FCC visit reveals that a key Pixel 4 feature won't be on the Pixel 4a

When is Google finally going to unveil the Pixel 4a? That's a damn good question and there a number of interesting answers, some tongue-in-cheek. For example, could Google be waiting for the public to forget that the Apple iPhone SE (2020) is a thing before releasing the Pixel 4a? Will Google decide to introduce the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 together? We know that the phone exists because Google put up a billboard that even reveals the $399 starting price of the handset.

And today we can tell you that the Pixel 4a has been spotted at the FCC. Once again, the latest Pixel will use an e-label and there are three model numbers: G025J, G025M, and G025N. The first model number is presumed to be for U.S. variants of the phone while the other two designate models offered in other countries. Google filed the paperwork with the FCC on April 2nd.

The Google Pixel 4a is the runner up to last year's red hot Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. For $399, consumers were buying the amazing Google photo processing prowess that gets more done with a single camera than many manufacturers can with a multiple rear-camera setup.

The Pixel 4a (sorry boys and girls, Google doesn't play the budget 'XL' game any more) is expected to hit the market wearing a 5.81-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 1080 x 2340. That works out to an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The phone should be powered by the Snapdragon 730 chipset and sport 6GB of memory, a 50% hike from last year's model. We could see versions of the phone with 64GB and 128GB of storage.Here's a stunner. The expected battery capacity of 3080mAh is larger than the 2800mAh battery on the full-size Pixel 4! The Pixel 4a is rumored to feature the same 12.2MP primary and 16MP telephoto cameras seen on the back of the Pixel 4.

Now that we know that the FCC has given a thumbs up for the Pixel 4a, the unveiling shouldn't be that far away. Earlier this week, we told you that listings for the phone published by a couple of etailers in Europe hinted at an early July release for the handset. We should point out that the FCC did not mention the Soli radar chip like it did when the Pixel 4 series passed through its doors. The FCC regulates the mmWave frequencies that Soli runs on. However, this really is not a major surprise since we didn't see any hint that the feature would be available for the Pixel 4a.