Alleged Google Pixel 3 Lite And Pixel 3 XL Lite Budget Phones Make FCC Appearance

If you need any more evidence that the Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 XL Lite are fast approaching, look no further than these FCC filings by Google. Two Google smartphones just tiptoed through the FCC this morning carrying the model numbers A4RG020C and A4RG020G.

Pixel 3 Lite

It is rumored that those model designations correspond to the Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 XL Lite respectively. Both smartphones are of course running Android 9 Pie, and for the G020C, Google issues a Request for Confidentiality on January 14th, 2019 that would last for a period of 180 days from the date that the certification application is granted (which happened today), meaning that the devices could be released anytime between now and the end of August. 

Our previous reporting suggested that the Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 XL Lite could launch sometime this spring, perhaps at the annual Google I/O conference. We’ve also heard rumblings that carrier-backed versions of the smartphones will be exclusive to Verizon Wireless, although there are also certainly to be unlocked versions that would work on global networks. 

The most recent information leaks surrounding the phones suggests that these are the specs for the Pixel 3 Lite:

  • 5.56-inch display (2160x1080)
  • Snapdragon 670
  • Adreno 615 GPU
  • 4GB RAM
  • 32GB internal storage
  • 2915 mAh battery

Specifications on the Pixel 3 XL Lite are harder to come by, but rumors suggest that it will have a 6-inch display (likely of the same resolution) and a faster Snapdragon 710 SoC. In fact, alleged benchmarks of a Pixel 3 XL Lite with this exact configuration showed up in the Geekbench database.

Regardless of specs and performance, Google will need to be very aggressive with pricing for both the Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 XL Lite; both of which will reportedly feature bodies made of plastic. With 2018 flagship devices like the OnePlus 6T with a Snapdragon 845 processor and 128GB starting from $529, Google will have to dip well below the $799 starting price of the current Pixel 3 to gain any kind of traction in the mid-range phone market.

You can click the following links for the FCC documents on the A4RG020C and A4RG020G.