Google is expected to release a cheaper version of its Pixel 4 smartphone next year - here's what it may look like

Crystal Cox/Business Insider

The Pixel 4.

• Google may release a cheaper version of the Pixel 4 called the Pixel 4a, which would have a headphone jack, a single camera, and an all-screen design with a hole-punch-shaped cutout for the selfie camera.
• That's according to a new leak from tech blog 91mobiles and OnLeaks, which has reported accurate information about unreleased gadgets in the past.
• The Pixel 4a would be the follow-up to Google's Pixel 3a, which, as its name implies, is a less expensive version of the company's Pixel 3 flagship smartphone from last year.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A cheaper version of Google's flagship Pixel 4 smartphone could be in the works, and a new leak provides a glimpse of what it might look like.

Images claiming to show the less-expensive Pixel phone's design recently surfaced on the tech blog 91mobiles, showing a device that largely resembles the Pixel 4 but with a few important differences. The website said it published the pictures in partnership with Twitter account OnLeaks, which has reported accurate information about unreleased gadgets in the past.

The phone, which is expected to be called the Pixel 4a, will have a headphone jack, a single camera rather than a double camera sensor like the one on the Pixel 4, and a small hole-shaped cutout for the front-facing camera, according to 91mobiles and OnLeaks. That hole-punch-like cutout resembles the one found on Samsung's Galaxy S10e, a more affordable version of the Galaxy S10 that the South Korean tech giant released earlier this year.

Such characteristics represent a departure from the Pixel 4, which only features a USB-C port and lacks a headphone jack. The Pixel 4 also has a thin border above the display for its speaker and selfie camera rather than a circular cutout. Another feature that could differentiate the Pixel 4a from its pricier counterpart is a fingerprint scanner located on the back, a sensor that the Pixel 4 lacks.

Despite these differences, the leaks indicate that the Pixel 4a will otherwise very much resemble the Pixel 4. Even though it's expected to only have one camera, the Pixel 4a's camera module has a large, square design much like the one on the Pixel 4. And its screen is expected to measure 5.7 or 5.8 inches diagonally, which would make it nearly the same size as the 5.7-inch Pixel 4.

It's unclear whether the Pixel 4a would have the Pixel 4's Motion Sense capabilities, which use sensors to detect when you're nearby so that you can perform certain actions using gestures rather than touching the device's screen.

The launch would come after Google released the Pixel 3a last spring, a cheaper version of its flagship Pixel 3 smartphone from 2018 that starts at $400. The Pixel 3a retains several of the Pixel 3's standout features, like the ability to take better photos in the dark, but is made from a less expensive polycarbonate material, versus the Pixel 3's metal build, and runs on a less powerful processor.

Check out the video from 91mobiles and OnLeaks below:

Google did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the Pixel 4a design, and the company hasn't spoken publicly about its future plans for the Pixel smartphone lineup. But Google's Mario Queiroz, who oversaw the company's Pixel product line before recently moving into a new role in the office of CEO Sundar Pichai, previously said that it's part of Google's strategy to bring premium features to cheaper phones.

"We think there are a lot of people that would like to get those experiences but they can't now because those phones cost $1,400," Queiroz previously said in an interview with Business Insider.

It's unclear when the phone will launch, but 9to5Google has reported that it could debut in the spring around Google's annual developers conference, just like the Pixel 3a.

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