The Google Pixel 4a launch was only days ago (at the time of writing) but a leaked document has given us our first hint at its successor, the Pixel 5a, as well as some potential other Google phones.
This comes from 9to5Google, which acquired the document, and apparently it lists the Android builds on all Google's currently-supported smartphones. As well as the phones we already know about, like the Pixel 3 or Pixel 4, the unannounced Pixel 5a is on the list, and there are also the code-names of a few more.
These codenames are 'raven', 'oriole' and 'passport', and while these shouldn't really mean anything to you, as Google's codenames have no relevancy on the final products, it's intriguing that Google is moving away from fish codenames as they usually have. Raven and oriole are birds, and we don't need to tell you what a passport is.
- Read our Google Pixel 4a review
- What you need to know about the Google Pixel 5
- These are the foldable phones you should know about
9to5Mac speculates that raven and oriole are codenames for the Pixel 6, possibly a standard and XL model, and that passport is a reference to the Google foldable phone the company is said to be working on. There's no way of knowing if this is correct, though.
Take your Pix-el
That's a lot of upcoming Google Pixel phones, and there's more when you consider the Pixel 5 is expected to come very soon.
The existence of a Google Pixel 5a is no surprise given the company's 'a' line of smartphones, which are affordable versions on the numbered line, have been pretty popular.
We've no idea when we'll see the phone though – while 2021 is the likely year (and also when we'll see the Pixel 6 and Pixel foldable, according to the document), the Pixel 4a got delayed so much it's hard to know when in the year we'll see it.
The Pixel 5a could be released late in the year, so if you're tempted by the Pixel 4a, there's probably no need to wait to see if its successor comes very soon.
Either way, Google phones are a big deal so when the company unveils new hardware, we'll be sure to bring it to you.
