Google's Latest Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL Smartphones To Be Unveiled on October 9th
Last updated June 14, 2021
The Pixel 3a, one of Google’s most successful attempts to conquer a piece of the smartphone market, has essentially reached the end of its life. There are no stocks of the device anymore, so Google’s inventory has been sold to partners, which means that if you see it in stores, it is one of the last specimens in supply. The Pixel 3a was a device that won people by being affordable, small in size, packing an amazing camera, and sporting adequately powerful hardware that always runs on the latest available Android OS version.
Following a short period of last-time $300 offers, the Pixel 3a was marked as “unavailable” in the official US Google Store today, after it briefly went through an “out of stock” status yesterday. This means that Google is not interested in extending the retail life of the device - which leaves a big gap that should have been covered by its successor months ago. Most people are now waiting for the release of the Pixel 4a anyway, but the Pixel 3a kept selling a respectable amount of units to those who still valued what it had to offer.
So, with the market gap wide open and the Pixel 4a nowhere to be seen yet, what could this move symbolize? Many rumors are raging around the Pixel 4a’s release date, with some putting it within the running month and others going as far as in October 2020. The Pixel 4a was initially scheduled for launch in May, but the Coronavirus situation put off these plans for a date when physical stores would open again. The uncertainty of the situation lurked around for longer than initially expected, and Google kept on postponing the launch of the Pixel 4a model.
Where’s Pixel 4a?
Here’s an update:
AGAIN, it seems Google has delayed Pixel 4a 🤦🏼♂️
Announcement still happening on July 13
But in the system, it’s listed that the “Black” model now launching October 22 😬
“Barely Blue” has been removed entirely...
I’ll keep you updated. 🤷🏼♂️ https://t.co/UgsWJrYK4U pic.twitter.com/TX209u9Jqb
— jon prosser (@jon_prosser) June 13, 2020
And this has created a host of problems for Google’s marketers to solve. First, the iPhone SE 2020 has been left to play alone in the premium midrange field, getting all the sales, love, and attention this niche has to give. Secondly, the specs of the device are beginning to slip towards the “dull” side of the Moon, as other manufacturers are releasing more powerful phones in the target price range - and we all know how lighting-fast the developments in this field are. These two factors have created a pricing problem for the Pixel 4a, and rumors claim that Google will go for a price of $349 for the 128GB model, and $299 for the 64GB. That could make it a market hit that would be worthy of the Pixel 3a successor, but it would eliminate profit margins for Google. For now, we’ll have to wait and see, as Google has been cryptic about 4a all this time.