Pixel 6a surfaces at the FCC with mmWave in tow

Yup, another post about the upcoming Pixel 6a from Google. The details of Google’s latest budget-friendly phone have yet to be made official but thanks to a variety of sources, we have a fairly decent idea of what to expect from the Pixel 6a when it launches. According to recent reports from @OnLeaks and 91Mobiles, the latest smartphone from Google will feature a design very similar to its more premium siblings, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

Along with the unique Pixel 6 body design, the Pixel 6a is rumored to have a 6.2″ flat display with a center-mounted hole-punch camera and an under-display fingerprint sensor. Rough estimates put the new phone at 152.2 x 71.8 x 8.7mm and the volume rocker and power button are placed on the left side much like the Pixel 6. On the left side, you can see the SIM card slot, and on the bottom, a single USB-C port and two grills will house a speaker and microphone.

We know that the new budget phone from Google will be powered by the same Tensor SoC found in the flagship Pixel 6 devices and recent benchmarks tell us that it will equip 6GB of RAM. If that’s concerning for you, never fear. The unearthed benchmarks give the Pixel 6a scores that are nearly identical to the Pixel 6 which comes with 8GB of RAM. This phone should scoot around just fine. As a matter of fact, it should run as well as many current flagship devices.

The real mysteries at this point are whether or not Google has upgraded the camera for this year’s A-series and what material the chassis will be made of. While I’d love to see the Pixel 6a feature the same camera setup as the Pixel 6, that would blur the lines even more between the two devices. I made this point in a previous article and I really feel that Pixel 6 sales could take a hit if the Pixel 6a comes out of the gate under $500. I can definitely see Google using the lens setup from the Pixel 5a and the average consumer would never notice the difference thanks to all of Google’s camera wizardry.

As far as the chassis is concerned, I don’t foresee the Pixel 6a having wireless charging and Google could very well have gone with a plastic body covered with some sort of textured coating. Whatever it uses, I hope it isn’t too slick. The Pixel 6 family is gorgeous and I’d love to rock a phone like this with no case and not worry about it flying out of my hand unexpectedly.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. When will we see the Pixel 6a? Everything up unto this point has signaled a release somewhere in the vicinity of next month’s Google I/O developer conference and thanks to some detective work from Android Police’s Ryne Hager, we have some more evidence to that point. Four versions of the Pixel 6a have just passed through the FCC for verification and one model is equipped with mmWave. As Ryne points out, this could be indicative of carrier-specific models which was the case for the Pixel 6. The mmWave technology is simply a type of 5G but it offers greater bandwidth which results in faster data transfer speeds. It does, however, have its drawbacks. mmWave is only good over short distances and lacks the depth of penetration to offer broad coverage outside of densely populated areas where a long distance of travel isn’t necessary.

Last year’s Pixel 5a launched in mid-August and it passed through the FCC just a month before, in July. If history repeats itself, we are right on track for a mid-May release of the Pixel 6a and that puts us smack dab in the middle of Google I/O which starts on the 11th of May. We’ll be watching every moment of the developer conference and hopefully, Google will get the new Pixel 6a in our hands in time to bring you a first-look as soon as it debuts. Stay tuned for any updates about this exciting new phone from Google.

Featured image credit: @OnLeaks