New phones are coming, that much we can be sure of, with Mobile World Congress set to kick off in early March. But before that happens, we may actually know what Google has in store for the mid-range, as its “A” series of mid-range mobiles gets a kinda sorta announcement without actually being announced. Google has certainly done its own hinting, that’s for sure.
It’s a little unorthodox, both in timing and how we know, with Google’s Pixel 9a popping up in March last year before we reviewed it not long after, and May for the Pixel A series models before it. Meanwhile, the “how we know” has come through the Google Store first, with this being a bit of a pre-announcement.
The upcoming announcement of a new Pixel isn’t exactly rocket science — you don’t need to be a fortune teller to know it’s coming — but it is earlier than expected, and will go into pre-order from February 19.
Right now, we don’t know much, though the phone does look a lot like last year’s Pixel 9a complete with two cameras and now camera bump.
Google has already said it’s “the most durable Pixel A-Series model yet”, and that’s about it. But if history is anything to go by, the cameras might get a modest bump alongside the processor, which should see an update, as well. And if the world is lucky, maybe support for Qi2’s magnetic ring charging via PixelSnap.
As for when that new model will officially arrive, our guess is early March, possibly just in time for Mobile World Congress, and every other manufacturer’s announcement of what’s to come this year, too.
