Google unveiled Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 on August 3, 2020. While the long awaited (and very much delayed) Pixel 4a is available to pre-order now and will ship on August 20, the 5G-enabled Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 will ship later this fall.
It seems that Google’s 5G devices will hit the market close to the also-delayed new 5G iPhone in October, which will inevitably affect their sales. The company was scarce in detail regarding the two 5G devices, so such an early announced was just Google’s way to ask consumers and operators for a bit more patience.
Pixel 4a packs 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 5.8-inch OLED display at 1080 x 2340 pixels -- all solid, if not remarkable, specs. But as with previous Google smartphones, the two features that the Pixel 4a will try to differentiate with are the camera and the pure Android. That all comes at the very competitive US$349 retail price, which is still cheaper than the successful iPhone SE (2020) at US$399.
Due to the Covid-related stagnation, a big proportion of the smartphones purchased in the recent months were mid-range or sub-premium models. Pixel 4a is a very solid proposition in that segment at an affordable price.
Pixel 4a performance on the market may be hindered by Google’s limited distribution channels, insufficient geographic coverage and the unwillingness of operators to promote non-5G devices.
