Pixel 4a release date, leaks: Google discontinues Pixel 3a series ahead of successor’s rumored announcement schedule

Google is no longer producing Pixel 3a and 3a XL units, reports found this week. The timing is interesting, especially since its successor Pixel 4a has been rumored to be announced this month.

Pixel 4a release date in mid-July?

Questions about the Pixel 4a further grew in June when, even after Apple announced a very competitive mid-range challenger (aka iPhone SE 2020), Google maintained its silence. However, it can be recalled that leaker Jon Prosser said several times that Pixel 4a is planned to be announced on Monday, July 13. Details about retail release dates are more puzzling as the same source reported more recently that it has been moved to Oct. 22 or more than three months from the supposed unveiling schedule.

Google has yet to confirm any reports that ever surfaced about Pixel 4a, but Prosser has been a reliable leaker mostly with Apple products over the last few months. It is also interesting that Google confirmed the discontinuation of the Pixel 3a series a week before the rumored Pixel 4a announcement.

“Google Store has sold through its inventory and completed sales of Pixel 3A,” the company told The Verge. This means Google is officially out of mid-range smartphones to sell, and it would not be surprising if a new model would soon take the Pixel 3a’s placement on Google Store. In this case, is the company really waiting until late October to put the Pixel 4a for sale?

What Google is planning for its smartphone lineup is anybody’s guess right now. Many were anticipating the company to announce the Pixel 4a last May even in a virtual event. But Google decided to not hold any alternative to its canceled 2020 I/O conference.

Mystery Google device appears in more leaked certifications

Aside from the discontinuation of the Pixel 3a series, speculations about the imminent release of Pixel 4a were also sparked with the emergence of certification papers for an unknown Google device with model number G025J-B. The product was reportedly listed on the websites of Taiwan’s National Communications Commission and TÜV Rheinland.

Both documents are not specifically pointing to Pixel 4a. However, a device with similar model numbers (G025J, G025N, and G025M) was also recently spotted in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing. It is worth noting that versions of the Pixel 3a were given the model numbers G020A, G020E, G020B.