Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL show up on the Play Console, hints at Pixel Visual Core and mid-2019 launch

We’ve heard rumors that Google will launch two mid-range Pixel smartphones this year code-named “sargo” and “bonito.” We recently discovered that the alleged smartphones may be marketed as the Google Pixel 3a and Google Pixel 3a XL. Although we know most of the specifications for the smaller mid-range Pixel, we don’t know whether the device is sargo or bonito and we haven’t been able to confirm a launch date. However, new evidence has emerged to support a mid-year launch date and the inclusion of a hardware feature we assumed would return but could never confirm on our own.

Two new devices have been added to the Google Play Developer Console’s Device Catalog: sargo and bonito (via /u/ElegyD). The Device Catalog is a list of devices that app developers can use to whitelist or blacklist devices from installing their app(s). This list is curated by Google and is based on device makers submitting information on their new devices to Google. In this case, the team at Google responsible for maintaining the Play Console have added information submitted to them by the Pixel hardware team. While the Device Catalog listings don’t mention the marketing names of either sargo or bonito, it does confirm some information we’ve speculated about for some time.

First, the listing for sargo reveals a device with a screen resolution of 1080×2220 (18.5:9) with a screen density of 440. The listing for bonito reveals a device with a screen resolution of 1080×2160 (18:9) and screen density of 400. Oddly, leaked pictures of the smaller mid-range Pixel and alleged CAD renders of the larger mid-range Pixel show two devices without notches, so we’re not sure why sargo is listed as having an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Both devices are listed with 4GB RAM and run on Android 9 Pie, which is what we’ve expected. The SoC is unspecified, but the smaller model is rumored to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 while the larger model is rumored to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710.

What’s more interesting about these listings are the defined system features. The presence of the system feature com.google.hardware.camera.easel_2018 suggests that both devices will have the Pixel Visual Core like the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3. The presence of the com.google.android.feature.PIXEL_2019_MIDYEAR_EXPERIENCE feature tells us that these Pixels are going to launch in the middle of this year, something we’ve long suspected but could never confirm. Apart from a mention of the StrongBox Keystore, everything else is as you would expect. If we learn more about either the Google Pixel 3a or Pixel 3a XL, we’ll let you all know.

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