Google has announced that both the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G are officially discontinued and that neither will be restocked once all remaining devices are sold out of the store

"Our current estimate is that the Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 will sell out in the US Google Store within a few weeks after the Pixel 5a (5G) launches," a Google spokesperson told Digital Trends

"The Pixel 5a (5G) is a great option for customers and offers a valuable hardware upgrade compared to the Pixel 4a (5G), all at a lower price," the spokesperson added

While that is certainly true, as our Pixel 5a review proves, it is a bit wild for those who can't afford it Google has made it very clear that the entry-level Pixel in 2021 will be sold exclusively in the US and Japan

However, the discontinuation of the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 appears to be global, with Digital Trends noting that UK retailers John Lewis and Carphone Warehouse have already stopped selling the two discontinued models 5G-less Pixel 4a remains the only model available for purchase

Connecting the dots, the reasons for both the premature discontinuation of the Pixel last year and the limited availability of the Pixel 5a can probably be traced to the same root cause: the ongoing global chip shortage

Notably, the Pixels (5, 5a, 4a 5G) that were the subject of this announcement all use the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 chipset If Google only has enough supply to sell the Pixel 5a in two countries, it would not be wasting chips on older devices elsewhere in the world, where demand is probably slowing The basic Pixel 4a, on the other hand, uses a Snapdragon 730G chip and is therefore unaffected

Of course, even if the Pixel 5 sells out today, the flagship model hole in Google's store won't last long

With the company's own new Tensor chip, Google hopes to be a bit spared from chip supply issues in the future

But that only scratches the surface of the expected benefits, with the promise that artificial intelligence and machine learning on the device will "transform the experience of the camera, voice recognition, and other Pixel 6 features"

Whatever Google's past schedule of events, the full Pixel 6 should be revealed in October But be warned: it promises to be expensive