Google's budget phone strategy just took a sharp turn. A sweeping new leak has laid bare nearly the entire spec sheet of the Pixel 11a — and the headline detail is that Google's next mid-ranger will reportedly run the same Tensor G6 chip destined for the flagship Pixel 11 series, not last year's silicon as many had predicted.
The timing is no coincidence. The Pixel 11a's internal codename, "Formosan," appeared inside Google's own Phone app beta this week alongside the Pixel 11 series codenames — cubs, grizzly, kodiak, and yogi — an accidental slip that apparently prompted the leaker to, in their words, "drop the nuke."
What the leak reveals
According to the leaked documentation, the Pixel 11a (codenamed Formosan) will ship in three SKUs — GQ05X for global markets, GP1BL for Japan, and G4XQ2 for North America — in four colors: Obsidian, Olive, Frost (purple), and Fog (silver).
The core hardware reads like a flagship parts bin: the Tensor G6 chip (codenamed Malibu), Google's new Titan M3 security chip (Epic), a PowerVR C-Series CXTP-48-1536 GPU, and the MediaTek M90 modem — the same modem that finally sees Google ditching the Samsung Exynos radios it has relied on for years.
The 6.3-inch display comes in at 1080x2424 with a 60-120Hz refresh rate, hitting 2,250 nits in HDR and a striking 3,350-nit peak — on paper, brighter than the standard Pixel 11's rumored 2,200-nit ceiling. Battery is rated at a minimal capacity of 4,870mAh (likely marketed near 5,000mAh), paired with 8GB of RAM and a new front camera sensor codenamed "dokkaebi." 9to5Google
Why the Tensor G6 matters here
The Tensor G6 is a seven-core design built on TSMC's 2nm process, with one ARM C1-Ultra core at 4.11GHz, four C1-Pro cores at 3.38GHz, and two more at 2.65GHz — a substantial efficiency-focused upgrade.
Putting it in the A-series would break from expectations, since leaked gChips documents previously suggested Google was exploring cost-cutting measures like fusing off defective TPU sections for cheaper models rather than handing budget phones full flagship silicon. FindArticles
The leak carries two bonus revelations: the flagship Pixel 11's Face Unlock is said to be faster, more secure, and more accurate in low light — a meaningful upgrade given the Pixel 11 series reportedly drops IR-based face unlock for 2026 — and the Pixel 12a already has a codename: "marmoset." 9to5Google
What's next
Google launched the Pixel 10a in March 2026, and if the company follows the same cadence, the Pixel 11a should debut around March 2027 — well after the Pixel 11 flagships arrive at Google's expected August 2026 hardware event. As with all pre-release leaks, specs can shift before mass production. But with Google's own app now confirming Formosan exists, this one carries more weight than most.