Pixel 5a passes through the FCC with two different versions

It’s a weird time to be in the market for a new phone, as we’re in the quiet before the storm. Samsung’s likely to announce some new phones at the beginning of August, while Google could end up doing the same with the Pixel 5a before unveiling the oft-rumored Pixel 6 series. Then there’s the question as to whether we’ll see a “T” variant of the OnePlus 9 at some point this year.

Google is in an interesting position with the Pixel 5a, as stock levels seem to be dwindling for both the Pixel 4a 5G and the Pixel 5. Meanwhile, the Pixel 4a is still in stock and available from all of the retailers you would expect. The Pixel 5a was first rumored back in February, but here we are in July and there’s still no sign of the device. That might all be changing relatively soon, as the Pixel 5a was found (via 9to5Google) passing through the FCC with two different variants.

In the FCC filing, the differences between the two versions were explicitly explained, revealing that one of these models features support the sub-6Ghz 5G bands. Meanwhile, the other version is coming with CDMA network connectivity being completely “disabled by software”.

Unfortunately, nothing else about the Pixel 5a was revealed by the FCC listing. Instead, we’ll just have to rely on previous rumors and leaks that show a design similar to the Pixel 4a 5G. From a hardware perspective, this feels like nothing more than a minor upgrade and one that is designed to keep the Pixel “a” series rolling along.