Google I/O is right around the corner, Google is kicking it off with a keynote on May 7, and that’s probably when the company’s new mid-range Pixel phones will be announced. Well, one of those Pixel phones, the Pixel 3a, has just surfaced on Geekbench, sharing some of its specifications.
This listing appeared on Geekbench yesterday, on April 29, and it reports that the Pixel 3a will ship with 4GB of RAM. In addition to that, it also confirms that Android 9 Pie will come pre-installed on it, as expected, while we will also see a mid-range chip include here. Geekbench lists Qualcomm’s octa-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz, it could be the Snapdragon 670, at least according to rumors.
The Google Pixel 3a managed to hit 1,625 points in the single-core test on Geekbench, while the phone scored 5,206 points in the multi-core test. These are not earth-shattering results, not even close to it, but they are yet another indication that a mid-range processor in the range of the Snapdragon 670 will be included in the package.
On top of this Geekbench listing, both the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL appeared on Bluetooth SIG. as per usual, this certification does not really reveal much, other than both phones will ship with Bluetooth 5.0. This certification does also suggest that both phones will be announced soon, thus more or less confirming the May 7 launch date.
Both the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will resemble the Pixel 3, it seems, at least according to various leaks we’ve seen thus far. Both phones will include quite noticeable bezels above and below the display, while display notches / holes will not be a part of the package. Both the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will sport a single camera on the back, presumably the same 12.2-megapixel camera that is included on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. A rear-facing fingerprint scanner will also be a part of the package, and the same can be said about a small glass panel on the back.
The Google Pixel 3a is rumored to sport a 5.6-inch fullHD+ (2220 x 1080) display, while its larger sibling, the Pixel 3a XL, will include a 6-inch fullHD+ (2160 x 1080) panel. The Pixel 3a XL will also include a different processor, if rumors are to be believed, so the phone is expected to ship with the Snapdragon 710 64-bit octa-core processor, which is more powerful than the Snapdragon 670. The Pixel 3a XL is also expected to include 4GB of RAM, just like the Pixel 3a.
Google doesn’t usually release any hardware during Google I/O, especially not smartphones, but this year will be an exception, it seems. The timing of this launch is not surprising, though, as we’ve been hearing about these mid-rangers for a while now. The all-new Pixel 4 phones are not expected to arrive until October, so Google is probably hoping to offload some mid-range devices until that happens.
Price tags will play a huge role in the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL sales, as Google is entering an extremely competitive market. There are a ton of phones in the market that will be better specced than these two phones, and quite possibly cost significantly less, but we’ll see what price tags did Google have in mind.