Mystery Google Pixel device teased by Android VP; expected to be Pixel 3a

Google’s upcoming mid-range smartphones – Pixel 3a or Pixel 3a XL are expected to launch, according to rumours. A lot has been speculated about both handsets and a recent leak even revealed the European pricing of these smartphones and a new colour option. Now, the latest hint comes straight from the horse’s mouth – Google’s Senior Vice President of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer.

I got to see Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard’s office from the 60s yesterday, it was super cool! But…

I took pictures with an unreleased phone 📱📷🤐 so I probably shouldn’t share them here. 😝

The offices looked like this ⬇️ https://t.co/fPE7um3gyv

— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) March 30, 2019

The top executive recently took to Twitter to detail his visit to the office of Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard from the ’60s. However, what caught everyone’s attention was the second part of the tweet, which says, “I took pictures with an unreleased phone, so I probably shouldn’t share them here.” The speculations suggest that since Lockheimer has been using this mysterious smartphone as his daily driver, it might be getting closer to the official release. Moreover, Lockheimer might have been testing the camera in the real-life scenario. If that is indeed the case, we can expect the company to launch both smartphones at the upcoming Google I/O 2019 to be held from May 7th to May 9th in Mountain View, California, near Google’s global headquarters.

To recap on the speculated spec sheet of the Pixel 3a, the phone is expected to come with a 5.6-inch OLED display with full HD+ resolution. The smartphone will be powered by Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 670 chipset. The processor is further expected to be backed by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage onboard. As is usual with Pixel devices, there won’t be any support for expandable storage. In the imaging department, the smartphone is rumoured to flaunt a single 12-megapixel sensor on the rear and an 8-megapixel shooter for selfies. A 3,000mAh battery completes the rumoured spec sheet.

A recent leaks has also revealed that the Pixel 3A will start from around €450 that roughly translates to Rs 36,000 for the base variant. We will bring you more updates as and when they emerge.