A Reddit user leaked supposed carrier pricing of two upcoming mid-range smartphones from Google, namely the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, in Canadian dollars. According to the leak, the Pixel 3a will ship with a price tag of $649.99 CAD, which translates to around $488 at the current exchange rate. The latest rumor somewhat corroborates an earlier report that emerged from Russia, which claims that the Pixel 3a, which is also known by its internal codename Sargo, will cost approximately $508 (€449). Moreover, based on the leak, both the black and white color variants of the Pixel 3a will be available in Canada.
Aside from the Pixel 3a, the leak also provided details about the pricing of the larger Pixel 3a XL. The handset supposedly code-named Bonito is hence said to retail at $799.99 CAD, which translates to roughly $600.
While none of those revelations are particularly surprising given previous indications of the Pixel 3a line’s pricing, they are also alarming in the context of how Google is approaching arguably the most competitive smartphone price bracket there is – by delivering overpriced mid-rangers.
However, the Reddit user who released the information warned that actual pricing from Google might be cheaper than the prices listed in the leak, and the poster suggested users subtract around $30 to $100 to get the possible cost that Google may charge for the two devices. Following this suggestion by the leaker, Google may charge as low as $400 for the Pixel 3a and $500 for the Pixel 3a XL. Moreover, the prices of the two handsets in the United States may also be considerably lower compared to how much Google charges for the two devices in other markets.
The lower cost of the two handsets compared to the search giant’s premium smartphone offerings, the Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL, allows Google to market the upcoming devices to consumers who are looking for mid-range handsets. However, to achieve the lower cost in building the product, the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL will use plastic, rather than glass, for its chassis.
Earlier rumors claim that the Pixel 3a will sport the Snapdragon 670 chipset from Qualcomm, a 2,915mAh battery, and a 5.56-inch display with a resolution of 2,220 by 1,080 pixels. Moreover, reports suggest that the handset will feature 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal flash storage, although the listing leaked by the Reddit user indicates that the smartphone may have a variant with 64GB of storage.
On the other hand, the Pixel 3a XL will feature the more powerful Snapdragon 710 chipset and a larger 6-inch display with a Full HD+ resolution. The handset may also feature either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, and the recently-leaked listing also suggests that the device will have 64GB of storage. Moreover, both the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL will sport a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, according to recent leaks.
Despite the cheaper price tag of the two devices, the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL will likely retain the features that allowed Google’s premium offerings to offer competitive image quality. For example, the two handsets will sport a 12-megapixel rear shooter and an 8-megapixel front-facing imaging module. Rumors further suggest that the two handsets will also retain software features like Portrait Mode and Super Res Zoom functionalities.