Google Pixel 4a faces disaster from continued delays

Google Pixel 4a faces disaster from continued delays — here's why

(Image credit: Pigtou and xleaks)

The launch of Google's long-rumored Pixel 4a smartphone is starting to experience like a desert mirage. Just when y'all think you're most there, you look up and information technology's at present further away on the horizon.

Google's follow-up to last yr'south successful Pixel 3a had been expected to exist unveiled at Google's annual programmer conference in May, but that event was scrapped due to restrictions on large gatherings in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Some rumors pointed to a potential unveiling of the Pixel 4a in early June, nigh the aforementioned fourth dimension Google was going to unveil its Android 11 beta. Merely that version of Android eleven is here and the Pixel 4a isn't, and then now we're looking at a July launch for the lower-cost Pixel.

All-time cheap phones
iPhone SE vs. Pixel 4a: Which cheap telephone will win?
Just In: Massive Galaxy Note xx Ultra leak reveals specs, images and video

Or could information technology be fifty-fifty later on? That's what phone leaker Jon Prosser suggested over the weekend when he reported that the Pixel 4a may not arrive until Oct. In this scenario, the Pixel 5 launch — originally slated for the fall — would be pushed back likewise.

This is bad news if you've been waiting for a low-toll Android device that takes flagship-quality pictures. Simply it'd be an even worse development for Google, which doesn't bask a big piece of the smartphone marketplace.

According to Counterpoint Enquiry, Apple deemed for 46% of U.S. smartphone shipments during the first quarter of 2020, followed by Samsung with 32%. Google institute itself lumped in with "Other," in which multiple telephone makers accounted for eight% of shipments. (LG and Lenovo make up the remaining 14%.)

As much success equally the Pixel 3a enjoyed in 2019, if Google doesn't come up with a follow-upwards soon, information technology could become a case of "out of sight, out of heed" for consumers who have plenty of other options when it comes to snapping up phones.

Why the rumored Pixel 4a delay?

Amid all the rumors that the Pixel 4a'south release is getting pushed back, at that place'southward never been a definitive explanation for why the launch hasn't happened yet. The Pixel 4a certainly exists — nosotros wouldn't have so many details of its features and specs if it were just the figment of a rumor monger's imagination. There haven't been any reports of production delays akin to the rumored setbacks Apple tree is facing with the iPhone 12.

Where's Pixel 4a?Hither'due south an update:Again, it seems Google has delayed Pixel 4a 🤦🏼‍♂️Announcement still happening on July 13But in the system, it's listed that the "Black" model at present launching October 22 😬"Barely Blueish" has been removed entirely...I'll keep you updated. 🤷🏼‍♂️ https://t.co/UgsWJrYK4U pic.twitter.com/TX209u9JqbJune 13, 2020

Rather, Prosser — who's had most of the scoops on the Pixel 4a's status — attributes the filibuster to "market place conditions," not supply-chain bug. It'southward unclear what that ways, merely it's reasonable to presume that Google isn't eager to release a phone while a global pandemic is ongoing and many people are still sheltering in place.

That makes sense. Google's pocket-sized piece of the smartphone marketplace ways it doesn't enjoy the customer loyalty that Apple or Samsung have. Instead, similar other phone makers, Google depends on wireless carriers to sell its phones — the Pixel 3a was fabricated available through Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile forth with other disbelieve carriers. If people aren't visiting stores, that's going to affect sales.

Why the fourth dimension is right for the Pixel 4a

But in some other respect, low-cost phones — the Pixel 4a is expected to cost $349 — seem equally if they're made for this moment. While the costliest function of the coronavirus pandemic has been on human being life, there have been economic repercussions, too.

With the economy struggling to rebound afterward months of shutdowns, most of us are watching what nosotros spend. A $ane,000 flagship phone may not seem like a sensible purchase in this climate, but a sub-$400 phone that tin can deliver flagship-style features is another matter birthday.

The Pixel 4a's delay has been good news for the iPhone SE. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Apple seems to have capitalized on the moment with a $399 iPhone SE that's gotten rave reviews. (Nosotros'll need to wait until Apple tree announces quarterly earnings next month to see just how successful the telephone has been.)

Likewise, Motorola rolled out a financial quarter's worth of budget phones, ranging in price from the $149 Moto E to the $299 Moto Yard Stylus. These phones aren't as polished as the iPhone SE, but they deliver some pretty impressive features — like the Moto G Power's epic battery life — at sub-$300 prices. Fifty-fifty Samsung has a decent budget offering with the $399 Galaxy A51.

That's a lot of options for people who don't want to spend a lot of coin on their side by side phone, whether they're open up to buying an iPhone or prefer to stick to ane of the best Android phones. The longer Google sits on the Pixel 4a, the greater the hazard that it winds up missing this moment.

After all, Google is not exactly a household name when it comes to handsets. (Software, sure; phones, non so much.) As skilful a camera telephone every bit the Pixel 3a proved to be, people aren't likely to look around until the fall for a promised sequel. They'll shrug and take their money elsewhere.

Pixel 4a outlook

Mid-range phones like the Pixel 4a also savor a express window, the catamenia of fourth dimension when their less-than-high-end specs seem similar a skillful merchandise-off for the money. The window closes when y'all start feeling like y'all're getting shortchanged.

The budget Pixel phone that seems like a bargain hunter's dream in the summer might seem like an underpowered device come up the fall. That will exist especially probable if the Pixel 4a goes with the Snapdragon 730 arrangement-on-chip, as is currently rumored, and other phones adopt the more powerful (and 5G-ready) Snapdragon 765 and 768G chipsets.

Google's saving grace may be that the Pixel'due south software, not hardware, is the star of the testify. The Pixel 3a's big appeal was its ability to recreate the photographic skills of more plush Google flagships (2018'southward Pixel 3, at the time). If the Pixel 4a tin do the same, all will exist forgiven with its much-delayed launch — although the further we get from the Pixel 4's October 2019 debut, the less impressive that skill will be.

The Pixel 4a could withal bear witness upward sooner rather than later. Only if Google errs on the side of later, the hazard to repeat one of its few smartphone successes could be squandered.

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom's Guide. He has stiff opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics and old movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.