Google is responding to reports from multiple sources claiming that its Pixel 5a phone has been canceled, saying that it expects to launch a version of the device in the U.S. and Japan later this year.

The company's full statement to Android Police reads:

Pixel 5a 5G is not cancelled. It will be available later this year in the U.S. and Japan and announced in line with when last year’s a-series phone was introduced.

We have also independently confirmed with a source that the Pixel 5a 5G is going through. It appears to be the one and only device that was planned for the budget series this year.

More digging will be done about the regional distribution situation, surely.

Our original story follows:

Tech blogger Jon Prosser was first to make the claim that the Pixel 5a, codenamed 'barbet,' would be canceled with his source(s) citing the global chip shortage as the main reason. The Pixel 4a and 4a 5G will lead Google's budget phone options through the end of the year. Android Central has confirmed Prosser's reporting.

Up to now, the Pixel 5a was supposedly going to be nearly identical in design to the most recent generation of Pixel phones, but we didn't have much confidence in the way of internals. Qualcomm and its partner producer Samsung are reportedly experiencing pressures putting out Snapdragon mobile chipsets and are leaning towards higher-end, higher-margin products in the meantime.