Google Pixel 9a Review: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

	Google Pixel 9a - MSRP Starting A $499 Google’s Pixel 9a is its latest mid-range phone that updates last year’s Pixel 8a with a larger screen, a better Tensor processor, a bigger battery and faster charging.
	Fantastic value Lovely display Excellent cameras Impressive battery life Outstanding software	Bland design No more iconic camera visor Seriously chunky bezels No charger in the box

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To borrow a line from Daft Punk, the new Pixel 9a is “harder, better, faster, stronger”. Google’s mid-range a-series handsets have always struck the perfect balance between cost and specs. Historically, we've felt this was a winning combo, and the Pixel 9a maintains this tradition. It offers the same great value as its predecessor – just without the iconic camera visor. And while that’s a bit of a bummer, this Android phone still delivers a ton of features and better performance.

So, what's this new Pixel 9a like? Is it just as wonderful as the Pixel 8a or did Google drop the ball? Does it bring anything new to the table? Journey on with our full review here to find out...

Google Pixel 9a Hardware Updates And Industrial Design Language

While the Pixel 8a took the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro design language and rounded off the corners, the Pixel 9a inherits most of the Pixel 9 series look and feel – aluminum slabs sides and all – with one glaring omission. Google's iconic camera visor (the horizontal bar housing the rear shooters) that’s been a staple of Pixel phones since the Pixel 6 series is now gone, replaced with a camera pill – an almost flush island housing the two rear cameras. It's definitely a cleaner, minimalistic look. 


On the back – which is made of a high density, glass-like plastic – you'll find that new camera pill in the top left corner. It’s an almost flush island housing the 48MP main shooter and 13MP ultrawide, it’s made of black glass, and it’s flanked by an LED flash to the right. There's a punch hole at the top center of the screen for the 12MP selfie camera, and a slit above the display for the earpiece (which doubles as one of the stereo speakers).

We hope you like bezels, because the Pixel 9a comes with some a seriously chunky (albeit evenly distributed) bezel around its 6.3-inch, Gorilla Glass 3-covered screen. It’s not a great look comparatively but it's not a showstopper either. Everything else is pretty familiar. You'll find a power/lock key and volume rocker on the right side, but nothing on the left. The bottom edge is home to the main speaker, USB Type-C port (USB 3.2), primary mic, and nano-SIM tray, while the secondary mic is located on top.
Without the iconic camera visor, the Pixel 9a’s design is simply a little bland. This is particularly true of the Obsidian version, since that colorway accentuates the already thick bezels and obscures the camera pill by blending it into the back. If you buy this phone, we suggest you pick one of the other hues if you want to have at least a little flare. On the plus side, the Pixel 9a feels solid and well put together.

Google Pixel 9a Specs And Features

Processing & 5G Platform	Google Tensor G4, Exynos Modem 5300
Display	6.3" 1080p OLED, 2424x1080 resolution, 120Hz
Memory	8GB
Storage	128/256GB UFS 3.1
Rear-Facing Cameras	48MP f/1.7 Main OIS, dual-pixel PDAF - 13MP f/2.2 120º Ultra-Wide
Front-Facing Cameras	13MP f/2.2
Video Recording	Up to 4K @ 60fps, 1080p @ 60fps, 1080p slow-mo
Battery	5100 mAh, 23W wired charging, 7.5W wireless charging
OS	Android 15 With Pixel UI
Dimensions	154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9mm
Weight	186 grams
Connectivity	802.11ax Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.3+LE, NFC, USB-C 3.2, LTE, 5G (sub-6GHz)
Colors	Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, Peony
Pricing	Find Google's Pixel 9a @ Amazon, starting at $499

