdragon 765 (or possibly 765G), which is a 5G-capable processor.
Related: Is the Google Pixel 4a powerful enough for a budget phone in 2020?
This will make the phone a slightly better performer than its namesake. You can see what kind of differences there might be in our Speed Test G bout between the OnePlus Nord (SD765G) and the Pixel 4a. We’ll spoil it for you ahead of time: the Nord wins, but not by much.
The Pixel 4a 5G will have an upgraded processor. It also will probably have more cameras and a bigger battery.
Outside of the processor, we expect the Google Pixel 4a 5G to also have a bigger battery, considering the phone will probably be physically larger than the Pixel 4a. We don’t expect to see too many other spec upgrades though — you can probably expect the same display resolution, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and many of the other specs we saw on the Pixel 4a.
As far as features go, the Pixel 4a 5G is a Pixel, so it will see fast updates to the latest versions of Android as well as many of the popular Pixel-exclusive features, such as Call Screen and Astrophotograhy. It will miss out on some features, though, simply due to hardware limitations. For example, it likely won’t have Motion Sense or a secure form of face unlocking.
Google Pixel 4a 5G: Price and availability
In yet another very un-Google move, the company has already confirmed the price of the Google Pixel 4a 5G. The phone will start at $499, a $150 jump in price when compared to the $349 Pixel 4a.
That additional $150 is nearly half the price of the Pixel 4a, so Google better have a lot of justifications for that price hike besides just “it connects to 5G.” Since 5G is still relatively uncommon around the world, that feature alone is probably not enough to entice people to spend $500 on a phone when they could spend $350 on a very similar one.
Related: All the Google Pixel phones released so far
This is why we expect there to be additional cameras, a bigger display, a bigger battery, and other spec and feature upgrades for the Google Pixel 4a 5G.
As far as availability goes, Google has been upfront with that information, too. The company confirmed that the Pixel 4a 5G (and the Pixel 5) will launch in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States this year.
Unfortunately, the company also confirmed that both Singapore and India will not see the Pixel 4a 5G or the Pixel 5 at all. Both countries will see the vanilla Pixel 4a at some point in October.
That’s all we’ve got so far on the Google Pixel 4a 5G! Be sure to bookmark this page so you can stay up-to-date with the latest news.
from Android Authority https://ift.tt/30tt5JC
