Pixel 4a: Release date, leaks and what we'd like to see from Google's next affordable phone

Image Credit: TecnoLike Plus/YouTube

There were more flagship smartphone launches than you could shake a stylus at in 2019, but one of standout devices of the year was actually a mid-ranger. The Google Pixel 3a was more memorable than numerous more expensive mobiles, because it offers the Pixel 3’s exceptional camera at a far more affordable price point. 

We expect its successor, the Pixel 4a, to launch in either May or June, and a multitude of leaks that have emerged over recent months have given us a decent idea of what the new handset could bring to the table. Read on for a breakdown of what we’re expecting (and what we’d like to see) from the Pixel 4a.

The Pixel 4a at a glance

• May launch originally expected, but June delay likely
• Likely to cost between £400 and £500
• 5.81-inch, 2340 x 1080 screen
• 60Hz refresh rate
• 12-megapixel rear camera
• 8-megapixel selfie camera
• 3080mAh battery
• Snapdragon 730 processor
• Unclear if there will be a 5G model
• Unclear if there will be an XL model

A #GoogleIO update: Out of concern for the health and safety of our developers, employees, and local communities — and in line with “shelter in place” requirements by the local Bay Area government — we sadly will not be holding an I/O event in any capacity this year. (1/3)

— Google Developers (@googledevs) March 20, 2020

Pixel 4a release date

Google had been expected to launch the Pixel 4a range, alongside the Pixel Buds 2, this month. That’s because most smartphone makers work to a 12-month refresh cycle, and the Pixel 3a and 3a XL were unveiled at Google I/O 2019 (the search giant’s annual conference for developers) which took place in, you guessed it, May 2019.

However, this year’s version of the event, Google I/O 2020, has been cancelled due to coronavirus fears. The Google I/O 2020 opening keynote had been set to take place on May 12, at the Shoreline Amphitheater at the company’s Mountain View HQ. Those plans have now been scrapped.

Initially, Google had said it planned to move this year’s show online, due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus, but in March it decided against holding the event at all. The change of heart came as the crisis deepened, and Google has no plans to reschedule it.

That’s not the only coronavirus-related news regarding the Pixel 4a. At the end of February, Google reportedly also shifted Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 production from factories in China to factories in Vietnam, because of the virus.

All of which means there’s now a sizeable question mark hanging over the handset’s launch.

However, on March 31, Google dropped the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones from its online store. The Pixel 3 range, which launched in October 2018, is no longer available to purchase from the official Google Store, with the company currently only offering the Pixel 4 and Pixel 3a among its homegrown hardware.

The timing appears to be very deliberate, with the decision mirroring the 18-month timeframe Google kept the Pixel 2 phones on sale for.

Furthermore, Google is holding an online event on June 3. It’s here that Google will launch the first Android 11 beta, and if the Pixel 4a doesn’t launch on May 12, it will surely make an appearance at Google’s June event.

Vodafone Germany is planning to start selling the phone on June 5, judging by leaked documents spied by Caschys Blog. The site had previously predicted the network would begin offering the phone on May 22, suggesting there has now been a delay at Google’s end.

Related: Android 11 features

Image Credit: @evleaks/Twitter

Pixel 4a price

As mentioned above, we loved the Pixel 3a, and it was a runaway success for Google too. It launched with an RRP of £399, with the Pixel 3a XL costing £469 − roughly half as much as the Pixel 3 (£739) and Pixel 3 XL (£869), which didn’t sell particularly well.

In its Q2 2019 earnings call on July 25, just three months after the launch of the Pixel 3a range, Google revealed that the 3a and 3a XL had already more than doubled sales of its handsets year-on-year. Doubled. In just three months.

And there could be a lot riding on the Pixel 4a too. The Google Pixel 4 and Google Pixel 4 XL, to put it bluntly, were enormously disappointing additions to the Pixel line, and comments made during Alphabet’s Q4 2019 earnings call suggested that the Pixel 4 range might be even less popular than the Pixel 3 range was.

All of which could mean that when the Pixel 4a arrives, it might be under pressure to rescue the Pixel brand all over again.

The Pixel 3a is still one of the best mid-range phones on the market right now, and the reliable tipster Evan Blass appears to have got his hands on materials that confirm the Pixel 4a will start at $399. He tweeted the mockup images above that claim the 4a will cost the same amount as the 3a. While those aren’t real billboards, we’re hoping that price details are legitimate.

According to 9to5Google though, the Pixel 4a will start at $349 (128GB) in the US, which would be $50 cheaper than the base price of the Pixel 3a, with twice as much storage. It’s also possible there’ll be a 64GB version of the Pixel 4a, but doesn’t appear as if any of the 4a models will be expandable via microSD.

The existence of a Pixel 4a XL is, for the first time, in doubt.

Related: The Pixel 4a can beat the new iPhone SE 2

Pixel 4a specs and features

Incredibly, the 4a was apparently already available for purchase in a Cuban store as early as March. That apparently allowed Spanish language blog TechnoLike Plus to post a hands-on video review that claims to reveal all of the Pixel 4a’s key specs and features.

The top-line information is that a Snapdragon 730 processor will be doing the heavy lifting, combined with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage that unfortunately cannot be boosted by an external microSD card. The site gets the info by running a benchmarking test, which also reveals a 3080mAh battery.

You may have heard that Google is reportedly working on its own processors for use in Pixel smartphones, but this isn’t likely to happen until next year. The chip is apparently code-named Whitechapel and has been built in collaboration with Samsung, which makes its own Exynos processors for Galaxy phones and is involved with Apple’s A-series chips too.

