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Google Pixel 5a likely to have Pixel 5 processor, as hinted by Android 12 DP 3

To be clear, this isn't a sure deal, but Android 12 makes it difficult to dismiss the possibility.
By
April 21, 2021
Google Pixel 5 standing up back on table 2
David Imel / Android Authority
TL;DR
  • Code within the latest Android 12 DP 3 suggests that the Google Pixel 5a processor could be the Snapdragon 765G.
  • Notably, this is the same processor within the Google Pixel 5.
  • This isn’t a sure deal, but it would make a lot of sense with the rumors surrounding “Whitechapel.”

We know for certain that a new “a” series Pixel is on the way, to be known as the Google Pixel 5a 5G. However, other than the fact that it exists and looks a lot like the Pixel 4a 5G, we don’t know much else.

That may have changed today. Thanks to some Android 12 DP 3 code sleuthing from 9to5Google, it looks like the Pixel 5a could have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G under the hood. That’s the same processor that powers Google’s current flagship, the Pixel 5.

Related: All Google Pixel phones released so far

Code within the version of Android 12 launched today references “barbet” as well as “sm7250.” The former is believed to be the codename for the Google Pixel 5a while the latter is definitively the model number of the Snapdragon 765G.

Obviously, that isn’t a true confirmation that the Pixel 5a could have the Snapdragon 765G. However, when you factor in that the Pixel 6 is likely to have Google’s own silicon inside — codenamed “Whitechapel” — the Pixel 5a having an off-the-shelf Qualcomm chip makes sense.

Of course, if the Pixel 5a is priced under $400 as every other “a” series phone has been, the Pixel 5 will suddenly seem way overpriced. It’s possible Google could drop the Pixel 5’s price in tandem with the launch of the Pixel 5a, if this rumor turns out to be true.