Here are the first images of the Google Pixel 5a and it looks very familiar

What you need to know

• The first renders of the Google Pixel 5a have appeared with a similar design to its predecessors.
• The Google Pixel 5a will reportedly feature a 6.2" OLED FHD+ display with a punch-hole selfie camera and rear fingerprint sensor.
• Google is likely to announce the Pixel 5a later this year around the launch of the Google Pixel 6.

Last year, Google went with a fairly confusing launch pattern for its Pixel smartphones, which was only intensified by the naming scheme and similar designs. The Google Pixel 4a launched just a month before the Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G and all three devices look largely the same. The situation doesn't seem to look any better if these leaked images of the Pixel 5a are legit, which is likely the case.

Steve Hemmerstoffer aka Onleaks just broke out the first renders of the Google Pixel 5a, and you won't be blamed for thinking it's the Pixel 5 or 4a 5G.

The Pixel 5a will reportedly feature a flat 6.2" OLED FHD+ display with a punch-hole selfie camera, similar to the 4a 5G. 'Round the back is a dual-camera array, LED flash, and PDAF sensor, all housed in a square stove. There's also a fingerprint sensor, 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo speakers, and a plastic chassis. According to Hemmerstoffer, the Pixel 5a will be slightly taller and thicker than the 4a 5G, though not as wide.

No details on the specs are available, but if Google follows its own example last year, we can probably expect a 700-series Snapdragon chipset to keep costs relatively low. If Google prices it right, this could easily end up one of the best cheap Android phones on the market this year.

The device is also likely to launch later this summer, although it could be sooner to better separate it from the launch of the Google Pixel 6. Many companies have been shifting their launches this year, so Google may well do the same, especially if it wants to keep from further complicating its smartphone lineup.