![We may see a Pixel 4a 5G or Pixel 5 announcement alongside the Pixel 4a today [UPDATE: confirmed]](https://chromeunboxed.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/pixel4a5g.jpg){kind=tracking}
UPDATED 8.3.2020 @ 11:30am – Google went live at 11:00am EST to deliver a full blog post about the new Pixel 4a that will start shipping on August 20th. If I’m honest, a two-week availability window feels a tad bit unacceptable at this point with the phone already being delayed by months, but it is what it is. Google not only confirmed the previous leaks we discuss in this article concerning the Pixel 4a, they also confirmed the two other phones we are all expecting at this point as well in the Pixel 4a 5G and the Pixel 5. Both of these devices will be coming this fall according to Google’s post and we’ll hear more about them both in the coming months. Given that the Pixel 4a won’t be shipping out until late in August, there won’t be much of a break between the release of this phone and the full-blown announcements of the others.
Take this with a giant grain of salt: or maybe a whole salt block. Leaks have shown up just this weekend that point to the outlying possibility of not just one phone being announced in the Pixel 4a today, but perhaps a second or third device as well. There are no dates on this leak and there is nothing confirming that Google will even acknowledge these other two phones, but there’s a chance that they could.
From what little we can tell in the image, this is a photo of the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5, presumably. Looking at the build materials, the phone on the left looks to have the same side finish as the Pixel 4 and 4XL, yet is smaller. The one on the right looks similar to the Pixel 4a, but is larger. As little sense as that makes, it lines up with what 9to5 Google has pieced together about Google’s latest phone plans at this point in 2020. It basically comes down to a more-premium build in a smaller frame for the Pixel 5 and a larger, more-plastic build for the Pixel 4a 5G. Both of these phones look to launch with the Snapdragon 765G we just saw launch in the OnePlus Nord.
Looking at the press render, these phones look basically ready to roll out and their inclusion in whatever it is Google is ready to announce today could be the reasoning behind the massive delays we’ve seen with the Pixel 4a unveiling. Remember, the Pixel 4a would have been official back in mid-May if not for the pandemic and the Google I/O cancellation that followed. We even have photos of retail packaging from April that show Google was ready to deliver the Pixel 3a successor on time and has clearly pushed back the release on purpose.
What is that purpose? Well, we’ve all been wondering about that and perhaps this leak could clarify what Google is considering at this point in 2020 with its phones. We’ve all heard plenty about the fact that Google doesn’t look primed to release a proper flagship phone this year and that their efforts would circle around mid-range chips like the Snapdragon 765G for the Pixel 5. With lower prices clearly being the driving force, here, there’s a chance that Google is ready to completely up-end their status-quo October release here in 2020 and simply shock everyone with a full unveiling of all the Pixels for this year today.
Be that as it may, there’s also a chance that this leaked press render is simply something that is already prepped and ready for whatever Google chooses to do for a hardware event this fall. That assumption would have to also assume that Google is, in fact, having an event at all. With things being as they are with the pandemic, it’s hard to know exactly what may happen. I’d still bet on an October virtual event this time around, but Google may be seeing the interruption as a chance to do some things a bit different. In the realm of phones, it hasn’t been very successful aside from the Pixel 3a, so perhaps these new mid-range phones are exactly what the public want from them. We’ll know soon enough today.
