Most of the industry has been expecting Google to launch its upcoming affordable phone, the Pixel 6A, at Google I/O in May.

Now, YouTuber Jon Prosser, of Front Page Tech, reckons the launch date has been pushed back due to the ongoing chip shortage.

Jon says the phone is now expected in late July, and while that's a significant delay, it's earlier than the Pixel 4a and 5a that were both announced in August.

The Pixel 3a, on the other hand, was launched in May. So whether intentional or not, it seems like the launch schedule has had a semi-permanent shift to the summer months.

The Pixel Watch is still set for a May launch, but this too could be pushed back.

The 6a is said to feature the same Google Tensor chip as the other phones in the Pixel 6 series, these chips are produced by Samsung.

The Watch is also tipped to feature a custom chip created by Samsung, so it's easy to imagine similar issues with supply.

Given the recently leaked Pixel 6a benchmarks, we felt that the launch might be imminent, so this is certainly disappointing news for those looking to upgrade.

For more on the Google Pixel 6a, check out our roundup of news and rumours surrounding the upcoming handset here.