Can’t quite say it was inevitableBut, in some of the world’s least surprising but fun tech news, a gadget enthusiast from Vietnam managed to get a developer unit of the unannounced Pixel 7A smartphone.
But I digress. Vietnamese Zing News (through droid life) has some stellar snapshots of the new phone, showing that it’s clearly different from the existing Pixel 7 and 7 Pro and its predecessor, the Pixel 6A. It has the distinctive metal camera bar found on the 7 series phones, but with a smaller 6.1-inch screen and twin 12-megapixel cameras instead of the 50-megapixel main sensor on the 7 and 7 Pro. You can see two antenna cutouts at the top instead of one, more widely spaced than on the Pixel 6A, with a glass and metal frame.
There’s still no 3.5mm audio jack, just a SIM slot, and it’s unclear if the device has eSIM. But you probably still have IP67 dust and water resistance since Google has an o-ring on the SIM tray.
Interestingly, the owner told him Zing News which has an option to refresh the screen at 90Hz, which would be a great improvement for Google’s mid-range phone. Modders discovered that the older Pixel 6A technically shipped with a 90Hz display (mine is running at 90Hz right now), but Google doesn’t officially support it yet, and the mod gives my screen an annoying green tint. .
Here’s hoping, but don’t be surprised if the 90Hz refresh rate and clean pattern below this phone’s glass back are exclusive to the developer’s prototype. Zing News says Google remotely locked the phone after screenshots were leaked on the web. Pro Tip: Don’t post screenshots that show your device’s unique serial number.
Google is likely to announce this phone at its Google I/O developer conference on May 10.
