Verizon Pixel 4a 5G Ultra Wideband Support Will Cost You

Last year's new hotness is this year's normal as 5G support becomes pretty much standard in many new phones. It's no secret, however, that this new technology doesn't come cheap and is often blamed for the rise in smartphone prices this year. Most 5G phones, however, probably have nothing over Verizon's touted Ultra Wideband mmWave 5G network, which unsurprisingly also comes at a price. Unfortunately for Pixel 4a 5G hopefuls, that price is probably too much to ask for.

The Pixel 5 and 4a 5G are two uneven sides of the same coin. They share many things in common, like the Snapdragon 765G processor and dual 12.2MP standard and 16MP ultra-wide cameras. They also differ in a lot of other things, like the screen refresh rate, build materials, memory, and battery capacity.

The choice between the two may be easy depending on your budget but Verizon ironically makes it even easier, perhaps in favor of the more expensive Pixel 5. Google's flagship this year costs $699 across the board and the Pixel 4a 5G will sell for $499.99 in most cases. Verizon's 5G UW version, however, asks for $100 more at $599.99.

On the one hand, it's not exactly surprising as 6Hz Ultra Wideband support actually requires an additional component. This is also why some smartphone models that support Verizon's faster but shorter range 5G network have to juggle things around to make room for it versus a regular sub-6Hz 5G variant. It is, however, surprising that Verizon would keep the same Pixel 5 price but then push the Pixel 4a 5G's price tag a whole lot higher.

This means that Verizon customers would probably be better off aiming for the Pixel 5 from the get-go. That is if they do have $100 to spare and can live without a headphone jack.