Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G: what to expect

It’s that time of the year when brands are rushing to unveil their new products ahead of the holiday season. Google is next in line with the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G and we’ve made a summary of all the leaks and rumors in one place for your convenience in preparation for tomorrow’s event.

Alongside the two phones, we’re also expecting the announcement of a revised Chromecast (which you can already buy) as well as a new Nest Home speaker for your home entertainment needs.

Pixel 5

Despite its incremental name change, the Pixel 5 marks a new directions for the lineup. We won’t see a Pixel with a top-tier chipset this year and the 5 is the closest we’ll get to one. The design will take some inspiration from the Pixel 4a though the latest rumors show an interesting finish which has a metal look to it. This could very well be a coated metal surface with a plastic/glass cutout underneath so the antennas can work.

Pixel 5 back

The front will house a 6-inch FHD+ OLED with 90Hz refresh rate and a punch-hole cutout in the top left corner. It’s an HDR 10+ panel with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and Gorilla Glass 6 protection. The gimmicky radar-based Motion Sense from the Pixel 4 duo is going away, while the fingerprint scanner will make a return around the back.

Cameras - we’re expecting a dual setup with a 16MP ultrawide shooter alongside the 12.2MP F/1.7 main unit. This would be the ninth Pixel phone in a row to use the same resolution though that hasn’t stopped any of the previous ones from producing some of the best shots on mobile thanks to Google’s machine learning optimizations. The ultrawide cam on the other hand will be the first of its kind on a Pixel so it's definitely something to look forward to.

Google Pixel 5 in Just Black

The Snapdragon 765G is the SoC of choice this time and should offer some noticeable gains over the Pixel 4a and its Snapdragon 730G. While far from a flagship chipset the 765G still offers Sub-6 Ghz 5G connectivity and should be kind on battery life. Speaking of the battery, the Pixel 5 is expected to come with a 4,080mAh cell - the largest on a Pixel thus far. The phone will also do 18W wired charging as well as wireless and reverse wireless charging.

Google Pixel 5 in Subtle Sage

Pixel 5 will ship with Android 11 out the box and will retain the IP68 water and dust resistance from Pixel 4 and 4XL.

Pre-orders for the Pixel 5 are expected to start right after the announcement while official sales should commence on October 15.

The single 8/128GB version is rumored to start at $700/€630 and the launch colors will be limited to Just Black and Subtle Sage green.

Pixel 4a 5G

In addition to its 5G connectivity, the Pixel 4a 5G will come with several noteworthy upgrades over the vanilla Pixel 4a. These include a larger 6.2-inch OLED display with the same 60Hz refresh rate and punch hole cutout. In addition, the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 765G like the Pixel 5 and will get a fairly large by Pixel standards 3,885 mAh battery with 18W charging.

The camera department will be headlined by the same old 1/2.55-inch 12.2MP sensor and we’re also expecting an 8MP ultrawide shooter. Visually, the phone will resemble the Pixel 4a in all major ways including the plastic build and rear-mounted fingerprint reader.

Like Pixel 5, Google will launch the 4a 5G with Android 11. Another noteworthy feature is the return on the headphone jack.

Pre-orders for the 4a 5G should commence on September 30 while the actual launch could be delayed until November 19. We’ll see it in Just Black while the rumored Clearly White colorway is rumored to launch in 2021 if Google doesn’t scrap this option altogether.

Google Pixel 4a 5G

Pixel 4a 5G will cost $500/€500/£500.