In the days leading up to Google's hardware event, there were rumors about a 5G version of the Pixel 4 to be revealed alongside the company's newest flagship devices. Now the event has come and gone, and no such thing appeared - and there's a very good reason for that.
In an interview with PCMag, Google's VP of product management Brian Rakowski offered an explanation as to why a Pixel 4 5G variant is non-existent: it's simply way too early for that to happen.
Google believes that 5G technology is still in a position wherein not enough consumers can benefit from it yet, and we agree. In fact, it would ideally take a couple more years before 5G connectivity is rightfully considered ripe for deployment.
Rakowski also raised the hardware aspect of 5G and said that the components required for the tech are still "immature." For example, 5G devices most likely need to be bigger than average to accommodate bigger batteries, which is the case of the Galaxy S10 5G that's noticeably larger than even the Galaxy S10+.
"There's work to be done there," Rakowski said on the potential of 5G connectivity. "From a hardware and phone perspective-it's still power hungry [and] immature. It will get there, but now is not the right time to buy a 5G phone."
News about a 5G variant of the Pixel 4 emerged about a week before the Made by Google event. It was something easy to believe in, considering how major handset makers have been releasing their own 5G phones, particularly Samsung, who has claimed to have sold 2 million 5G phones already. Meanwhile, Motorola, LG, and OnePlus have all announced their upcoming 5G devices. The hype must have triggered the idea that Google will definitely not miss out.
As one of the world's largest and most important tech companies, 5G definitely fits into Google's plans. The company's Pixel devices, after all, are considered a gateway to showcasing what its capable of when it comes to artificial intelligence, speech recognition, image processing, and more.
Companies will continue to hype 5G connectivity, and this will only intensify with each passing day. However, the truth stands that technology needs some time to mature in order for people to fully enjoy its features.
The Pixel 4 will never have a 5G variant, but Rakowski was quick to assure that Google is open to the idea of releasing a 5G device in the future.
