Exclusive Pixel 11a renders reveal design, colors, and a Tensor G6 jump

Android Headlines has published exclusive renders showing the Google Pixel 11a for the first time, following its earlier report on the phone under the codename “Formosan” back in January 2025. Google appears to be sticking with a design similar to the past two years, but the internals are getting a major upgrade this time: the Pixel 11a is expected to jump from the Tensor G4 to the Tensor G6, already making it a bigger upgrade than the Pixel 10a was over its predecessor.

The Pixel 11a is expected to be announced in Spring, following the pattern of its predecessors. Pricing isn’t known yet, and Android Headlines expects it to remain fluid until the announcement, largely because of the ongoing RAM crisis.

Pixel 11a design: a familiar look with a tweaked camera

The design shown in these renders looks very similar to the Pixel 9a and Pixel 10a from the past two years, which isn’t a major surprise, since Google’s design chief has said the company moves to a new design every two to three years while iterating with small changes in between.

The Pixel 11a sticks with the flush camera design on the back, first shown in Android Headlines’ Pixel 10a render exclusive, using the same kind of early first-look render approach the outlet previously used for the Pixel 10 before its launch. The shape of the camera module is a bit different this year, though – more of a short oval versus the longer oval used before. It’s a minimal change, but noticeable in the renders. The flash still sits outside the camera module, as it has on previous models. The borders around the screen also remain a little thicker than on pricier Pixels, which doesn’t change how the phone is used day to day.

How the Pixel 11a’s size compares

According to Android Headlines’ sources, the Pixel 11a’s dimensions are expected to land at roughly 153.46 x 72.35 x 9mm, making it slightly shorter than both the Pixel 10a and Pixel 9a, though it should feel mostly the same in the hand. Compared to the Pixel 8a, the Pixel 11a is expected to be slightly taller with a larger screen, and the same goes against the Pixel 7a, which Android Headlines called the best Android phone under $500 in 2023.

Based on these dimensions, cases made for the Pixel 10a likely won’t fit the Pixel 11a, though that isn’t confirmed yet since the phone is still months away from launching.

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Pixel 11a colors: three confirmed guesses and one educated prediction

The Pixel 11a is expected to come in four colors again this year: black, silver, green, and purple. The black will likely be named “Obsidian,” a name Google has used since the Pixel 7 in 2022. The silver could be called “Fog,” carrying over from the Pixel 10a’s lineup, while green could be “Olive,” possibly lining up with the rest of the Pixel 11 colors, and purple could be called “Orchid.”

Three of those names make sense on their own: Obsidian has been Google’s black since the Pixel 7, Fog carries over directly from the Pixel 10a, and Olive matches the green used on the Pixel 11 Pro. The fourth doesn’t fit as cleanly. Frost is Google’s name for the soft silver-blue used on the Pixel 10 and Pixel 11, and the 11a already has its light color covered by Fog, so Android Headlines doesn’t think a purple shade will ship under the Frost name. Leaked color names also rarely survive to launch – the Pixel 11 was leaked as Sterling, Moss, Fuchsia, and Midnight, but went on sale as Frost, Pistachio, Hibiscus, and Obsidian.

With the name set aside, Android Headlines worked out the likely shade instead, using four points of reasoning. First is Google’s recipe: for three years, its main Pixel lineups have shipped with black, a light color, a green, and one standout color that changes annually, and the 11a’s leaked four-color lineup fits that pattern, making purple its standout shade. Second is what’s already taken elsewhere: Samsung is using lavender and violet on this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 lineup, and Apple went with a deep wine red on the iPhone 18 Pro, which rules out a pale lavender or a dark violet for Google. Third is this year’s overall mood: Google’s colors have gotten softer, with the Pixel 10’s bright Lemongrass green becoming the Pixel 11’s muted Pistachio, suggesting this year’s standout color should be soft rather than bright. Fourth is the gap in Google’s own color history: its purples so far have leaned either blue (Iris, Lavender, Indigo) or pink (Peony, Berry, Hibiscus), leaving a soft red-purple as the one shade in between that Google hasn’t used yet.

Putting all of that together points to a soft, dusty purple with a hint of red, which Android Headlines is calling Orchid and has used for its renders, with a color code of #9C5F92 for anyone who wants the exact numbers. This remains Android Headlines’ prediction rather than a confirmed color, and Google will ultimately choose the actual name; the outlet also notes that its affordable Pixels have often shipped a touch bolder than the flagships, so the final shade could end up slightly brighter than Orchid. Still, Android Headlines frames this as a reasoned estimate rather than a guess, since each step in its process ruled something out, leaving Orchid as what remained.

What’s changing inside: Tensor G6, a new modem, display, battery, and cameras

While the exterior looks similar to last year’s Pixel 10a, the real upgrades this year are internal, led by a new Tensor G6 processor and a MediaTek modem. Most of this information traces back to a leak Android Headlines reported in July.

