Google has already confirmed that the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 4a 5G are on the way, but it hasn't yet confirmed a launch date – a gap that the rumor mill is happy to plug, with Wednesday, September 30 being suggested as the big day.
The date comes from well-known tipster Jon Prosser on Twitter (opens in new tab), who says that the Pixel 5 in black and green will be unveiled on that day, as well as the Pixel 4a 5G in black. A white version of the Pixel 4a 5G is then scheduled to arrive in October.
Prosser has had a few hits and a few misses in recent months when it comes to tech leaks, so don't take this as set in stone just yet – but the prediction broadly lines up with when we were expecting the new Pixel phones to appear.
- BlackBerry phones are back
- Everything in iOS 14
- Xbox Series X price leak
To add to the confusion, rumors like this often mix up launch dates (when phones are announced) with on-sale dates (when phones are actually available to buy). The staggered September/October schedule here means we could be talking about both together.
What we know so far
The only previous hint about a Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G launch date came from a slip-up on the Google France blog, which briefly listed Thursday, October 8 as the date when pre-orders for these phones would open.
It's entirely possible that Google will push out full details of the handsets on September 30 and then make them available to pre-order on October 8. The Pixel 4a was announced via a blog post, and in these socially distanced times, big launch events are rare.
All we know officially is that the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 4a 5G will come with 5G on board, and that pricing will start at $499 (about £380 or AU$700) – we're presuming that's for the Pixel 4a 5G, which could be a little bigger than the plain old non-5G Pixel 4a.
Unofficially, the Pixel 5 is being tipped to come with the mid-range Snapdragon 765G chipset on board, as well as some camera enhancements to set it apart from the Pixel 4a phones. Pricing for the Pixel 5 is rumored to start at $699 (around £535 / AU$980).
