According to Mystic Leaks, Google's upcoming Pixel 11a may finally break the disappointing trend of giving its budget phones last year's processor. The Pixel 10a shipped with the Tensor G4, the same chip found in the previous year's flagship - a move that disappointed fans who expected the a-series to keep the current-generation processor while cutting corners elsewhere.

This time, the Pixel 11a is rumored to feature the Tensor G6, a flagship-grade chip that reportedly uses the same PowerVR DXT-48-1536 GPU as the G5 (still an improvement over the Mali-G715 in the G4). The bigger news: Google is ditching Samsung's Exynos modems for a MediaTek M90 modem, which should address two long-standing Tensor issues - battery drain and dropped signals.

The battery is actually getting slightly smaller, dropping from 5,000mAh to 4,870mAh, but efficiency gains from the new processor are expected to keep battery life the same or even improve it. The display remains a 6.3-inch 1080 x 2424 panel with a 60-120Hz variable refresh rate, but peak brightness gets a bump from 3,000 nits on the 10a to 3,350 nits. So basically, Google is giving you a better phone with a brighter screen and fewer dropped calls - as long as you're okay with 130 fewer milliamp-hours of battery.