Expectations are high for the Google Pixel 4a. The Pixel 3a, released last year, was a breakthrough hit for Google, which until then had not had a hit smartphone. Yet, it is not difficult to understand why the Pixel 3a was such a resounding success.

It is unclear when the Pixel 4a will be available. The reason is that more retailers will reopen and Google will have the opportunity to get the new phone in front of more prospective buyers.

So how will the Pixel 4a change from last year's budget phone? Based on what we've heard so far, here's how the Pixel 4a compares to the Pixel 3a and the differences we can expect.

The Pixel 3a debuted at $399, finding the sweet spot where people are willing to pay for a very high-performance mid-range smartphone; with the Pixel 4a, Google may drop the price even further.

According to Stephen Hall of 9to5Google, the Pixel 4a will be priced at $349 (Google also sent a pricing survey to some people to gauge interest in a $349 phone.) Hall also said that the Pixel 4a will have a Pixel 3 a, claiming that it will offer 128GB of storage, twice as much as the Pixel 3a.

There are good reasons for Google to drop the price of the next Pixel, and that is in the form of the iPhone SE 2020. Apple has resurrected its own budget smartphone and priced it at $399, the same as the Pixel 3a. with the iPhone SE getting a lot of attention, it is possible that Google believes the Pixel 4a needs to undercut Apple in order to make a big splash on the Pixel 3a level.

Last year, the Pixel 3a had two models to choose from. You could either get the standard 5.6-inch version or opt for a larger screen with the 6-inch Pixel 3a XL. This is the same approach Google is using with its more expensive Pixel flagship, which comes in both standard and XL sizes.

Google is reportedly taking a different approach with the Pixel 4a, which is only available in one size. This apparently reflects the fact that while the Pixel 3a may have been popular, not as many people opted for the larger Pixel 3a XL.

This is not to say that the Pixel 4a XL was not developed at some point. Renderings of larger budget phones have been circulating, fueling speculation that there may be a larger version of Google's next budget phone. However, unlike the Pixel 4a, where rumors have been steadily building up for its anticipated launch, we have not heard as much about the Pixel 4a XL.

So if there will only be one Pixel 4a model, what will it look like? Many expect the Pixel 4a to have a 5.8-inch display, which is slightly larger than last year's phone screen. But that display will be on the more compact Pixel. Rumors suggest that the Pixel 4a will measure 5.7 x 2.7 x 0.32 inches. This compares to the Pixel 3a's 6 x 2.8 x 0.3.

Google will put a larger screen on a smaller phone by eliminating the bezels at the top and bottom of the Pixel 3a. Instead, the Pixel 4a will reportedly use a punch-hole cutout for the front camera to provide more space in the screen area.

Expect the same materials to be used in this year's phone; the Pixel 4a will reportedly have a plastic case and OLED screen, similar to the Pixel 3a. The headphone jack also appears to remain, at least based on leaked photos that claim to show the Pixel 4a.

Google may go in a different direction with the colors of this year's phones after releasing just black, clear white, and purple-ish with the Pixel 3a. The black option will reportedly survive on the Pixel 4a, and a Barely Blue version will be added.

Budget phones are adding camera lenses at a faster pace, but don't expect the Pixel 4a to join the crowd. Rumors suggest that the new model will have a 12-megapixel rear lens, similar to the one found on the Pixel 3a. On the front of the phone, the camera housing may change, and the Pixel 4a is also expected to retain the 8MP selfie cam found on last year's model.

Keeping the same camera hardware intact may sound like a strange decision for a product line that has built its reputation as a camera phone. But the magic of Pixels and photography has always been about software and Google's calculated photo smarts.

It is possible that the Pixel 4a will adopt some of the Pixel 4's camera improvements that were not reflected in the Pixel 3a via software updates, but features like double exposure require hardware tweaks and are outside of Google's plans for the budget phone lineup. It may be. In any case, we can expect to see upgraded camera features in the Pixel 4a.

Google saves money on cheap Pixel phones by choosing processors that are less powerful than those used in its flagships; in the case of the Pixel 3a, that translated to the Snapdragon 670 system-on-chip. It doesn't have the pacemaker-like power of the A13 Bionic chip in the new iPhone SE, but it performs reasonably well.

It appears that Google may give the Pixel 4a a bit more processing power by choosing a chipset from Qualcomm's 7 series family. Specifically, most rumors suggest that the Pixel 4a will use the Snapdragon 730 to improve performance and power efficiency. Some phone leakers have raised the possibility that Google will adopt the Snapdragon 765 with a built-in 5G modem, but we think that is unlikely at this time.

In addition to the Pixel 4a's additional storage, it is believed that Google may include more RAM, 6GB versus the Pixel 3a's 4GB.

The more powerful processor and slightly larger screen may force Google to increase the Pixel 4a's battery size. In our battery tests, it lasted just under 12 hours, ranking it on our best smartphone battery life list.

The Pixel 3a does not feature wireless charging, and the Pixel 4a is not expected to either. However, a case maker has leaked images of a Pixel 4a wireless charger, so there is no chance. Apple's iPhone SE charges wirelessly, which could put the Pixel 4a at a competitive disadvantage immediately after its launch.

Definitive information on how the Pixel 4a is improved from the Pixel 3a will have to wait until we actually get our hands on the new model. However, rumors suggest that the biggest changes will affect design and performance, with possibly more modest improvements in photo processing and battery life.

For many users, however, the biggest change may be the Pixel 4a's price. If Google can offer a phone that is as good as the Pixel 3a but $50 cheaper, it may be enough to keep the company at the top of the best budget phone market.