Google Pixel 9a Review: Better Than the Sum of Its Parts

Pixel 9a: Design and Display

Google updated its mid-range phone line with an unusual design, ditching the traditional camera bar adopted on the Pixel 6 generation. In its place, the Pixel 9a features an almost flat back, with only a tiny bump for the cameras.

That style was achieved not by thickening the phone but by shaving some millimeters from the camera bar. The lack of a bump makes the phone sit almost still when put on a flat surface, but some Pixel users may miss using the camera bar to support the phone in the hand.

The Pixel 9a design is simple, yet effective, with a matte metal frame on the sides and a frosted matte finish for the plastic back that feels good to hold. The size also helps, with the Pixel 9a only slightly taller, wider, and thicker than the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro we tested last year.

Despite using a 6.3-inch display like those models, the Pixel 9a features thicker bezels around the OLED screen. On paper, the display brings the same features as the Pixel 9: 120 Hz (60 Hz by default), FullHD+ resolution, and 1800 nits brightness.

There is one important difference, however, with the Pixel 9a using Gorilla Glass 3 protection for the display (versus the more resistant Victus 2 on the other models). Water and dust protection is rated at IP68, just like the more expensive Pixel 9s.

Seven Years of Updates for the Pixel 9a

With Android 15 out of the box, the Pixel 9a brings not only the latest operating system version from Google but the typical monthly security updates and feature drops. The phone will get Android 16 in a few weeks, and Google promises seven years of security and feature updates for the phone.

With the industry obsessed with artificial intelligence, the Pixel 9a is not free from the tech fever. The similar specifications to its more expensive siblings ensure that the mid-range phone offers most of the AI tools available on the flagship Pixel phones. The same cannot be said for some rivals, such as the Galaxy A56 we tested recently, for example.

There is a small caveat in the AI support however: With a smaller RAM capacity, the Pixel 9a doesn’t offer some features that require heavy background processing such as the Pixel Screenshots. In the future, we expect that the 9a will not receive features that require more RAM or more complex versions of Google’s Gemini models.

The inclusion of the Gemini model made the default used storage go up on the Pixel 9a, with a clean updated installation using 20 GB. The Pixel 8, for example, only used 8 GB of storage in a similar setting.

Pixel 9a: Proper Mid-Range Performance

Powered by the same Tensor G4 chip found in the other Pixel 9 phones, the mid-range Pixel 9a feels like a more appropriate use of the chip, which lags noticeably behind other Android flagships in terms of processing power. In fact, performance is not much different from the previous three generations of Pixels. For a mid-range phone, though, it should be enough.

In daily use, the performance is indistinguishable from the more expensive Pixel 9 Pro, thanks to the similar specifications. And while the Pro models are not as fast as their flagship rivals, the Pixel 9a performance is totally adequate for the price segment.

Games tell a similar story, running most games in medium settings with ease. Don’t expect to use high-quality graphics with good performance, just like in the more expensive Pixels. But compared to most Android phones at the same price point, the Pixel 9a is very competitive. Longer play sessions may present degraded performance due to heat build-up.

Camera Compromises on the Pixel 9a

With a new camera design comes a new camera setup on the Pixel 9a. To achieve the thinner profile on the camera module, Google used a simpler camera sensor and lens array on the main shooter compared to other Pixel phones. That enabled the (almost) flat design, but the smaller sensor should perform worse than even the Pixel 8a.

Despite using less capable components on paper, we were positively surprised by the results of the Pixel 9a cameras. Google used once again its computational photography tricks to get the most out of the humble camera kit, with good results in most situations, especially when compared to other phones with a similar price.

Daylight pictures are one of the strongest points for the Pixel 9a, with a good level of detail and color reproduction–it looked less “punchy” than the traditional Pixel look, but more realistic in our opinion.

The camera app offers a 2x zoom option that basically crops the center part of the captured image, and the results are good enough for sharing pictures on social media or messaging apps. Zooming in (or printing) reveals some image quality loss, though. Going further in the digital zoom range (which goes up to 8x) results in increasingly worse images.

On the other end of the zoom range, the ultra-wide camera performed well in daylight, with reasonably sharp images, but colors were slightly muted compared to the main camera.

There is no dedicated macro mode in the camera app, but close-up shots were better than expected (and much better than phones with dedicated 2-megapixel macro cameras). The same can be said for the portrait mode using the main camera, with good subject separation and simulated depth of field.

Night shots were pretty good from the main camera, but zoomed shots were not sharp. With low light, the ultra-wide camera shows its limitations, struggling to capture colors and detail.

Selfies were comparable to competing phones, with sharpness not on par with flagship phones, but good enough results. Portrait mode worked as expected, with very small issues when blurring the background.

Google Pixel 9a battery

With the biggest battery ever used on a Google phone, the Pixel 9a should deliver competent battery life but don’t expect it to break stamina records. The Tensor G4 chip is not known for being an efficient chip but at least the bigger 5100 mAh capacity should help things out. The fact that the phone does not come with bloatware and Google usually employs a suite of software optimizations on its phones, should result in better results than other Pixel 9 models.

In practice, the Pixel 9a managed a good battery life, with a full charge lasting a full day with spare under typical usage while traveling: GPS navigation, NFC payments, messaging, photos, etc. Two days of battery life with light usage in the city was possible.

Google offers repair parts for the Pixel 9a in some countries in partnership with iFixit. However, the company made it unnecessarily complicated to remove the battery, which complicates things when the component loses its capacity in a few years. Additionally, the delayed launch of the Pixel 9a and recent battery issues with older models raises some concerns about Google’s suppliers.

Charging is limited to 23 W with a cable, and 7.5 W wirelessly. There is no Qi2 magnetic alignment, but since most mid-range phones lack even basic wireless charging, it is easier to forgive the lack of Qi2 support or the slow wireless charging input.

In practice, expect to see a full charge taking around two hours due to the big battery capacity and low charging input. Google offers its usual features for battery health like limiting charging to 80%, or slower charging at night. The Pixel 9a, however, does not offer reverse wireless charging.

Google Pixel 9a - where to buy?

The Pixel 9a is on sale in the online Google Store, as well as in the usual retailers. The phone starts at $499 for the 128 GB model, but Google offers discounts on trade-ins and also if you join its Google Fi carrier plans.

There are four color options—blue, pink, black, and white—, and the upgraded 256 GB model has an MSRP of $599.