Google has officially teased the arrival of a new Pixel phone, but there are some features it requires to be a success.
After two years of focusing on Assistant, Android, and AI, Google is teasing a return to hardware announcements at its I/O developers conference. In a promo page tie-in with Avengers: Endgame posted on its storefront late Monday, Google declared that “something big is coming to the Pixel universe” on May 7, which just so happens to be the same day as the I/O 2019 keynote. So unless Google is pulling a massive head fake here, it will be launching a new Pixel line at its conference this year.
There have already been rumors about a so-called Pixel 3a and 3a XL—including an accidental reference on the Google Store menu—and all indications are that these will be budget versions of Google’s flagship phones, with less-premium materials (plastic vs glass), an older processor (Snapdragon 600 series vs 800 series), and a lower-resolution screen (1080p vs 1440p). But if Google’s new phones are going to succeed where the flagship Pixels didn’t, they need to nail a few things right out of the gate. Here are six things the Pixel 3a needs to make Google’s new phone the one to buy.
The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL start at $799 and $899 respectively, a hair below Samsung’s and Apple’s most-expensive phones, but still very much at the high end of the market.
