Last year’s Pixel 3a was met with raving reviews for being one of the best budget phones on the market. This has made the Pixel 4a one of the most anticipated phones of the year. Fortunately, it has leaked quite a bit already, so here’s everything we know about the upcoming smartphone from Google.
Specs
| Processor | Snapdragon 730 |
| RAM | 6 GB |
| Storage | 64/128 GB, UFS 2.1 |
| Display | 5.8-inch 2340×1080, 60 Hz |
| Battery | 3,080 mAh |
| Camera | 12 MP rear camera, 8 MP front camera |
| Dimensions | 144.2×69.5×8.2 mm |
| Software | Android 10 |
| Miscellaneous | 3.5 mm headphone jack, USB-C, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner |
The Pixel 4a will see some welcome improvements to performance and storage. The processor goes from a Snapdragon 670 on the 3a to a Snapdragon 730 on the 4a. You’ll get 2 extra GB of RAM and much faster UFS 2.1 storage compared to eMMC. The display is slightly bigger with a hole-punch cut-out, but the battery capacity and camera unit remain largely the same. However, the headphone jack and rear-mounted fingerprint scanner are here to stay!
Based on the “sunfish” hardware name and processor for the Pixel 4a, reports are that it will not have 5G support. This shouldn’t be a dealbreaker with the current state of 5G anyways.
New reports are also saying that the Pixel 4a will drop “Active Edge,” which is the squeeze-for-Assistant gesture found on current Pixel phones since the Pixel 2. Performance benchmarks and battery life have also leaked. In an AnTuTu benchmark test, the Pixel 4a scored 268971. TechnoLikePlus’s Julio Lusson also mentioned in his video that he got nearly 7.5 hours of screen-on time with 10% remaining.
Design
The design looks to have been refreshed with a more modern look. There’s a hole-punch camera cut-out on the front in the top left corner. The bezels are also relatively slim for a budget device. On the back, there’s a square camera housing similar to the flagship Pixel 4. However, it just contains a single camera and flash.
The phone will come in the usual Just Black and Clearly White colorways, but a light blue was hinted at by YouTuber Dave Lee also a new “Barely Blue” color will be an option. There are also differing reports on whether there will be an XL variant or not for the 4a, but a large majority point to just one model.
Cost and release date
The Pixel 4a is projected to start at $399, the same as last year’s 3a, according to leaker Evan Blass. This could mean there is an XL variant or that more storage will just cost extra. It’s now projected that the Pixel 4a will start at just $299 for the 64 GB model and $349 for the 128 GB model.
Like last year’s 3a, it was expected that Google would announce the 4a at Google I/O this May. However, given that the entire I/O event (both in-person and online) has been canceled due to coronavirus, it’s likely Google will just publish a blog post for the device’s launch. This might be in the coming days or at the Android 11 Beta Launch Show on June 3rd. It’s now rumored that the Pixel 4a announcement will be pushed back to July 13th due to “market conditions” and the Just Black color will launch on August 6th with the Barely Blue color on October 1st.
At any rate, the Pixel 4a is looking to be a really promising device for the budget market and we can’t wait to check it out.
Via: Android Police
