Google’s next midrange phone, the Pixel 4a, has been delayed by two months, claims prolific leaker Jon Prosser in a tweet. Originally expected to launch earlier this month on May 13 at Google’s now-canceled annual developer conference, Prosser says that Google has internally postponed the launch twice and has decided to go ahead with a July release based on “market analysis.”
Plus, unlike what previous leaks suggested, Google likely won’t introduce a 5G variant, nor the rumored XL model. However, it’s unclear whether both of these plans have been put on hold temporarily due to looming supply chain concerns or abandoned altogether. Prosser further adds the Pixel 4a will be available in two color options called “Just Black” and “Barely Blue,” the latter of which has yet to make an appearance in any reports or leaks.
The rest of the Pixel 4a’s specifications have been widely circulated over the last few weeks. It’s expected to feature a 5.8-inch OLED screen with a tiny cutout for the selfie camera and a Full HD+ resolution of 2,340 x 1,080. It will possibly run on Qualcomm’s midrange Snapdragon 730 chip, at least 64GB of onboard storage, and 6GB RAM. There will be support for Dual SIM, one of them being an e-SIM, and a 3,080mAh battery.
The camera is usually the cornerstone of Google’s Pixel phones and similar to the rest of the lineup, the Pixel 4a will largely rely on software for photography as well. It’s rumored to have a 12.2-megapixel rear camera along with both Optical Image Stabilization and Electronic Image Stabilization, and an 8-megapixel camera on the front.
The Google Pixel 4a is also said to be the first Pixel phone without the company’s ActiveEdge technology that lets users perform actions by squeezing the edges. It will otherwise have a fairly standard exterior with a polycarbonate design, bottom-firing speakers, a USB Type-C port, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and surprisingly, a headphone jack as well. In addition, Google might end up undercutting Apple’s latest budget offering, the iPhone SE (which also misses out on 5G support) with a $349 starting price for the 128GB storage option.
