Leaks confirm Google Pixel 4a price, specs, and design

The floodgates have opened and now there's no escaping the torrent of Google Pixel 4a leaks. A new leak shared by prolific leaker @evleaks shows off the budget Pixel 4a from various angles and suggests Google will launch it for $399.

Taken together with previous leaks and a hands-on video of the alleged device, we have a solid idea of what to expect from it. The Pixel 4a is a mid-range device, which might sound disappointing on paper. But if last year's excellent Pixel 3a and 3a XL are anything to go by, the Pixel 4a could actually be better than the disappointing Pixel 4.

@evleaks is usually spot-on with leaks, which gives more credibility to the image he shared below:

As many eagle-eyed Twitter users have noted, the alleged billboard images are mock-ups. They're not actual photos of any ad that's popped up in a city. Even so, the images still show the phone's various design features, including colorways, the display and its hole-punch selfie camera, the rear camera bump, and a fingerprint reader.

With so much already floating on the internet, let's piece together the Pixel 4a, shall we?

Pricing — "Starting at $399" according to @evleak's leak. That's attractive pricing and the same as what the Pixel 3a started at. If it's true, it looks like Google's aiming for that sweet, sweet sub-$500 price point that value-conscious brands like OnePlus have outgrown.

Will there be a Pixel 4a XL? — Unclear. We've yet to see any leaks for an XL version. Google did a 3a XL last year, but maybe there's no point in doing one this time around.

Plastic design — We're expecting Google to mold the Pixel 4a out of plastic instead of aluminum and glass on the Pixel 4. Plastic is cheaper to produce and it's more durable. Plus, most people put a case on their phones so plastic is fine.

Based on the leaked photos, it sure looks like there will be at least two colors: black with a green-accented power button and white with an orange power button. Here's hoping there's at least one more color that just hasn't leaked out yet; the 3a came in black, white, and "Purple-ish." The Pixel's classic two-toned glossy/matte design appears to be no more, though.

Specs — The Pixel 4a has a 5.8-inch display (2,340 x 1,080 resolution), Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 chip, and will come with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, paired with 64GB of storage, according to TechnoLike's hands-on video. The 6GB RAM version will reportedly support dual SIM cards. The battery cell contains 3,080 mAh. Like we said, mid-range specs.

Of course, Google's good at doing more with less hardware, so specs don't tell the whole story. It's possible Google has optimized Android 10 really well to run on the mid-range specs. While not the zippiest, performance on the Pixel 3a and 3a XL were fine — not the fastest and smoothest, but not laggy either.

Cameras —  The thick "forehead" bezels on the Pixel 3a phones are no more. The Pixel 4a will instead have a hole-punch selfie camera in the upper left corner; it's unclear what the resolution is (the 3a selfie camera is 8 megapixels).

Around back, located on the "Pixel square" is a 12-megapixel camera and an LED flash. That's it. That's all you get. It's surprising and not at the same time. Surprising because even cheaper phones have dual or triple cameras now and not surprising because how can the Pixel 4a have dual cameras just like the premium Pixel 4?

In any case, the cameras just need to be good. The Pixel 3a cameras wowed mainly because they were able to take photos (including Night Sight shots) that were nearly on-par with the Pixel 3 without requiring a Pixel Visual Core image processor. Pictures take a few seconds longer to process on the 3a, but the results are still great nonetheless. We expect the 4a cameras to work similarly.

Headphone jack and fingerprint reader — The 3.5mm audio port lives! There's also a fingerprint reader on the rear — good ol' secure scanner that doesn't unlock your phone with your face when your eyes are shut.

Release date? — Word on the street is that the Pixel 4a was supposed to be announced at this year's Google I/O. However, with the developer conference canceled because of coronavirus fears, it's no longer clear when it'll be unveiled. It's possible it could be announced earlier now. Until then, let the leaks flow!