You can blame the global chip shortage for Google canceling the Pixel 5a

Google has already been hard at work when it comes to its next lineup of devices, which was expected to be kicked off with the Pixel 5a. We weren’t sure whether the device would be unveiled at Google I/O 2021, but that was the expectation. But today, we’re learning that it seems that Google has canceled the Pixel 5a altogether.

Notorious leaker, Jon Prosser, has revealed that the Pix

 

[Hadron]

The chip shortages are real (I've had to deal with them myself in my work, as have many others). But I find it hard to believe that a company with Google's financial power couldn't get the components for a phone if they really wanted to, especially given that Pixels don't sell in anything like the quantities of the market leaders. So if this is true I suspect it also tells us a bit about how strong Google's commitment to the handset was.