Google make the Pixel 4a official, tease Pixel 5 and more

After months of delays and leaks, Google has finally announced a successor to the mid-tier smartphone so good it made flagships look bad.

Due to land in Australia in the first week of September, the Pixel 4a is available in a single color - 'Just Black' - and built around a 5.8-inc OLED display, a Snapdragon 730G processor, 6GB and 128GB of on-board storage. 

Design-wise, this thing looks like an echo of last year's Pixel 4 with a few key subtractions. Stuff like Google's take on Face ID, wireless charging, 60Hz refresh rate and water resistance has been left on the cutting room floor.

Thankfully, a lot of the software innovations introduced with the 4 such as astrophotography, the improved Google Assistant and the Recorder app have made the jump to the latest affordable Pixel phone without too much compromise. For more on what that dedicated night photography setting can do, click here.

Of course, when it comes to the cameras, the Pixel 4a has a lot more in common with the Pixel 3a than it does the Pixel 4. The rear-side of the device features a single 12.2-megapixel lens. The front-facing half of the device features an 8-megapixel selfie camera.

The Google Pixel 4a features dual stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and supports 18W fast-charging via a USB type-C port on the bottom of the device. At 3140mAh, the Pixel 4a is also packing a slightly larger battery than its predecessor.

Buying a Pixel 4a also nets you a ton of freebies when it comes to Google's various apps and services. You get a free three months of YouTube Premium, Google One and Google Play Pass.

Given the buzz around last year's Pixel 3a and the recent arrival of Apple's own affordable iPhone SE, it'll be interesting to see how much of a splash this one makes.

In our review of the Pixel 3a, we said that "If you can live without things like wireless charging, water resistance and the ability to take photos of the moon, there are almost zero reasons to look and buying anything other than the Pixel 3a."

That's not all

In addition to announcing the Pixel 4a, Google have also teased a 5G-enabled version of the device and the Pixel 5 in a post on their official blog.

According to the company, "This spring, we’ll have two more devices to talk about: the Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5, starting from $799, both with 5G to make streaming videos, downloading content and playing games faster and smoother than ever."

Google are inviting interested parties to sign up via their website in the meantime.

In Australia, the Google Pixel 4a will launch on September 10 at AU$599 via the Google Store, JB Hi-Fi, Vodafone and Harvey-Norman.