Well, it’s another one of those stories. Pixel stuff loves to show up before Google has a chance to officially announce it.
As reported by Zing News (via Google Translate), someone has already gotten their hands on the Pixel 7a before Google has even officially announced it. While plenty of Pixel devices have leaked before an official launch, this one is out especially far ahead, as the Pixel 7a is not expected to launch for at least a couple of months.
According to the person that had the phone, the Pixel 7a will feature 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, at least for the model that they came into possession of. The person with the device said that “it is a software prototype from the manufacturer, not an official product. Therefore, around the Pixel 7a model, there are many patterns to identify. At the same time, the front of the machine also has a management code.”
In addition to those internal specs, the phone looks to include a 6.1-inch display, a USB-C charging port, and a physical SIM tray — but no 3.5mm audio jack. The Pixel 6a had one, so it appears that Google has made the call, like Apple, to rip the headphone jack out of its entire phone lineup. Bad news for all wired headphone users everywhere. I’m sure Google will be happy to sell you a USB-C adapter.
While the person was able to gather a lot about the phone, “after the image of the device was shared by this user on the Internet, the aforementioned phone was locked remotely.” Despite the lock, they were able to confirm that it was running Android 13.
Google is set to host its I/O developer conference on May 10, 2023. The company has announced previous mid-range Pixel phones at the event before, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see it reveal the Pixel 7a (officially) at the event. Google has also leaned into leaks and just announced the general specs of a phone ahead of an official event before as well, so we’ll see what it does with this latest leak!
With all of the recent spec and hardware leaks, it seems that the Pixel 7a might be the phone to beat in 2023.