This week’s top stories: Pixel 4a August 3rd teaser, ‘Pixel 5a’ spotting, Google Camera 7.5, more

Kyle Bradshaw | Aug 1 2020 - 6:00 am PT

In this week’s top stories: Google begins teasing the unveiling of the Pixel 4a on August 3rd, the ‘Pixel 5a’ shows up in an Android code comment, Google Camera 7.5 teases potential new photography features for the Pixel 5, and more.

Over two months after we originally expected it to launch, Google has finally begun teasing its mid-range phone for 2020, the Pixel 4a. On a teaser page that puts a fun spin on the classic “lorem ipsum” filler text, we find an easter egg that reveals August 3 as a date for the Pixel 4a to either be revealed or launched.

The “lorem ipsum” paragraph underneath has several — decidedly — non-Latin words that are actually describing features like the camera, Night Sight low-light capabilities, bokeh, and all-day battery life.

Now that we have a seemingly firm date for the Pixel 4a and a clear idea of the two phones Google will release come October, our team found the first clue of Google’s 2021 lineup. A developer comment in the Android Open Source Project mentions the Pixel 5a by name.

So what all do we learn from this initial mention? Firstly, we now know that the Google Pixel 5a is in development. Second, we can guess that just like the Pixel 3a and 4a, the Pixel 5a will release in the middle of the year, as it will be on Android 11 (R) instead of next fall’s Android 12.

The Pixel series’ Google Camera app got an update this week to version 7.5, exclusively for Android 11 devices. Our APK Insight team took a closer look and found signs of new camera features including motion blur, audio zoom, and flash intensity.

Other Android phones over the years have offered adjustable camera flash brightness, but considering the Pixel series Night Sight expertise, it’s no surprise the feature hasn’t arrived sooner. So far though, these are the only two mentions, suggesting the work has only just begun and is far from ready to launch.

Another mid-range phone nearing release, the OnePlus Nord was the center of some concerning reports this week, as reviewers and influencers began to notice tinting issues with the display. The folks at OnePlus are claiming that this will be fixed with an upcoming update, rather than being a hardware failure.

No word was given on when this might come but with the global launch of the OnePlus Nord due on August 4, those who have pre-ordered and plan on buying at launch will hopefully get an OxygenOS update similar to that seen on the OnePlus 8 Pro to resolve any display discoloration issues.

Finally, deep, deep in the weeds for Made by Google news this week, we noted that stores have begun selling the Nest Hub in a new retail box. Now the box actually calls it the “Nest Hub” versus using the original “Google Home Hub” packaging with a sticker explaining the rename.

There is a lot of variance in when this Nest Hub box first appeared. In international markets and for influencers, Google introduced the packaging as early as 12 months ago. However, the design only recently appeared for most new buyers given how slowly inventory can move through retail channels.