Next month, on the first day of its I/O developer conference, Google is expected to unveil its anticipated and cheaper Pixel 3a and 3a XL devices. With these Pixel devices, Google will foray into the mid-range smartphone segment. Google has reasons for a push into the new category: there's too much competition in the high-end phones and Pixel devices have failed to make an impact through sales.

Yesterday, on an earnings call with media, Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer of Google parent company Alphabet, said that high pressure on high-end phones in the industry led to fewer Pixel sales last quarter compared to this time a year ago. Porat specifically cited "some of the recent pressures in the premium smartphone market."

However, she didn't define what those pressure are, maybe she is referring to the increased competition from Apple, Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus and other manufacturers, as well as the high prices that are pushing back consumer demand.

Google Pixel 3 XL
Google Pixel 3 XLIBTimes India/Sami Khan

Coming back to Pixel 3a, Google is going to organise annual developer I/O conference on May 7. On the first day of the event, Google may show off its new Pixel 3a and 3a XL. As the date is coming close, it is just expected that more leaks will egress around these Google devices. A few days ago, press render and purple paint job were leaked online. Now, the Pixel 3a has spotted on the database of Geekbench, hinting at an imminent arrival of the new smartphone series.

Pixel 3a leaked on Geekbench
Pixel 3a leaked on GeekbenchGeekbench

As usual, Geekbench listing reveals just a few specifications of the device. As per the listing, Pixel 3a is powered by the Qualcomm processor, but it is not mentioned the name of SoC. Previously, a leak suggested that the device would be powered by the Snapdragon 710 Soc, but the listing hints that Pixel 3a will likely have a lesser SoC and there are speculations of a Snapdragon 670 chipset onboard. The device will come with 4GB RAM and run on the Android 9.0 Pie.

A few days ago, Google itself hinted that Pixel 3a's screen resolution will be 1080×2220 pixels and it will have a display size of around 5.6″. Well, we will get all the specifications and features in the upcoming week, so stay tuned with us to get more details.