The Google Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold could be disappointingly expensive

The Google Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold could both be landing very soon, with the latest leak suggesting they’ll both be unveiled on May 10, but we have what looks like some bad news when it comes to prices.

According to sources speaking to 9to5Google, the Pixel 7a will cost $499 in the US, which is $50 more than the Pixel 6a costs. There’s no news on pricing in other regions, but given that the Pixel 7 has the same price tag in pounds as dollars we might see the same in the UK, meaning £499, up from £399. So that would be an even bigger jump, but at a minimum the Pixel 7a will probably cost £449 if this leak is accurate.

Australia pricing is harder to guess at, but with the Pixel 6a retailing for AU$749 the Pixel 7a will presumably be at least AU$800, and likely more. Again, that's assuming this leak is correct.

These aren’t massive price increases, but the Pixel 7 itself only starts at $599 / £599 / AU$999 and it’s often reduced, meaning that the Pixel 7a might find itself in the unfortunate position of costing about the same as the higher-end Pixel 7.

The news isn’t great when it comes to the Pixel Fold either, which according to Jon Prosser – a leaker with a generally solid track record – will cost $1,799.

In this case there’s no previous model to compare that price to, but that’s exactly the same as the starting price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Samsung’s foldable starts at £1,649 in the UK and AU$2,499 in Australia, so perhaps Google’s pricing will be the same there too, but that remains to be seen.

In any case, while the Pixel Fold was always going to be a premium product, whether it can compete with Samsung’s top foldable is another matter entirely.

Samsung has been slowly building up foldable sales over four generations now, so it’s both a better-known and likely more trusted name in the foldable space than Google will be. Plus, with rumors that it'll use a Tensor G2 chipset, Google’s foldable likely won’t be as powerful – and it will soon have the even more powerful Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 to compete with.

It’s worth noting that an earlier leak had pointed to the Pixel Fold having a far more palatable $1,400 US price though, so there’s still some hope that it could undercut Samsung’s rival.

Three new devices at Google IO

There is some good news in this leak too, as Prosser also claims that both the Google Pixel 7a and the Google Pixel Fold will be announced on May 10, which makes sense, as that’s when this year’s Google IO is.

The Pixel 7a will then be immediately available for purchase according to Prosser, although 9to5Google adds that it won't be available in-store until May 11. The Pixel Fold will apparently be available to pre-order on May 10 according to Prosser, but won’t release until June 27.

That tallies with another recent leak which claimed units of the Pixel 7a will soon arrive in retail stores, but that there weren’t any new signs of the Pixel Fold. If the latter isn’t going on sale until late June, it makes sense that there wouldn’t be any stock headed to stores yet.

Prosser also claims that the Google Pixel 7a will be available in Charcoal (dark gray), Snow (white), Sea (light blue), and Coral (likely a pale pink) shades, with the last of those being exclusive to the Google Store.

Finally, the Pixel Tablet will apparently also be announced on May 10, and the Pixel 6a supposedly won’t be discontinued – so there should still be a relatively cheap option among the best Pixel phones.

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