Google announces the Pixel 4a, the Pixel 4a 5G, and the Pixel 5

What just happened? Google announced three all-new Pixel smartphones today: the budget-oriented Pixel 4A, the 4A’s 5G variant, and finally, the Pixel 5. The latter two devices won’t be out for a while, but we have concrete details about the 4A right now.

First, the basics: the Pixel 4a is Google’s latest attempt to break into the budget smartphone market. In that sense, it could be considered the successor to the similarly-priced Pixel 3a (which came in at $400 upon launch), but with a $350 price tag, it’s an even better deal.

The 4a has the same great 12mpx rear camera “experience” as the Pixel 4, but it scales things back in the processor department — the former ships with a Snapdragon 730G Mobile SOC, whereas the latter has a Snapdragon 855 built-in.

However, the 4a does retain the same RAM and storage capacity as its more powerful cousin, and it modernizes the Pixel smartphone family with an all-screen display (complete with a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera), and a sleeker, rounder design.

The 4a houses a 5.8-inch OLED display with a standard 60Hz refresh rate, which is pretty decent at this price point. It doesn’t support wireless charging, nor is it water resistant, but it partially makes up for those losses by including a 3.5mm headphone jack — these ports are becoming harder and harder to come by on modern devices, so it’s nice to see one here.

The Pixel 4a doesn’t include any alternate skin options, so the basic “Just Black” color scheme is all you’ll get. It seems that, at least for the Pixel 4a, Google has decided to scrap its brighter pastel colors in favor of a more uniform look.

The Pixel 4a is expected to ship on August 20, but pre-orders are open now. Notably, day-one reviews of the device have been quite positive overall. For the most part, testers seem to agree that, for just $350, it’s tough to beat the 4a.

As far as the Pixel 4a 5g and Pixel 5 are concerned, both phones arrive later this fall. The 4a 5G will run you $500, but the Pixel 5 doesn’t have a price yet. Beyond that, we know next to nothing about the devices, and we’ll probably have to wait a couple more months for proper announcements.