Courtesy of the video, we’ve also got all of the information we need about the display. The site says it’s a 5.81-inch, 2340 x 1080 panel, with a 60Hz refresh rate, and a pixel density of 443ppi.

These specs have also been corroborated by a 9to5Google report published in April (and others since), which adds that there will be a 128GB version of the phone too.

Earth badge on Fitbit! pic.twitter.com/TvUs4dYQF6

— Rick Osterloh (@rosterloh) May 4, 2020

In early May, Rick Osterloh, the head of Google’s hardware division, sent out the apparently perfectly straightforward tweet embedded above.

Closer examination of the screenshot, however, drops a hint over which smartphone he was using at the time. There’s a space to the left of the clock, which would suggest a punch hole display. Which Pixel phone is widely tipped to be the first to rock a punch hole display? Why, it’s the Pixel 4a, of course!

Yes, that’s the same Rick Osterloh who criticised the Pixel 4’s battery before its launch. “At a hardware team all-hands meeting in the fall, ahead of the October launch in New York, Osterloh informed staff about his own misgivings,” The Information has reported. “He told them he did not agree with some of the decisions made about the phone, according to two people who were present at the meeting. In particular, he was disappointed in its battery power.”

Unfortunately, Google either chose not to, or didn’t have enough time to, do something about it. Hopefully he’s enjoying the Pixel 4a a little more.

TechnoLike Plus’ video also shows a USB-C port, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and the retention of the headphone jack on top of the device, just like the Pixel 3a.

Image: Slashleaks

In January, XDA Developers uncovered a trio of codenames in Android Open Source Project: Sunfish, Redfin and Bramble. These are thought to refer to different models in the Pixel 4a series, and they were listed alongside with the SoC platforms they’re based on.

Sunfish, it appears, will run the mid-range Snapdragon 730, while Redfin and Bramble will reportedly use the the Snapdragon 765, Qualcomm’s first mid-range processor with an integrated 5G modem.

This has caused some confusion, with some taking that as a hint that there could be 4G and 5G versions of the Pixel 4a, and others believing that Redfin and Bramble actually refer to the Pixel 5. If this was the case, the Pixel 5 would have a comparable level of performance to the Pixel 4a.

Image: Slashleaks

In March, two purported real-life pictures of a Pixel 4a handset were published on Slashleaks.

They tally up very neatly with all of the rumours above, and a series of renders created by a digital artist known as Concept Creator, for Dutch tech site LetsGoDigital. Those, however, are essentially rumours in picture form.

There’s a video too, which shows what the handset could look like in different colours, including black, white, orange, purple and blue. We’ve embedded it right at the bottom of this page.

Google Pixel 4A Again
Credits – @raude2210 pic.twitter.com/jDzWCXsIQd

— TechDroider (@techdroider) March 8, 2020

Visible in some reports is a single rear camera, albeit one housed in a raised square section like its siblings (more on this in the following section).

The single camera on the front, meanwhile, is now a hole-punch style snapper tucked away in the top left-hand corner of the screen, disposing of the forehead bezel that was present on the 4.

According to XDA Developers, the Pixel 4a could use UFS 2.1 flash storage, which should allow for better power efficiency, faster file transfers, and speedier app loading and installation speeds, in comparison to the Pixel 3a.

Related: Best camera phones

Image Credit: @OnLeaks/91Mobiles

Pixel 4a camera

As mentioned above, the best thing about the Pixel 3a is that it uses pretty much the same camera setup as the flagship Pixel 3. However, this won’t be the case this time around.

The Pixel 4 and 4 XL are the first ever Pixel phones to feature more than one rear camera sensor, and it’s probably not feasible for Google to equip the mid-range 4a with such a high-end − and likely pricey − camera setup too.

Multiple leaks have shown that the Pixel 4a will have a single rear camera, rather than adopting the multi-sensor setup seen on the Pixel 4.

But don’t be too disheartened. That more modest camera configuration could still be capable of smoking most of the competition. After all, much of what makes Google’s cameras so impressive is on the processing, rather than the actual hardware.

That TechnoLike Plus video embedded further up the page shows a large plastic camera bump that only contains a single 12-megapixel lens and flash combo. But the site has high praise for it.

9to5Google agrees, but adds that the selfie camera is an 8-megapixel sensor, and that video recording specs are the same as what the Pixel 4 offers (1080p@30fps, 60fps and 120fps; 720p@240fps; and 4K@ 30fps for the rear camera; and 1080p@30fps for the selfie camera.

XDA Developers discovered code in the Google Camera 7.3 update that mentions “pixel_20_mid_range” and suggests the Pixel 4a will give users the option to shoot video at 24fps − which is the traditional standard for films and TV shows.

In early May, TechnoLike Plus released a set of sample shots that were apparently taken with a prototype Pixel 4a. They look predictably excellent, and you can see them in the video embedded below:

Things we’d like to see from the Pixel 4a

Obviously it isn’t realistic to ask for the world in a mid-range smartphone, but there are a few potential areas of improvement we’d like Google to address with the Pixel 4a.

First and foremost, we’d like to see more choice − or at least the addition of a microSD card slot. The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL both come with 64GB of internal storage, with no option to expand that. It would be great if this changed with the 4a.

We’d also love to see the arrival of wireless charging and some form of waterproofing, for added convenience.

Beyond these things, however, it would be great to see Google stick to pretty much the same formula. More Pixel 4a leaks are bound to emerge over the coming weeks and months, and we’ll keep updating this page with the biggest news.

Here’s the video that we promised earlier:

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