The Google Pixel 5a will launch later this year, Google confirmed a few weeks ago in the face of rumors of its cancellation due to a chip shortage. This time, completely coincidentally, the company revealed something else about its upcoming phone.

The Google AI blog published a research post reviewing the company's advances in bracketing (taking multiple shots of the same subject with different camera settings) in HDR+ photography on its phones, checking out versions of the Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a in the process. In the accompanying gallery, however, two photos that have now been removed received special attention.

EXIF metadata on the photo below, taken by 9to5Google before it was deleted, indicates that it was taken with a Google Pixel 5a. It also indicates that the cinema in the picture was taken in Taiwan, which is not surprising since that is where the Pixel phone was developed.

Other than that, two details stand out, other than the fact that it is a nicely composed photo, which is not surprising given Google's photography tradition and the fact that the company decided to use this photo in a promotional blog post.

First, an ultra-wide f/2.2 lens is used, which matches the specifications of the upcoming handset. Second, the photo was taken on October 1, 2020, two weeks before the Pixel 5 was actually released. This means that Google has been working on this device for some time.

The second photo that Google removed is more enigmatic, as the metadata did not reveal the name of the device. However, given that they were removed at the same time, it seems likely that they are from the Pixel 5a or another unannounced device as well. This snap was taken more recently, on February 16.

One wonders if Google will stick to the philosophy that one camera is enough for the Pixel a series. Or will they add a second camera, taking a cue from the Google Pixel 4a 5G. given that the Pixel 4a XL has an f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens, one would expect the Pixel 5a to have two rear cameras.

According to code found within Android 12, the Pixel 5a may use the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G as the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, and since the leaked design shows a similar appearance to the previous model, it is possible that Google will make generational It will be interesting to see what significant changes they actually made between the two.

Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long to find out: Google IO is next month and will likely be unveiled there, but we had to deal with countless delays before the Pixel 4a finally arrived last year.