Google prices new Pixel 4a at $350

Yahoo Finance’s On The Move panel weigh in on the latest stories making headlines.

Video Transcript

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JULIE HYMAN: It's time for "Word On The Street" where we check in with our panelists, find out what stories they are watching. Google is out with some new phones, I believe just today, just a couple of hours ago. Dan Howley, Google, among all the things that Google is known for, phone's not the top of the list. Is there anything in this new suite of options that's going to change that?

DAN HOWLEY: Yeah. They are, they struggled mightily with their Pixel line of smartphones, even though they're among the best Android phones out there. What they announced today was the Pixel 4a as well as future phones, Pixel 4a 5G, and then the Pixel 5.

Now the Pixel 4a is a low cost version of the previous flagship phone, the Pixel 4. Basically what it does is kind of offers you a full Android experience, a smooth experience, one would assume, as well as Google's excellent camera technology for just $350. $349 if you want to do it the way marketing people would prefer it. But it's $350 for this Android phone.

And I think it's going to be a steal. It's undercutting Apple's iPhone SE. It doesn't, however, offer that 5G capability. That's going to come later this fall with the Pixel 4a 5G, and then the Pixel 5. The 4a 5G will cost a little bit more, just $400 or so for that device. And it'll give you 5G capability. And I think, really, what it comes down to-- sorry, the 4a 5G will be $500.

But when you're looking at a phone that's offering 5G technology versus the others that are on the market right now that can go for up to $1,000 just for the ability to access 5G networks. I think Google's going to be coming out of the gate screaming with this. Hopefully, hopefully they manage to get word out about the phones.

I've read different reports saying that this Pixel 4a is not going to get a lot of carrier support just because it's not a 5G device, and all the carriers want to really heavily push 5G devices. So it's not really going to be a volume seller. But I think for the price, it's worthwhile for people who are looking for a cheap upgrade for their Android devices.

- Well, you talk about upgrading Android devices. I mean, it's not as if they're going to be competing with Apple. Apple has, what, over 50% of the smartphone market in the United States. So Samsung is in their sights. But would people give up their Samsung phone for Google? It doesn't-- I mean, as Julie was alluding to at the beginning, who remembers that Google sells phones?

DAN HOWLEY: Yeah. I think what it comes down to is really enthusiasts. Enthusiasts, excuse me, like Google's Pixel line. That's just because the software on there is flat Google. Right, when you get a lot of these other Android phones, Samsung, LG, Motorola, they tend to load up these phones with a lot of Bloatware-- apps that you don't necessarily want at all, or don't need at all. Or they just double up apps, like Google photos and Samsung's photos app. That was something that was pretty annoying for a while.

I think that's really what will get people to want to use phones like this. I think when it comes to Android, people are more likely to want to switch between different hardware manufacturers. But I don't see this as something that's going to pull people from Apple to Google.

JULIE HYMAN: And Jared, market historian and aficionado that you are, it is the first trading day of August. August does not tend to be a good month for the markets. But there's an exception, right?

JARED BLIKRE: That is correct. In an election year, August ends up being one of the best months, and especially for the Russell 2000 and for the NASDAQ, which is an interesting combination. What we do tend to see in August, and September, and sometimes October, is volatility spikes.

So if we take a look at the VIX, it's been relatively subdued, trading around 25 over the last week or so. If it pops up to 30 or even 40, probably be concurrent with a downturn in the market. Not necessarily the big one, but we have seen a lot of these volatility spikes since the COVID outbreak.

And just, it's important to keep in mind that we did have the biggest VIX spike in history this year. And we tend to have these not in isolation. So we could have a downturn in the month. But even if we end up closing green, still watch out for that volatility.

JULIE HYMAN: That feels like several years ago now, doesn't it? Jared, it's amazing that it was just earlier this year. Jared, we've seen IPOs starting to perk up once again. And you have an upcoming webinar on that topic on Wednesday. Tell us about it.

JARED BLIKRE: Yeah, very excited. This is going to be our second Yahoo Finance Premium webinar. And anybody can sign up at our website, or just go to my Twitter handle, at Spy Jared. I'll be posting a link shortly.

I'm going to be talking with Kathy Donnelly, who co-authored one of the definitive books on how to trade IPOs and super growth stocks. So anybody who's beginning to trade, or is learning, is just trying to learn a little bit more, or even advanced, I think there's going to be a lot. She's trained in the IBD canceling method, and just a great overall market technician. So looking forward to that this Wednesday, 2:00 PM. You can sign up at our website.