Google Pixel 9a Display Specs And Features

Google Pixel 9a Camera System and Performance

Like its predecessors, the Pixel 9a combines relatively pedestrian camera specs with Google’s vast expertise in computational photography, resulting in excellent imaging performance. In the back, you’ll find a 48MP f/1.7 1/2-inch 0.8-micron main shooter with dual-pixel PDAF and OIS, and a 13MP f/2.2 120-degree 1/3.1-inch 1.12-micron ultrawide. Selfies are handled by a 13MP f/2.2 1/3.1-inch 1.12-micron front camera.
Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that the Pixel 9a’s main shooter is identical to the one in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and obviously, performance is very similar. As you’d expect, this 48MP sensor uses pixel binning, which improves dynamic range and low-light performance by combining four smaller nearby pixels into one larger pixel, and outputs 12MP pictures. The ultrawide and selfie camera carry over from the Pixel 8a.
Photo modes include portrait, night (called Night Sight), astrophotography, and long exposure, These are supported on all three shooters. Additional shooting modes – like macro, panorama, and Add Me (which combines two images to include the photographer in a group shot) – are only available on the main camera. The Pixel 9a lacks the 48MP, pro (manual), and Action Pan (motion blur) modes found on the Pixel 9 Pro/Pro XL.
On the video front, all three shooters capture stabilized video (with stereo audio) at up to 4k 30fps / 1080p 60fps, but only the main camera supports 4k 60fps. Video modes consist of slow motion (main only, 1080p 240fps/480fps), time lapse (4k/1080p 30fps), and Cinematic Pan (rear only, 4k/1080p 30fps). The night, HDR, 8k, and Cinematic Blur (portrait video) modes available on the Pixel 9 Pro/Pro XL are also missing from the Pixel 9a.
Photography is where the Pixel 9a truly shines. It benefits from every one of Google’s imaging tricks, including HDR+, Night Sight, and Super Res Zoom. The resulting images are crisp and beautiful, with natural colors and exposure. Dynamic range is decent thanks to HDR+, and low-light performance is solid thanks to Night Sight. Zooming is fine up to about 4-5x thanks to Super Res Zoom, but quality drops beyond that (up to 8x).
Videos recorded with the Pixel 9a are perfectly serviceable, and similar to videos taken with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Just don’t expect flagship Android or iPhone-like results, and you’ll be okay.

Google Pixel 9a Connectivity And Sound Quality

The Pixel 9a features stereo speakers that sound loud and clear, with an emphasis on the mid-range. Like other Pixel phones, it doesn’t support Dolby Atmos, but spatial audio is available when using headphones or earbuds. As you’d expect, there’s no headphone jack, but the Pixel 9a works fine with wired digital USB Type-C accessories. It also supports LDAC and aptX HD codecs for wireless audio over Bluetooth.

Google Pixel 9a Tensor G4 Performance And Battery Life

The Pixel 9a boasts Google’s latest (Exynos-based) 4nm Tensor G4 SoC, just like the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup. It’s paired with 8GB of RAM and 128 or 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, matching last year’s Pixel 8a. Obviously, there’s no microSD support. Unlike the other Pixel 9 handsets, which use the newer Exynos Modem 5400, the Pixel 9a makes do with the older Exynos Modem 5300, which is less power efficient and lacks satellite connectivity. 

The Pixel 9a ran everything we threw at it without hiccups -- from our usual social media and work apps to games like Genshin Impact and Fortnite. A simple round of benchmarks confirmed that the Pixel 9a performs about the same as the other Pixel 9 phones. On paper, the Tensor G4 isn’t as fast as Qualcomm and MediaTek’s best chips, but hard-core gamers aside, we’re pretty sure that most folks will be satisfied with the Pixel 9a’s performance.
In terms of battery life, the Pixel 9a easily beats its predecessors thanks to a larger 5100mAh battery.


Our PCMark battery test ran for 16 hours and 33 minutes, which is pretty impressive. Basically, this phone will last for two days on a charge with moderate use. Filling up isn’t fast, but it’s easy -- the Pixel 9a supports 23W wired charging (PD 3.0) and 7.5W Qi-compatible wireless charging. Unfortunately, there’s no charger in the box.

Google Pixel 9a Software, User Experience And AI

The Pixel 9a runs Android 15, like the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup. Google’s approach to Android has always been delightfully clean, polished, and responsive -- with a few helpful (and very Google-y) tweaks thrown in for good measure. These include features like Call Screen, Direct My Call, Hold For Me, Recorder, and Now Playing, (to name a few). We suggest you read our Pixel 9 Pro Fold review for more info. Go ahead, we’ll wait…
Besides Circle to Search, Gemini, Gemini Live, and Google Photos’ familiar suite of AI-based image editing tools, the Pixel 9a introduces Gemini Live with camera and screen sharing, which is also rolling out to other Pixel 9 handsets, and Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series devices. This new feature lets you have a live conversation with Gemini about anything you see on your phone’s screen or through its cameras. Impressive stuff!

Like other Pixel handsets, the Pixel 9a will get a minimum of seven years of timely OS upgrades and security updates and comes with zero pre-installed bloatware out of the box. Other than Google’s familiar app suite, our review unit was squeaky-clean and free of bloat. Just beware of Play Store Auto Install, which sometimes installs carrier apps during setup, depending on your SIM. To avoid this, use WiFi to set up the device without a SIM installed, then install your SIM or eSIM after.

Google Pixel 9a Review Summary

It’s easy to be cynical and dismiss the Pixel 9a as just another well-rounded a-series phone from Google, but there’s more to the story this time around. Only the ultrawide and selfie cameras, RAM and storage options, 5G modem, and wireless charging specs carry over from last year’s Pixel 8a. And, more importantly, its $499 price tag remains unchanged – no small feat in these difficult economic times.