Over the past couple months, there have been a number of rumours about Google’s upcoming midrange phone. But now, a new round of leaks has supplied us enough info to paint a nearly complete overview of the Pixel 4a.
The latest comes from 9to5Google, which spoke to a source that has apparently confirmed a lot of previously rumoured info, including its name, Pixel 4a. The source also confirmed that the Pixel 4a will offer a 5.8-inch 2340 x 1080 OLED display, though for this handset, Google is changing things up a bit by upgrading to a punch-hole selfie cam to help reduce the size of the phone’s bezels. (Last year’s Pixel 3a had much larger borders around the top and bottom of its screen.)
Unsurprisingly, the Pixel 4a reportedly won’t include a row of Soli radars and IR sensors, which means it won’t have support for 3D facial recognition or Motion Sense gestures. One critical thing it seems Google isn’t changing for the Pixel 4a is the inclusion of a 3.5mm jack, which should be welcome news to anyone who still prefers using wired headphones.
Inside, the sources say, the Pixel 4a will come with a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor, 6GB of RAM, a 3,080 mAh battery, and either 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage depending on the configuration. One interesting note is that 9to5Google’s source says the Pixel 4a will only be available in one size, which means we won’t get an XL version like we did for the Pixel 3a.
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The Pixel 4a’s camera doesn’t seem to have gotten a major upgrade, as the source says the phone will sport an 8-megapixel selfie cam in front, along with a single 12.2-megapixel camera in back. It’s a similar situation for video specs, with the Pixel 4a expected to offer support for video capture at up to 4K at 30 fps in addition to a slow-mo mode that records clips at 720p at 240 fps.
Other notable features on the Pixel 4a include a built-in Titan M security chip and number of features found on the regular Pixel 4 such as the “Now Playing” song identification feature, the improved Google Assistant, and more.
These leaks have even identified the Pixel 4a’s new colour options, with the phone set to arrive in two shades: Just Black and Barely Blue. If we go back to previous leaks about the Pixel 4a, it’s possible we may have already seen what Barely Blue will look like thanks to leaked promo pics posted by @evleaks back in early March (which you also can see in the lead pic above).
It’s important to consider that by going with a Snapdragon 730 chip, the Pixel 4a probably won’t be 5G-ready. Considering the Pixel 4a is expected to launch at just $US400 ($630), though, a lack of 5G capability is a pretty reasonable omission.
The one major piece of info we’re still missing is the Pixel 4a’s launch date. Last year, the Pixel 3a was announced at Google I/O in early May, so if Google sticks to a similar timeline for the Pixel 4a, we may be only a month out from its official debut. However, with covid-19 already having disrupted production of a huge number of gadgets, it’s possible that the Pixel 4a’s release could get delayed until later this summer.