Google dropped the ball in a big way over the weekend, managing to leak its two mid-range phones – the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL – on its own site, ahead of any official announcement.
The Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are big news for phones in 2019. These two new smartphones are set to compete with “budget-premium” models such as the OnePlus 6T and Samsung Galaxy S10e.
They offer fairly middling specifications, but look set to keep the same top-drawer camera tech from the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL – which pack arguably the best cameras on the market.
Here’s everything you need to know about Google’s new mid-range handsets.
Google Pixel 3a – Specs, Features, Prices
The Google Pixel 3a will use a 5.6-inch OLED screen, with a 1080×2220 resolution. That’s slightly larger than the 5.5-inch display on the regular Pixel 3, and a slightly higher resolution.
It’ll use the Snapdragon 670 processor and 4GB of Ram. The regular Pixel 3 uses the faster Snapdragon 845 processor. This should mean that the Pixel 3a isn’t completely cut out for intensive gaming, but should be speedy enough to get everything else done.
You also get a fairly unremarkable 3,000 mAh battery, 64GB of storage and, unsurprisingly, the Pixel 3a runs Android 9 Pie.
The leak on Google’s site also promised a 12Mp camera and, according to Engadget, it should use the same Pixel Visual Core software that made the photos on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL so impressive.
There’s no word on price, but we’d imagine it will cost somewhere between $550-$650.
Google Pixel 3a XL – Specs, Features, Prices
The Pixel 3a XL, according to 9to5Google, should feature a 6-inch display, with a 1080×2160 resolution. That’s 0.3-inches smaller than the regular Pixel 3 XL.
The Pixel 3a XL would also have 4GB of Ram, but it’ll run the marginally faster Snapdragon 710 processor – although these specs would suggest the 3a XL won’t be the fastest phone on the market.
We’d expect it to cost roughly $100 more than the Pixel 3a, putting it at $650-750.
It’s not certain when Google will release the phones. However, the listings on Google’s store mention a “midyear experience,” and a Google Executive tweeted recently that he’d snapped some pictures using an “unreleased phone.”
I got to see Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard’s office from the 60s yesterday, it was super cool! But…
I took pictures with an unreleased phone 📱📷🤐 so I probably shouldn’t share them here. 😝
The offices looked like this ⬇️ https://t.co/fPE7um3gyv
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) March 30, 2019
Google does have its yearly I/O developer conference coming up in May, though, so the search giant might decide to debut the new phones then.
Read more about the latest phones on Tech.co
