We have already seen several leaks of the Google Pixel 4a but the latest detail to leak has everyone scratching their heads. The “a” series of Pixel phones, from all that Google have told us, is designed to be an affordable Pixel experience but the new leaks that Google may be pushing that mid-range envelope with the Pixel 4a.
XDA Developers received a tip from @akes29 who discovered Pixel code names relating to the new 2020 Pixel phones. XDA dug a bit further into the AOSP dump from the latest Pixel 4 firmware and confirmed these three code names along with the SoC they are expected to run.
We have seen claims that this year Google will not release an XL version of the “a” series but the finding by XDA refutes these claims. The three new codenames found are sunfish, redfin, and bramble.
Sunfish
The Sunfish code-name in the AOSP states that it is based on the Snapdragon 730 SoC — an upper-mid-range chipset. This chipset does not support a 5G modem which is not required and is not surprising to be lacking in a mid-range device is 2020. Given that this code-name is mentioned in both the AOSP and the Google app it is expected to be the Pixel 4a.
Redfin
This code-name that appears in the AOSP is based on the Snapdragon 765 SoC and could be either a phone or a development board. This chipset comes with an integrated 5G modem and given that it is expected to not be a cheap chipset. Whether this 5G chipset fits into Google’s idea of mid-range pricing is yet to be seen but Google would be expected to be releasing 5G smartphone sometime soon with 5G taking off in many countries.
Bramble
The third code-name spotted by XDA was Bramble and is also based on the SD765 SoC platform and unlike with the Redfin XDA were unable to find any evidence that Bramble is an actual ODM device.
Three code-names have been found but it is unlikely we will see three Pixel 4a smartphones but it would not surprise us to see a standard 4G Pixel 4a and a 5G Pixel 4a XL. It will be interesting to see if Google are able to continue their impressive aggressive pricing of the “a” series with the 5G model. We can only hope so but expect so after the Pixel 3a overwhelming success.
Does it make sense to release a 5G 4a when the 4 didn’t have 5G? Or perhaps they will wait until Pixel 5(G).
Yes seems a bit weird too not have 5G mated to a higher end phone and chipset .
But then again this is Google logic .