With last year’s Pixel 10a, many were surprised to see it stick with the Tensor G4 even as the Pixel 10 series moved to the Tensor G5, making it almost the same phone as the Pixel 9a, right down to the processor, RAM, and storage. For the Pixel 11a, though, Google appears to be leaping straight to the Tensor G6, the same chip used in the Pixel 11 series, which seems to rule out theories that Google sticks to the previous generation’s chip for its a-series phones. The Tensor G6 debuted on the Pixel 11 series in August, and while it’s still not the most powerful chip on the market, Android Headlines noted in its Pixel 11 Pro review that it runs noticeably smoother than last year’s chip.

A big part of the Tensor G6’s upgrade is actually the modem: Google is now using a MediaTek modem instead of the older Samsung modem found in previous Pixel devices. In its Pixel 11 Pro review, Android Headlines found the new modem delivered about 10% faster speeds and a better signal than last year’s phone on the same network – an upgrade that isn’t immediately visible but should be noticeable in daily use, and should also help battery life since the phone won’t have to work as hard to find a signal.

On the display side, Google appears to be sticking with a 6.3-inch, 1080p panel, but with another brightness boost. HDR brightness looks set to rise to 2,250 nits, up from 2,000 nits on the Pixel 10a, while peak brightness is expected to climb to 3,350 nits, up from 3,000 nits. In practice, that should translate to better visibility in direct sunlight.

Battery life has been a strength of the Pixel A-series for the past two generations, largely thanks to a large battery paired with a 1080p display, and that’s expected to continue with the Pixel 11a, which Android Headlines expects to land around 5,000mAh, a small step down from the previous two generations – a trend that also showed up in the Pixel 11 Pro series in August. Leaks have pointed to a “minimum battery capacity” of 4,870mAh, though that figure doesn’t necessarily match what ends up on the final spec sheet, since minimum ratings are rarely the number advertised to buyers; the Pixel 11, for instance, has a minimum capacity of 4,840mAh but is advertised at 4,985mAh.

On cameras, Google is expected to carry over the same setup as the Pixel 10a: a 48MP primary camera paired with a 13MP ultrawide, both solid performers for this price range, with no zoom camera expected – that remains reserved for the Pixel 11. The selfie camera, on the other hand, is expected to get its first upgrade since the Pixel 7a, though the exact sensor isn’t known yet; it could end up being the same 10.5MP selfie camera found on the base Pixel 11.

Android Headlines expects the Pixel 11a to receive seven years of updates, covering OS updates, feature drops, and security patches, continuing the standard Google has kept for the entire Pixel lineup since the Pixel 8, a-series included. On security, the upgraded Tensor G6 also brings the new Titan M3 co-processor, which helps protect passwords, payments, and personal data, and the phone is expected to run Android 17 out of the box – the same software found on Google’s priciest phone, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, which starts at $1,899.

Price, release date, and how it stacks up against past Pixels

The price has held steady at $499 from the Pixel 7a through the Pixel 10a, even as the series picked up a larger display and a redesigned look with the Pixel 9a – a redesign Android Headlines revealed months before launch, following its earlier exclusive showing all four Pixel 8a colors ahead of that phone’s debut. Taken together, these are fairly small year-over-year changes, which makes sense given that most people don’t upgrade phones annually or even every two years; Americans now keep their phones for close to three years on average, so many buyers eyeing the Pixel 11a are likely coming from a Pixel 8a or older, which would still represent a substantial upgrade. Meanwhile, the pricier Pixel 11 Pro at $1,099 and Pixel 11 Pro XL at $1,299 add a sharper zoom camera and more memory, features the Pixel 11a is expected to skip.

For anyone still on a Pixel 7a or Pixel 8a, Android Headlines suggests it’s worth waiting for the Pixel 11a, given the larger display in a similarly sized phone, a drastically improved processor, and most of the Pixel 11’s Gemini Intelligence features, though Google tends to reserve a few of those for its pricier models. Anyone who needs a phone right now still has the Pixel 10a, which Android Headlines’ own review called still the best $500 phone, starting at $499, alongside the Samsung Galaxy A57, priced about $50 higher than the Pixel 10a.

The Pixel 11a is slated for another Spring release next year, with Android Headlines expecting a February or March announcement followed by sales a few weeks later.

On pricing, the Pixel A-series has held at $499 for four straight generations, but that could change next year. The entire Pixel 11 lineup saw a $100 price increase in August, pushing the base Pixel 11 to $899, which leaves room for a similar $100 increase on the Pixel 11a. A major driver behind these increases is the sharp rise in memory and storage costs tied to AI demand, and while no price has leaked yet, Android Headlines says a starting price of $599 wouldn’t be out of the question.