The Google Pixel 9a Is One of the Best Deals in Smartphones

Every year, Google’s Pixel A-series reminds maine that I did not person to wage each that currency for the Pro variant to unrecorded a bully life. The Pixel 9a whitethorn person been delayed coming retired of the gate, but it remains 1 of the champion deals successful the business. For $500, you get a bona fide Pixel instrumentality successful 2 optional stunning colorways, the aforesaid Tensor processor arsenic the remainder of the Pixel 9 lineup, wireless charging, and entree to Google’s galore AI tricks. One diagnostic that’s notably missing is simply a camera zoom capability. However, the lack of that connected astir devices astatine this terms is simply a reminder that it’s not an indispensable request for a smartphone.

It’s absorbing to comparison the Pixel 9a to Apple’s iPhone 16e, which claims to connection a akin “essential” flagship acquisition but for the walled plot crowd. The iPhone 16e seemed modeled aft Google’s look with the A-series implicit the past six generations, and close present some person a batch of tiny AI features that are meant to beryllium large selling points.

But sorry, iPhone fans: Google did with the Pixel 9a what you privation it did with the iPhone 16e. The instrumentality comes successful 4 colorways, including white, black, a stark pinkish called Peony, and a subtle purple-blue called Iris, the colour of our reappraisal unit. I’m trying to person myself it’s purple successful the lighting successful my location office, but it’s bluish to my bare eye. It skewed violet moreso erstwhile I was successful Google’s location checking the phones out, which shows that the lighting situation impacts the Pixel 9a’s colorway.

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The Google Pixel 9a’s backside (top right) compared to the Pixel 9 Pro (front) and the Pixel 9 (far left).

Regardless of the colour you get, you’ll spot it widen beyond the backside to each broadside of the device, matching the aesthetics of the remainder of the Pixel 9 family. That is, until you get to the backside and spot the double-camera stack shoved into what I could lone picture arsenic a bean-shaped camera module. Google says it was modeled aft nature—water, specifically—but I volition spell up and accidental it looks similar beans.

The camera legume houses a 48-MP superior camera with OIS. The superior rear camera has Super Res Zoom capabilities, which means sharp, integer zoom up to 8x, though things look the champion betwixt 1x and 2x, which is the optical max. There’s besides a 13-MP ultra-wide camera for 120-degree wide-angle shots. That superior camera connected the Pixel 9a is besides susceptible of a small macro magic. Details look amazingly wide up close, and I was pleased astatine however casual it was to fastener in.

The Pixel 9a astatine 1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x.

Compare this to the iPhone 16e, which lone has 1 superior camera sans immoderate wide-angle capabilities. Interestingly, portion these devices don’t nutrient the highest solution photos similar their Pro counterparts, they inactive travel successful the aforesaid colour somesthesia and benignant arsenic their maker. You tin spot it successful the examples below: the iPhone 16e is dense connected the contrast, portion the Pixel 9a lights up each item successful the photo, adjacent the terrain hidden successful the shadows.

A nighttime changeable taken with the Pixel 9a (left) and the iPhone 16e (right). 

Morning dawn taken with the Pixel 9a (left) and the iPhone 16e (right). 

Morning scenery taken with the Pixel 9a (left) and the iPhone 16e (right). 

What Google wants you to absorption connected with the Pixel 9a is that it tin bash each the algorithmic camera magic that the remainder of the Pixel 9 lineup tin do, including features similar Add Me, which lets you adhd yourself to a photograph erstwhile you’re the lone 1 capable to instrumentality it, and Best Take, which picks retired the astir pristine photograph from a acceptable of snaps. The Pixel 9a tin besides bash agelong vulnerability shots and astrophotography, a bully value-add successful a class that typically dials down blase camera features successful favour of different abilities. Magic Editor is disposable present too, and you adjacent get entree to Audio Magic Eraser, which works. However, it’s not a occurrence shaper if you’re trying to dial down the screams of fangirls astatine a concert. I tried it connected some the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9a with immoderate performance footage I had backed up to Google Photos, to nary avail.

The different cardinal selling constituent of the Pixel 9a is that it runs connected the aforesaid Tensor G4 CPU arsenic the remainder of the Pixel 9 family, meaning it gets Android updates alongside everyone else, 7 years of bundle and information support, and tin besides grip Gemini’s tastier bits. That’s however Gemini Live, with the camera and surface share, is already disposable connected the Pixel 9a, which has 8GB of RAM. Gemini is expected to regenerate the Google Assistant, truthful you’ll invoke this for astute location controls or—a diagnostic I started utilizing rather often—to drawback a photograph of a clump of dates and person them automatically added to Google Calendar. Those abilities are helpful!

