Pixel 4a: Google announces new, cheaper version of its own Android phone – with 5G model to come later

Release date has been delayed by coronavirus crisis

Google has revealed its new Pixel phone – and promised that a 5G model is coming later this year.

The new handset, known as the Pixel 4a, builds on a common pattern of bringing a cheaper version of its own Android handset midway through the year.

The release date had been pushed back as a result of the coronavirus crisis, and the Pixel 4a will not go on sale until October, though customers can pre-order from September.

When it does go on sale, it will cost £349, much cheaper than the main Pixel 4 and a little less expensive than other competitors like the iPhone SE.

The upcoming 5G phone is also thought to have been hit delays, but will be shown off in more detail later this year, Google said.. And the newest version of the high-end Pixel – which usually comes out in October – could be hit by those delays, too.

It has not revealed any details of those 5G phones, or of the upcoming Pixel 5, but suggested that it will look to integrate additional features from the faster internet connection it provides, rather than simply allowing for connections to 5G networks.

It did say that the 4a 5G would cost $499, and that both of the phones would use the increased speed to "make streaming videos, downloading content and playing games on Stadia or other platforms faster and smoother than ever".

The Pixel 4a sacrifices a number of the specifications found in the more expensive, higher-end Pixel 4. Its polycarbonate body means the phone cannot include wireless charging, and includes a fingerprint sensor rahte rthan facial recognition.

But it keeps a number of features from the old phone, including the same camera lens technology, and adds new ones such as increased storage. It also brings a new design, with the front-facing camera placed in a punched out hole in the top of the screen, rather than the "forehead" that has become a fixture of recent handsets.

Google released the first Pixels in 2016, when it took more control over its own Android phones, and changed the name from Nexus. It released the first of its slimmed-down versions last year, with the Pixel 3a.