We all knew the Pixel 4a reveal was coming today, but Google made the wait worth it.
Google announced a trifecta of new Pixel phones on Monday: The 4a, the 4a 5G, and surprisingly, the Pixel 5, which also supports 5G. You can pre-order the Pixel 4a for an Aug. 20 release right now, but you'll have to wait for an unspecified fall release date for the other two phones.
Like the Pixel 3a before it, the 4a is a slightly downgraded version of the flagship Pixel 4 from last year with a significantly downgraded price point. You can grab the new 4a for just $350, less than half the $800 starting price of the Pixel 4. Its screen is one tenth of an inch bigger at 5.8 inches with a new hole-punch display, and Google promised a bigger battery to make up for the disappointing battery in the Pixel 4.
Otherwise, it's basically the same Pixel 4 you know and love. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor is marginally inferior to the Snapragon 855 in the Pixel 4, but 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and the same camera with Google's excellent Night Sight low-light photography features make it a nice value at just $350.
Oh, and you can get the 5G version of the Pixel 4a sometime this fall for $500. There's no word yet on how else (if at all) the 5G version differs aside from access to faster mobile networks. Unfortunately, Google didn't share any other specifics about the Pixel 5 in Monday's announcement. We'll presumably hear more about that in the near future, given its fall release window.
Last year's Pixel 4 was a decent phone in a vacuum, but its price point didn't quite match the middling specs. Assuming the lower-end processor doesn't gum up the works too much, the 4a could be one of the best smartphone values of 2020.
