Google surprised many today by discontinuing the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. The mid-range Pixels will no longer be available from the online Google Store but will be offered by a small number of third-party retailers until all remaining units have been sold. Interestingly, we still await the launch of the Pixel 4a which is now rumored to take place on July 13th. Last year, when rumors started circulating about a mid-range Pixel line, many thought that it was the silliest idea that they had ever heard of. But when Google revealed that the price started at $399, things changed in a hurry.
With the same rear camera setup as the one found on the flagship Pixel 3 series, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL gave consumers the opportunity to purchase one of the best camera systems on a smartphone (even if it relied heavily on Google’s image processing) with stock Android for a very affordable price. This year, we are expecting the Pixel 4a only with no Pixel 4a XL. The Pixel 4a is expected to sport a 5.8-inch OLED display with a 1080 x 2340 resolution and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The phone will likely be powered by the Snapdragon 730 Mobile Platform and might feature 6GB of memory with 64GB of storage for $349. At this point, the latest rumors call for a 12MP rear camera and an 8MP front-facing camera. We will reportedly see a 3080mAh battery which would top the 2800mAh battery found on the full-sized Pixel 4. It makes you wonder what the heck Google was thinking last year when it was developing the Pixel 4 line.
If you head over to the online Google Store, you’ll see that the Pixel 3a is now listed as being out of stock. But the $64 million question is when will the Pixel 4a make the scene. As we said, July 13th is one rumored date. Some have called for Google to wait until the Pixel 5 introduction (most likely taking place in October) to make the Pixel 4a official. With no immediate replacement for the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 5 not expected to be a flagship phone ( it could be powered by the Snapdragon 765 instead of the Snapdragon 865), there are some out there wondering whether there truly is a method to Google’s madness.
