If you’re going to go carrier exclusive, Verizon (disclosure: our parent company’s parent company) is probably about as good as any. Ultimately, however, exclusives invariably do more harm than good when it comes to growing your footprint.
That’s no doubt a key part of why Google had a rocky financial quarter when it came to the Pixel line. Exclusivity coupled with all the other headwinds currently facing the smartphone industry spelled bad news for the reliable line. Thankfully, however, that’s starting to change with today’s arrival of the Pixel 3a.
The budget handset, along with its flagship brethren, are about to be available on a lot more carriers. Google’s keeping Verizon around and adding T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, Spectrum Mobile (Charter) and C Spire. The devices will be available online through those carriers starting today and will be hitting shelves tomorrow.
Google’s budget Pixel 3a starts at $399, available in ‘purple-ish’
That means a heck of a lot a lot more retail display space and ad dollars will be pumped into the product, which should help give the new handset and its six-month-old predecessor a nice little bump ahead of Google’s Q2 reports.
AT&T is notably the odd one out here. While the devices will support the carrier, they won’t be available through its retail channels — not will they be available through contract. That certainly makes a difference here in the States where contracts are still king.
