Google LLC today debuted the Pixel 4A, an entry-level phone that is priced lower than Apple Inc.’s most affordable iPhone model and offers double the storage.

The Pixel 4A (pictured) underscores how device pricing is playing an increasingly important role in handset makers’ product roadmaps. Its announcement also serves a prelude to the upcoming launch of two other, 5G-compatible Pixel models Google previewed today as well. 

The new phone is available for pre-order at $349, a big drop from the $799 Google asked for last year’s flagship Pixel 4. The handset is also strategically priced $50 lower than Apple’s entry-level iPhone SE.

The Pixel 4A is a slimmed-down version of the Pixel 4 that leaves out certain features such as its predecessor’s wide-area lens, but it brings over many of the most important selling points. That includes first and foremost the rear camera sensor. The Pixel 4A has the same 12-megapixel main sensor as the Pixel 4’s rear camera, which was hailed by reviewers as one of the best in the industry. 

“Pixel 4a brings the same features that have helped millions of Pixel owners take great shots,” Brian Rakowski, Google’s vice president of product management, wrote in a blog post. “HDR+ with dual exposure controls, Portrait Mode, Top Shot, Night Sight with astrophotography capabilities and fused video stabilization — they’re all there.” 

On the front, Google has equipped the phone with a 5.81-inch screen slightly larger than the panel of the Pixel 4. There’s a hole-punch front camera at the upper left corner with an 8-megapixel resolution.

Google has made some hardware trade-offs to help bring the device below the price of Apple’s competing model. The Qualcomm Inc. processor in the Pixel 4A is slower than the one in the Pixel 4 and the screen, though larger, only refreshes at 60 frames per second versus the 90 frames per second its namesake managed. There’s no support for Google’s face unlock feature either, though Google did equip the phone with a fingerprint sensor and  its internally developed Titan M security chip.

One notable area where the search didn’t make any big downgrades is the storage department. The Pixel 4A has 128 gigabytes of flash storage, twice as much as the iPhone SE.

The $350 Pixel 4A and iPhone SE, which debuted earlier this year, are both examples of midrange phones with features brought over from top-end models. Others such as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. have also enhanced their midrange device lineups in recent months as part of an industry push to better appeal to price-conscious buyers.

But higher-end phones continue to be a focus. In the blog post announcing the new Pixel 4A today, Rakowski also briefly previewed two other upcoming phones. The executive detailed that Google this fall plans to introduce a 5G version of the Pixel 4A as well as another 5G-compatible model, the Pixel 5, which will presumably be the company’s 2020 flagship. 

Photo: Google