With the original ship date for the Pixel 4a well and truly behind us now, the latest rumour has the newest device in Google’s hardware lineup potentially being announced on 13 July, just a week away, with retail availability rumoured for August/October. The Pixel 4a has gone through the FCC so the hardware is likely ready for release from a regulatory perspective.
Internally the Pixel 4a may be shaping up to be quite an upgrade on the original pixel 3a. Rumoured to have a 7 series Snapdragon SOC, likely the 730 paired with 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. If all of this is correct the Pixel 4a is going to be a solid performer.
This year it seems almost certain that we will only be getting one size of Pixel 4a, a middle of the road 5.8″ AMOLED model instead of a smaller and XL variant as is the tradition of all Pixel phones thus far. With an older 700 series SOC the 4a is also not likely to be a 5G phone, which is unsurprising — you’d expect Google to want their flagship to get that fist.
Battery performance on the Pixel line has been an area of concern: this mid-sized Pixel 4a will ship with a 3080mAh battery which feels like it might be slightly less than needed. That’s backed up by 18W USB-C fast charging and inconsistent rumours about wireless charging. While I’d love to see Qi charging in the mid-tier most OEMs are not including it to make their premium phones more desirable.
Check out the full specs below:
| Pixel 4a | |
|---|---|
| Display | 5.81-inch FHD+ (2340 x 1080) OLED |
| SOC | Snapdragon 730 |
| RAM | 6GB |
| Internal Storage | 64 / 128 GB |
| SD Card | No |
| Rear Camera | 12.2MP |
| Front Camera | 8MP |
| Battery | 3080mAh |
| Charging | 18W fast charging via USB C ? Qi Wireless Charging |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Rear mounted |
| Headphone jack | yes |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless | Bluetooth 5.0 WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| Colour | Just Black, Barely Blue |
| Android | 10 |
The Pixel 4a was supposed to be launched well before the official release of Android 11, and has likely been built on Android 10. Within all likelihood Android 11 will be released before or near the device availability so it’s likely to get an update fairly quickly.
This raises an interesting question about updates for the Pixel 4a. When will the timer for 2 YEARS of OS updates and 3 years of security updates be started? Announcement date? Retail Date? Could the Pixel 4a actually get updated to Android 11 upfront and then get a free ride to Android 13?
The retail cost of the Pixel 4a is expected to be on par with the release of the 3a which places local pricing between $649 and $799. Overall we would guess the cost would be closer to the low $700s in Australia.
2020 has certifiably been a disruptive year, and while delays to shiny hunks of glass and plastic pale into insignificance against the issues on the world stage we’re sure this has been a big disappointment for Google who do seem to be putting a lot of sales hope behind the Pixel a line.
What are you hoping to see in the Pixel 4a?
Only a single rear camera? Most mid-range phones now come with 2-3 cameras so not expecting great things here. If this phone was delivered with SD765G and 5G, it would have been a game changer. Not too sure now. I think the Galaxy A51 seems like a better choice provided you are happy with Exynos CPU.
For Google to release it here in Kiwi land and not have to parallel import.
We’d like that for you too.With Assistant Smart Speakers now officially being sold In NZ hopefully you will see more devices roll-out. At least importing for Aus is easier than it is from the USA.
A reasonable price tag the main one.