A solid mid-range smartphone that balances thoughtful upgrades, reliable performance, and attractive pricing, making it a compelling option for most users.
I am continually impressed by Google's approach to midrange smartphone design, so when they sent me the Pixel 9a for review, I was excited to dive in. I took the Pixel 9a to Colorado to test out its camera capabilities with my friend Shannon Morse. We checked out Meow Wolf in Denver and traveled to see the stunning rock formations of Garden of the Gods.
Pros:
Cons:
Let's start with the design because it's arguably the most noticeable change from the previous Pixel family of devices. The Pixel 9a comes in several colors, with Peony being the most vibrant and, in my opinion, the prettiest option. The aluminum flat sides feel high quality in the hand, matching what you get across the more premium 9 series. Where things get disruptive is the design on the back of the phone. The plastic panel is a pretty standard feature for the A series and it's well done and does a good job emulating higher-end materials
In a surprise move, however, the signature Pixel camera bump is completely gone. In its place, we've got an inset camera system that sits almost entirely flush with the rear panel. I've heard from many people who welcome the flatness and removal of the camera bar, but I hate to admit that it removes a bit of the signature quality of the Pixel that's been there for years now. If it wasn't a Pixel, I'd say great, but because it is, I do miss the camera bar.
On the plus side, I love that this finally has an IP68 water and dust resistance rating - a great upgrade from the 8a last year. Around the front, you get the 6.3-inch Actua display, which always looks nice. At 120Hz, it's very smooth with super colorful and rich content. It's also very bright at 2,700 nits of peak brightness. Being outside, it's solidly bright, and inside at max brightness, it's so bright that it sometimes feels like a flashlight! The bezels around the display are uniform, which is a great upgrade from the 8a which had a little bit of a chin. Ultimately, I'm very happy with the display.
Under the hood hides a Tensor G4 processor with 8GB of RAM, and either 128GB or 256GB of storage depending on which variant you buy. What you won't find in the official specs is a copper vapor chamber, a first for the A series, which was recently revealed in a leaked teardown ahead of release. I played an hour of Genshin Impact at the airport on my way home from Colorado, and the device stayed pretty cool during gameplay with no noticeable slowdowns. Overall, everything felt very smooth at the OS level as well - launching apps with no slowdowns. Even the camera ran smoothly.
But that lower RAM does have some serious tradeoffs in software. The 9a runs Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS, the same model as last year's Pixel 8a, according to Google. That smaller model means you won't have the Pixel Screenshots app, Call Notes, or scam detection in the dialer app (though Google confirmed there is scam detection in Google Messages).
My 9a has the brand new Gemini Live features that allow for camera and screen sharing. I used camera share to talk about my Oberheim Matrix 1000 synthesizer, and it correctly identified details about when it was made and the artists who used it. I also used screen share to identify a city in a video, and it performed well in both instances, though I could only share full screen, not from a single app. I expect that feature will be opened up at a later time.
Of course, you get other AI features like Circle to Search and Call Assist. This runs Android 15 with seven years of OS and security updates - pretty standard for Google now and amazing on a device that costs only $499.
Camera performance is where the 9a shines. Shannon and I did an extensive camera test at Meow Wolf in Denver and Garden of the Gods. The most notable upgrade is the main camera - a 48MP wide with optical and electronic image stabilization and an improved f/1.7 aperture, meaning more light comes in on that larger sensor. Performance was fantastic, especially in low-light scenarios (of which there were a lot at Meow Wolf) with punchy colors and detailed texture. We also tested the new macro focus mode with great results.
The ultrawide camera is unchanged from the 8a as well as the 7a before it, with a 13MP f/2.2 aperture. It performed reasonably well in low light, though we noticed more grain than the main lens. The lens is feeling a bit long in the tooth and Google would be wise to upgrade the ultra-wide in next year's model. The selfie camera is also unchanged - it looks fine, and portrait mode did okay with the usual edge detection issues.
Battery life is very impressive with a 5,100mAh battery - the largest ever in a Pixel. I tested this by streaming 4K video at max brightness for eight hours, which knocked it down from 100% to 20%. Not bad! Google has also announced a new battery health assistance feature debuting on the 9a, which limits battery voltage over time to keep it healthy. This means capacity will taper off as it ages, but that's to preserve long-term health, and this feature is coming to other Pixel models too.
For my verdict, I give a big thumbs up to the main camera lens improvement - it's a significant upgrade from last year. The ultrawide, however, could stand to be upgraded next year. Price and value are always strengths of Google's A series - $499 still gets you a lot. On the downside, I think the removal of the camera bar impacts the signature quality of Pixel design, and this device lacks a little personality as a result.
The artificial intelligence features tied to the lower RAM do represent some trade-offs, but Google's seven-year update promise makes this hard to pass up at $499. When you compare it to the Pixel 9 at $300 more, which gets you Victus 2 glass protection, 12GB RAM, mmWave, and Wi-Fi 7 support, but a smaller 4,700mAh battery, the 9a looks like an even bigger bargain.
Overall, Google's A series continues to be a solid mid-range choice that delivers exceptional value for the money.
A solid mid-range smartphone that balances thoughtful upgrades, reliable performance, and attractive pricing, making it a compelling option for most users.
