Google Announces Low-Cost 5G Pixel 5a Smartphone, Plans to Nix Chargers in Box Going Forward
Google today announced the launch of the low-cost 5G Pixel 5a, a follow up to the Pixel 4a that debuted last year. At its $449 price point, the Pixel 5a most closely competes with the $399 iPhone SE, which is $50 cheaper, though it has a similar feature set to Apple's $699 iPhone 12 mini thanks to the inclusion of 5G.
Apple is rumored to be working on a new version of the iPhone SE that will also include 5G, with the device set to launch in 2022. The updated iPhone SE will be positioned as Apple's cheapest 5G iPhone, and based on the $449 price point of the Pixel 5a, it could be priced similarly to keep it competitive with lower-cost Android devices.
In addition to 5G mmWave and sub-6GHz connectivity, the Pixel 5a brings a bigger 6.3-inch hole punch display that offers more available screen space than the prior Pixel 4a, so it may still have an edge over Apple's upcoming 2022 iPhone SE. The new iPhone SE is rumored to feature a design that's "roughly the same" as the current iPhone SE, which is modeled after the iPhone 8.
Other Pixel 5a features include IP67 water resistance, a dual camera setup with wide and ultra wide lenses, a 4,620mAh battery, 6GB RAM, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chip.
Google is selling the Pixel 5a with an 18W adapter that supports fast charging, but Google is taking a page from Apple's playbook. The Pixel 5a will be the last Pixel phone that will include a charger, according to The Verge. Google says that because most people already have a charging brick, its future phones, including the upcoming Pixel 6, will not ship with one.
Apple stopped providing a 5W charger with iPhone models in 2020 and in most countries, iPhones no longer come with a charger.
Popular Stories
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28.
The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code.
In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak.
As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station.
According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas.
We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features.
Transfer to Android
Apple is making it simpler...
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. iOS 26.2 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation iPhone SE.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...
