The launch of the Google Pixel 8a has all but been confirmed by a fresh FCC listing.
Google’s next mid-range smartphone has made an appearance at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is the US independent telecommunications regulator. Every connected device that’s sold in the country has to run through this agency first, so it’s a reliable source of pre-launch smart device information.
In this case, four new Google devices were submitted to the FCC on Monday with the model numbers G8HHN, GKV4X, G6GPR, and G576D. They’re all listed as phones, and are variants of one another rather than distinct models, likely covering the various 5G configurations.
None of these are explicitly referred to as the Pixel 8a, but there’s really nothing else they could be. Besides, the ‘G6GPR’ code already appeared on a leaked Pixel 8a retail box back in January.
Given that the Pixel 7a launched on May 10 last year, it would make sense that Google is making the final preparations for announcing its successor. That Pixel 7a launch occurred at Google I/O 2023, of course, so we’re expecting Google to do the same this year. The company recently announced that Google I/O 2024 would be taking place on May 14.
In terms of the Pixel 8a’s configuration, we’re expecting a device with broadly the same dimensions as the Pixel 7a that runs on the same Tensor G3 chip as the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. That chip’s second-tier performance level should make a lot more sense in a mid-priced device.
Talking of which, we also heard earlier this month that the Pixel 8a could be set to receive a significant price hike, possibly hitting around £500 (from the Pixel 7a’s £449).
