The 2020 Pixel story has undergone some interesting changes earlier this week, with a clear variation of the “Pixel 5s”. This is a turbocharged version that seems to be one of the best Android smartphones of the year. The image leaked to Twitter shows a Pixel 4a-like EVT (Engineering Verification Test) Google phone with dual cameras and a slim bezel. perhaps This means it’s a very early device aimed at fixing Pixel hardware bugs before moving on to the second half of development. The sticker on the back of the device indicates that it was manufactured on April 8th. You can also see that it’s an older unit because it’s still running the pre-beta version of Android 11, which is still called “Android R” in the photo.

I’ve seen this kind of pre-production Pixel leaked. The Google “G” logo on the back is twisted from the alien alphabet to something, and other identification marks prevent the leak.

The common sense when this “Pixel 5s” was first leaked was that it could probably be a high-end version of the Pixel 5 with millimeter-wave 5G technology. However, the fact that this is an old unit and is clearly running old firmware gives us a clue as to its true origin.

Another clue came Android Central Recently, the news of the arrival of Pixel 5 and 4a 5G was broken. In fact, according to Google sources, Google’s 2020 Pixel name has changed throughout 2020, as COVID-19 delayed the rollout of the Pixel 4a.

The first plan is definitely informed, but the Pixel 4a 5G (codenamed Bramble) was expected to arrive as the Pixel 5, but the second premium pixel (codenamed Redfin) has a higher status. Give it a different name to indicate. We are confident that Redfin has solved the Pixel 5 mystery based on the time frame before entering the EVT stage and the fact that this device is running old firmware. At some point, Redfin was going to ship as a Pixel 5. This is a smaller, more premium version of the base model Pixel 5 (Bramble, a phone now known as the Pixel 4a 5G).

The names Bramble and Redfin are said to have changed many times during the development of the phone. Indeed, of XDA Michelle Rahman Evidence was found that at some point the Bramble was called the Pixel 4a XL.

Therefore, the timelines for both devices look like this:

Wild rose:
Pixel 5-> Pixel 4a XL-> Pixel 4a 5G

Redfin:
Pixel 5s-> Pixel 5

The original naming conventions, Pixel 5 and Pixel 5s, are better understood with the excellent timeline of alternative universes in 2020. There is no COVID and the Pixel 4a will be available on time with packed Google I / O. The 4a will definitely enjoy four months of sales before the launch of Premium Pixel. However, in the current bad timeline of 2020, Pixel 4a smartphones are being shipped to customers three weeks before the arrival of two new models.

It’s generally a weird year for Pixels as Google pressed the reset switch.

Google has, of course, launched two smartphones with a “5” in their name, so it may seem that the latter is unnecessarily obsolete shortly after the Pixel 4a.

What’s more, Google has reached the traditional “small” plus “XL” dynamic reset switch used in all previous Pixel release cycles, avoiding the higher level Snapdragon 800 series chips, so the Pixel hardware The garment as a whole is just a strange year. -End model. Bramble and Red Fin violate Google’s usual Pixel naming convention.

All three 2020 pixels share design similarities, but Bramble and Redfin’s internal hardware is basically close enough to make two variants of the same phone. For example, assume that both have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G chipset.

But with a plastic body, a 60Hz refresh rate, and a large screen border, the Bramble also has a lot in common with the Pixel 4a. Naming has always been awkward, and Bramble straddled both the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 areas. So, in the end, the name of the somewhat clumsy compromise was Pixel 4a 5G. (Therefore, the Pixel 5s reverts to a regular Pixel 5).

As for the Pixel 5s name, this week’s leak shows that until recently, Google was still working on how to present its whole new and different lineup of smartphones to the world.