The Pixel 4a is one of the more openly anticipated phones pre-release right now - we've been waiting months for the handset, which has repeatedly been delayed due to the global health situation and other circumstances. 

Google's remaining tight-lipped on the phone, for now, but that hasn't stopped the rumour mill from turning, and now it looks like a small carrier in the US has become the latest to slip up.

Boom! Mobile, that operator, has a list on its website of 5G-compatible phones that it provides for, and on that list is an unnamed Google phone with the designation "Google G025E". 

Since Google hasn't got a 5G phone yet, this has to be a new handset, as pointed out by XDA Developers, raising the question of which handset this is. The most likely is indeed a 5G version of the Pixel 4a, since it's the handset we're expecting to be announced next. 

The expectation is that the Pixel 4a will be powered by the 5G-enabled Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 SoC, which is an interesting one given that the same chip is likely to be at the heart of the mainline Pixel 5 when it releases. That means the core difference will be build quality and premium features, and of course the consequent gap in price. 

Whether Google can tread that fine line remains to be seen, especially given that we still haven't got any official word about the Pixel 4a in the first place. 

We'll have to wait to see on this one, but the fact that 5G has been a rumoured feature for this long, without ever being successfuly killed off in people's minds, makes one wonder if Google will include it.