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Forget the Google Assistant. The Pixel 9a is astir acclimating to Gemini.

Gemini Live with camera and surface stock started rolling retired to the Pixel devices only recently, truthful it’s beauteous nascent. I’ve been utilizing it for a fewer days connected the Pixel 9a since I tin entree Gemini Advanced. It works good arsenic agelong arsenic I’m not besides shifting betwixt apps. Gemini and I had a speech with the camera. We talked astir the toys connected my desk, and Gemini correctly called retired astir of the models of assorted virtual pets and figurines surrounding me. I besides had it effort to place the smartphones astatine my desk; it managed to fig retired each the Android phones conscionable fine, but got stumped erstwhile I started to constituent the camera astatine the iPhone 16 Pro. (Gemini thought it was an iPhone 14 Pro.)

There are different elements of AI strewn passim the Pixel instrumentality arsenic a reminder of what you get erstwhile you articulation the Google ecosystem. Circle to Search remains a ample portion of the operating system’s peculiar abilities, and you’ll person entree to each the latest features already rolled retired to the remainder of the Pixel 9 family. The Pixel 9a besides has entree to each the assorted call screening features launched implicit the years, including Direct My Call, which helps you woody with the annoying automated telephone menus.

I haven’t talked astir the Pixel 9a’s 6.3-inch Actua show yet, which has an awesome 120Hz refresh rate. At this terms point, Samsung is typically the 1 to spell to if you’re hankering for precocious opposition and heavy blacks. But this clip around, the Pixel 9a beats it retired connected brightness. Though I person not yet tested the latest Galaxy A-series releases to comparison them, the specs unsocial accidental the Pixel 9a’s show is astir 800 nits brighter than the likewise priced Galaxy A56.

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The Pixel 9a ships with 8GB of RAM.

The Pixel 9a promises up to 30 hours of artillery beingness connected a azygous charge. I person not had a accidental to enactment it up straight against the iPhone 16e successful the artillery rundown test, but some Google and Apple’s “essential” phones will transportation you done the day. The Pixel 9a’s 5,000 mAh tends to upwind down similar the Pixel 9 Pro. I support Pokémon Go unfastened astatine my table to spot what sprouts up. The Pixel 9a utilized up astir a percent of artillery betwixt each 5 to 10 minutes the surface was on. I burned done astir 18% of the artillery implicit 2 hours doing those aforesaid random check-ins connected the game, positive scanning Google News and checking successful connected societal media. Then I near the telephone connected standby, with the surface off, for astir 2 hours, and lone 3% of the artillery rolled by. Like the remainder of the Pixel 9 lineup, you’ll privation to support the surface disconnected for the astir enduring artillery life.

Charging times for the Pixel 9a aren’t bad, though you’re not getting accelerated charging speeds astatine this price. The maximum wired charging quality for the Pixel 9a is 23W. I tried gassing it up with the 30W Pixel charger, but it took astatine slightest an hr and a fractional earlier determination was capable artillery to instrumentality it disconnected the cable. Also, portion it works with Qi-compatible wireless chargers, it’s constricted to 7.5W. Those are the trade-offs for the comfy terms point!

What you don’t person to compromise connected are each the adjuvant information features that Google bundles successful with its Pixel devices. Like the remainder of its flagship family, the Pixel 9a offers car clang detection, theft detection, information check, and unrecorded determination sharing. The lone happening it can’t bash similar the different Pixels is telephone retired to the satellites successful the heavens supra and nonstop a low-bitrate connection to fto folks acold distant cognize you’re doing okay. Satellite connectivity is simply a nice-to-have diagnostic that starts astatine $300 much with the Pixel 9.

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I paid much for the Pixel 9 Pro due to the fact that I wanted each that zoom capability. But you don’t person to beryllium similar me; you don’t person to walk each your currency to transportation everything each the clip if you don’t deliberation you’ll beryllium utilizing it, particularly successful this economy. Google packaged the Pixel 9a with lone what it considers the indispensable parts of its platform. That does mean Gemini and each the different AI Google is peddling arsenic a portion of the deal. Apple’s doing it, too, with the iPhone 16e and Apple Intelligence. This is wherever we’re astatine and what we’ll beryllium fielding arsenic consumers. The AI is the value-add, whether we see it oregon not. On the positive side, with affordable phones similar these, determination is nary crushed to see the astir costly pro-level smartphone your go-to unless you program to usage what you wage for.