David Imel / Android Authority
TL; DR
- A leak suggests that Google will announce and ship the Pixel 5a in August.
- That could cause it to launch near Android 12.
- The phone is believed to be a little spin on the Pixel 4a 5G.
You might not have to wait long for the Pixel 5a to reach your pocket. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said the Pixel 5a is expected to be released sometime in August or about a year after the Pixel 4a debuted.
That wouldn’t be entirely surprising if it were true. The release of Pixel 4a has been postponed to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and an earlier release of 5a would have given the predecessor a short life cycle. It would also cause Google to ship the phone alongside or just before Android 12. The company even hinted that a launch might be “in tune” with the timing you saw for the 4a last year, though things weren’t limited to August.
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Whenever the release date may be, the Pixel 5a could be a very iterative upgrade. Previous leaks have suggested that it is effectively an optimized Pixel 4a 5G with a (hopefully) lower price tag. You get two rear cameras, 5G, a headphone jack, and possibly the same Snapdragon 765G chip. While this may be disappointing if you’re hoping for a renaissance on par with the rumored Pixel 6, that might make it an easy choice if you’re looking for a capable phone without a lot of hassle.
Google has only committed to one release in the US and Japan so far, although it will likely make the Pixel 5a available in Canada, Europe, and other parts of the world where Pixels are already available.