What the Pixel 4a pricing tells us about Google and the pandemic market

Google’s new Pixel 4a smartphone will have a US price of $349, at least $50 cheaper than what has been its cheapest smartphone so far. Also, this phone is cheaper than Apple’s $399 iPhone SE, which went on sale in April.

So Google is slowly shedding its reputation as a premium smartphone maker by pushing down the entry point for its pixel series with the latest offering — the base model of the Pixel 4 XL had cost $899.

“Just like Apple’s iPhone SE, the Pixel A-series phones are important for expanding the audience of customers that are comfortable splurging for a premium brand smartphone, but at a mid-range price,” explained Frank Gillet, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester research. “So it’s important to ship a Pixel 4a before the fall launch of the Pixel 5.”