Brrrrrrrrrrrrrreaking news, gang: Google's just announced a new midrange Pixel product that pretty much everyone was expecting!

Titillating, I know, right? But hold the phone for a sec: Before you nod off and start thinking about noodles, there's more to this story than what's on the surface - and what most media outlets are reporting right now.

The device, in case you haven't yet heard, is the 2024 Google Pixel 8a. It looks like a phone. It acts like a phone. It does all the things a phone does. And it's incredibly similar, generally speaking, to the current Pixel 8 flagship that splashed into the world last fall.

I mean, just look at the two side by side:

Google, modified by IDG Comm

So, yeah: That's theexpectedpart of this saga. After all, Google has traditionally released a midrange "a"-model Pixel every spring,somewherearound this time. It's generally been a slightly less fancy, more affordable sibling to the higher-end phone with the same model number from a handful of months earlier. And, well, it's always had all the same exceptional stuff you'd expect from a Pixel product, even at its lower price point.

"So wait, then," you might be thinking. "Why is this crazy son-of-a-gizmo saying the Pixel 8a might bethe most important phoneof 2024? Has he finally lost his marbles? Did he eat a few too many cantaloupes and turn into a fleshy, round-torsoed melon-man? Has he finally followed through on his threat to hire a highly trained chinchilla to write all his columns for him?"

The answer to all of those questions is a resounding yes. (Do me a solid and don't mention the chinchilla bit to my bosses, though, all right?) But even so, the assertion at the top of this article is absolutely accurate. And the reason why comes down to two extremely important numbers.

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Google's Pixel 8a positioning

First, real quick, let's get the basic stuff out of the way - for anyone whohasn'talready read up on everything there is to know about the Pixel 8a phone.

Take a deep breath (or, if youhavealready ingested these basics, feel free to eat a cantaloupe or two while we make our way through it). We'll do this fast:

• The Pixel 8a is going on sale next Tuesday, May 14 (though it's actually available for preordering now).
• The phone features the same Google Tensor G3 chip that's present in the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, which means it'll be ready to handle all the same sorts of resource-intensive AI processing - including an on-device version of the latest and greatest Gemini Nano setup (eventually; Google says that'll come with a future feature update and be accessible via a special but available-to-anyone developer option).
• It has a 430-pixel-per-inch 6.1