Google has finally announced the Pixel 4a, after many internal delays.
The Pixel 4a was likely supposed to be announced at I/O back in May. But Google I/O was cancelled, due to the global pandemic, to no one’s surprise. So Google had to delay this launch. Though most of us didn’t expect it to be delayed nearly three months. But the Pixel 4a is finally here.
A mid-range phone worth buying
This year, we’ve seen a number of smartphones come out hitting that $399 price point. That includes the iPhone SE (2020) and the OnePlus Nord. Even though the latter isn’t available in the US, it’s still a great value at €399.
Enter the Pixel 4a. Not at $399 though. It’s even cheaper at $349 in the US.
Pixel 4a is a whole lot of phone for only $349. It sports a 5.8-inch FHD+ OLED display, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 chipset with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Google says it has a larger battery, and while it is true, it is still pretty small at 3140mAh. Though that is bigger than the Pixel 4’s battery, so that’s worth something. Another interesting tidbit, is that there is no 64GB model, only 128GB. Meaning the $349 Pixel 4a has double the storage of the $799 Pixel 4 (and $899 Pixel 4 XL), that’s a bit crazy.
It of course, runs on the latest version of Android, and that’s Android 10. It will also be updated to Android 11 in the very near future, as expected.
There’s a single camera on the backside of the Pixel 4a, it’s the same 12.2-megapixel sensor Google has been using since the original Pixel. The Pixel magic is still there though. So expect to see great portrait mode shots, as well as Night Sight, Super Res Zoom and Astrophotograhy.
Pre-orders are open now
The Google Pixel 4a is available for pre-order now through the Google Store and Google Fi.
The device will be available starting on August 20, and it will be available through the Google Store, Best Buy, Amazon and other retailers. It is also coming to carriers including Google Fi, US Cellular and Verizon. A bit surprising seeing it come to carriers since carriers mostly only want 5G smartphones. However, this could be a trade-off for the carriers, since Google is going to announce two 5G Pixel smartphones later this year, as Google confirmed in its announcement today.
Availability will differ in other countries, make sure to check out the Google Store in your country to see if it is available there.