First the Pixel 4a was slated to come out in May, but its launch date was reportedly pushed back to June and then July. Now, new leaked information has caused the launch of Google's mid-range smartphone to be postponed again, this time to October.

Phone leaker Jon Prosser has tweeted again, this time saying the device will not arrive until October 22. To make matters worse, that's only for the black model; the "Barely Blue" version is completely missing from the record.

"Once again, it seems Google has delayed the Pixel 4a," Prosser tweeted, adding that the announcement was still scheduled for July 13.

"Waited a week to report this to see if it was a system error," he continued in a second tweet. 'But have checked several times at this point. We are keeping a close eye on things and this could change again."

"I am not sure how long it will take for this to happen.

With this new timetable, it is very likely that the Pixel 4a will debut at the same time as the iPhone 12. Some say the Apple flagship could be as late as November, although leaked information suggests the release date may be October.

Here's the bad news chaser along with the first part: "Seems like the Pixel 5 will also be pushed back," Prosser said, adding that at this point, it probably just makes sense to launch the Pixel 5 and 4a alongside each other He concluded, adding that it would make sense for the Pixel 5 and 4a to launch alongside each other. It makes sense to us - Google could just call it the Pixel 5a.

What's particularly confusing about this is that, according to Prosser, the Pixel 4a has been ready to ship for some time and is being delayed not because of the coronavirus directly, but because market conditions are not particularly welcoming to new smartphones. Presumably, Google has been keeping track of the gradual reopening of cell phone dealerships around the world and has concluded that it is best to wait a few more months.

That the Pixel 4a is ready to go would help explain why we know quite a bit about it. We are clearly looking at a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730-powered phone with 6GB RAM and storage options starting at 128 gigabytes.

Unlike last year's Pixel 3a, the Pixel 4a is rumored to support wireless charging. Nevertheless, the main selling points remain early access to Android updates, a less bloated OS, and Google's excellent track record in smartphone photography, which should include a single 12.2 megapixel rear-facing camera this time around.

Of course, with each delay in the Pixel 4a's launch, the flagship's price drops and its appeal slowly diminishes as better-specced competitors emerge. Apple's iPhone SE starts at $399 and is powered by the same processor as the iPhone 11. The affordable OnePlus Z is also on the horizon.