According to Stephen Hall of 9to5Google at least, the Google Pixel 4a may do away with the active edge sides of previous models and previous generation Pixel phones.

Hall claimed on Twitter that he could confirm that the Pixel 4a will not have the "squeezable" sides on the Pixel 3a and Pixel 4, but whether he was informed of this by inside sources or was able to obtain engineering samples has not been stated.

Given that the Pixel 5 will reportedly not feature Google's Soli radar chip, it seems that Google is on a mission to strip features from the Pixel phone, presumably to lower the price.

Active Edge is a feature on the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL that allows users to squeeze the bottom edge of the device to activate the Google Assistant. This was done to avoid the need to say "OK Google" to invoke the phone's virtual assistant.

Personally, I thought this was a mildly useful feature that made me feel a little less conscious when barking commands at my phone in public. However, many felt that Active Edge was merely a gimmick, something that would be quickly forgotten after the initial activation of the Pixel device.

Being able to launch Google Assistant with a long press of the software home button definitely feels more natural and is a common feature on many recent Android phones. Therefore, one could argue that this method of launching the Google Assistant is more intuitive than squeezing the edge of a smartphone. Also, thanks to Android 11's upcoming "Columbus" feature, future Pixel phones may be able to call up Google Assistant with a quick double-tap on the back of the phone.

Removing the active edge may be one way to reduce the Pixel 4a's manufacturing costs and allow Google to sell it at a cheaper price. And pricing will undoubtedly be a key indicator for the Pixel 4a; while the 3a model offered an impressive camera and software suite at an affordable price, the arrival of Apple's iPhone SE 2020 means that a powerful budget device with a best-in-class processor at $399 means that the price of the device is now $399. Fortunately for Google, most rumors have the Pixel 4a priced below the iPhone SE at $349.

We expect the Pixel 4a to debut in June, so it won't be long before we find out if Google's latest device will top out as an affordable phone.