Accidental or intentional is unclear, but it’s the Pixel 8a alright
Summary
- The Pixel 7a, a great budget phone with stock Android, is close to a year old now. Its successor, the Pixel 8a is expected at Google I/O in May.
- A new Google Fi ad has leaked images of a Pixel 8a in blue and coral colors, different from the Pixel 8.
- Google has a history of seemingly accidental leaks right before launch, but this could’ve been intentional.
Google’s Pixel 7a is among the best budget Android phones, especially if you want all the stock Android goodness without splurging on the vanilla Pixel 7. It’s nearly a year old now, and the new Pixel 8a is right around the corner. Google has already announced its annual I/O conference for developers for May 14, and we could very well see the new phone at that event, but even before that, a few images of the phone have leaked in an advert for the company’s Fi Wireless service.
Google Pixel 8a: News, leaks, rumored price, and release window
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Google Fi is a MVNO carrier service which sells mobile connections under its own brand name, while partnering with registered carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile behind the scenes. In countries where Google Fi operates, it’s not uncommon to see advertisements for the service. One such ad spotted by a YouTube user (via GSMArena) reveals the upcoming Pixel 8a in two colors — a blue hue and a cream coral color. The creator compares the device to another ad featuring two black Pixel 8 handsets.
Hiding in plain sight
There’s no question the device in the new ad is a Pixel 8a, 9to5Google points out, because the original 8 was never available in a dark blue color. Moreover, the uploader highlights the noticeably different corner radii on the devices, slightly shifted cutout placement, and the lack of glossy light reflections in the image, indicative of a matte finish on the Pixel 8a. Specifically, the microphone hole beside the camera array is missing.
Although this could be an intentional leak and Google would want to convince us otherwise, it’s easy to see a pattern here. The original Pixel Watch was accidentally forgotten at a bar shortly before its release, and press images for the Pixel 8 series also surfaced online shortly before the official unveiling. Leaks like this only amplify our hopes to see this phone at I/O in May, just like the Pixel 7a which was announced at the event last year.
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