Google’s affordable Pixel 6a is in the news once again. This time around various models of the phone have been spotted on the FCC website grabbing mandatory certifications ahead of its purported May launch.
Four variants of the Pixel 6A carrying model numbers - GX7AS, GB17L, GB62Z and G1AZG were traced by the folks at MySmartPrice. While all the three devices have extremely similar hardware specifications, one of these upcoming phones was spotted on Canada’s Radio Equipment List as well.
To recall, one such device carrying the model number GX7AS was spotted on the Indian Bureau of Standard (BIS). The sheer number of variants getting ready for a launch clearly hints that the Pixel 6a might get a wider release compared to its predecessors.
The certifications also confirm some of the obvious specifications of the upcoming Pixel phone. The phone is expected to come with support for 5G connectivity (mmWave), Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth and NFC.
In a related piece of news, the phone was recently spotted on the Geekbench benchmarking platform and gave us a sneak peek at the performance that we can expect from the phone. The phone is rumoured to come with 6GB of RAM and has been able to outdo the performance of the Pixel 6 equipped with 8GB of RAM, although by a very small margin.
The phone was able to beat both the single-core as well as multi-core score of the Pixel 6. However, looking at the thin margin it is difficult to say that the Pixel 6a is “more powerful” out of the two especially when it is expected to come with the same chipset under the hood.
Possibility of a wider rollout is indeed a good news
The fact that Google’s previous phones including the Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, and the Pixel 6 lineup saw a very limited release. In fact, the Pixel 4a was the last Pixel phone to launch in India and the flagship lineup hasn’t arrived in the country since the Pixel 3 series.
There have been multiple reasons cited behind Google’s reluctance in making the phones available in more countries, however, the Pixel 6 lineup has gradually expanded its market base which is indeed a sign that Google wants more people to use its hardware as well.
The custom chipset that the company uses in its Pixel 6 lineup has been a highlight as well as its biggest limitation as well. The ongoing chipset shortage has meant that the company isn’t able to procure the chipset in the required quantity hence Google was forced to limit the rollout.
However, looking at the way the Pixel 6a is shaping up, we are hopeful that the phone will be launched in more markets than we had initially thought of. Though, let us wait for the official confirmation.
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