Review: Google Pixel 9a

True to the tradition they have built up over the past few years, half a year after the main launch, Google is coming out with an economy edition that offers many of the features of the standard edition at a very competitive price.

This year, the Google Pixel 9a is available for purchase now. The price is exactly the same as the Pixel 8a was at launch – and that’s without adjusting for inflation. We have had the opportunity to try the phone in advance.

Small improvements on the display

The screen is improved compared to the Pixel 8a. But most improvements are so small that you need a magnifying glass to spot them. The Google Pixel 9a has a 6. inch OLED display – a full fifth of an inch larger than the 6.1 inch display on the Pixel 8a. And the same size as the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro.

The screen resolution is 2,424 x 1,080 pixels. An increase of a full 24 pixels in length!

One improvement that can be seen with the naked eye, however, is the brightness, which has now been increased to 1,800 nits instead of the Pixel 8a’s 1,400 nits. The screen has a variable refresh rate of max 120 Hz. This is exactly the same as all other Pixel models.

Water and dust resistance has been improved to IP68, so the phone is now as waterproof as it gets. The front glass is Gorilla Glass 3 like its predecessor. It’s not quite as solid as Gorilla Glass Victus 2, but it’s perfectly adequate for the price. The back is plastic, and the plastic isn’t even new…

True to tradition, the Google Pixel 9a comes in a new range of colours. Alongside black Obsidian and off-white Porcelain, it is available in Iris (light purple) and Peony (pink). Whichever colour you prefer, it will be invisible when the phone is placed in a protective case.

Same processor

While the differences in the exterior are minimal, there is no difference at all in the internal components between the models. All devices in the Pixel 9 series – including the Pro models – are equipped with the Tensor G4 processor. This is a significant advantage as the Tensor G4 processor, while not matching the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite in pure computing power, makes up for this through its advanced AI capabilities both in the hardware and software.

When less is more

Google describes the camera in the Pixel 9a as an improvement over last year’s budget model. However, in terms of numbers, the sensor has lower resolution than before. The Google Pixel 9a has a 48 megapixel sensor on the main camera, while its predecessor had 64 megapixels.

On the other hand, the flagship models all have a 50 megapixel image sensor, so there’s more to it than sheer megapixel numbers. One of the things you get with the new sensor is a macro mode for super close-ups.

The switch to a lower resolution sensor may have been made to make physical space for the sensor in the new camera section. On the Pixel 9a, Google has said goodbye to the distinctive lateral camera bridge that protruded from the back. The rear cameras are now recessed into the back, which means the phone can lie flat on a table without rocking. The Pixel 8a should be in its cover to present a flat back.

The focal lengths of the main lens are unchanged. You get the same 2x optical zoom as its predecessor. Or for that matter, as on the regular Pixel 9. Only the Pro models boast 5x optical zoom.

Useable digital zoom

The AI-based superzoom can handle up to 8x digital zoom, and although the result is not on par with a real optical zoom, the images are quite serviceable. Other budget mobiles don’t have a long-range telephoto lens either.

The ultra wide-angle lens is 13 megapixels. And the same goes for the selfie optics on the front. In both cases similar to the Pixel 8a.

Big battery with slow charging

The battery has received a nice upgrade this year. The A models have previously had a smaller battery than the full-price mobiles. But 5,100 mAh is actually larger than on any other Pixel phone.

With cable, the Google Pixel Pro 9a charges with up to 23 watts. It’s not overwhelming, but only slightly slower than the Pixel 9 Pro models. Wireless charging is just 7.5 watts, which is sluggish to say the least. But since the phone is likely to spend either the night or the working day resting comfortably on the Qi pad, this doesn’t really matter.

A charging cable is included, but no charger. On a budget phone like this, that’s fine. But only on budget mobiles. Unfortunately, it has become the norm everywhere.

AI makes the difference Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been the buzzword for several years and 2025 is no different. However, Google has delivered on their promises and not only the new mobiles, but also the existing ones are continuously updated with new machine-intelligent features. Not least on the photo side.

Since last year, for example, Add me, which allows photographers to share their own group photos, has been added. This is in addition to indispensable features such as Remove Blur, which can rescue blurry images, and Best Photo, which can combine multiple versions of the family photo into one where as many people as possible appear awake. And AI-based background noise reduction in phone calls is so addictive that I wouldn’t want to be without it.

Benchmarks

The Google Pixel 9a has the same processor as the full price models, but with slightly less RAM (8 gigabytes instead of 12 gigabytes). This means that the budget model is actually just as fast as them. For this reason, the comparison is not particularly interesting.

If you compare it to the Google Pixel 8a instead, you can see that the Tensor G4 processor is faster than its predecessor. But not by a huge amount. The Geekbench processor test gives a good picture of the raw, mathematical performance. The Pixel 9a scores 1,659 in single-core and 3,967 in multicore in this test. In comparison, the Pixel 8a scored 1,430 and 3,353 in the same test. That’s between 10 per cent and 20 per cent higher performance.

The same improvement can be found in the graphics area. The AnTuTu 10 test ends with a score of 1.2 million, which is just under a fifth better than what the Pixel 8a achieved.

You can easily find much faster mobiles on the market, and every time we test one of the more expensive Pixel mobiles, we realise that processing power is not their strong suit. Compared to other budget mobiles, however, the picture is different. And the Google Pixel 9a is every bit as fast as other similarly priced mobiles.

The Google Pixel 9a has the largest battery in a Pixel mobile phone to date. This can be seen in the battery test, which ends with a result of just under 11 hours at maximum screen brightness. That’s among the best we’ve measured under the same conditions.

Conclusion

The Google Pixel 9a is a budget phone that manages to barely feel cheap at all. It has the same excellent processor as the other models of the same generation, and the AI features are continuously improving.

The Google Pixel 9a costs two-thirds of the price of the “true” Pixel 9, but the differences are small. However, while the Pixel 9 has kept its price, which makes the Pixel 9a seem attractive when comparing the two directly, the price of the Pixel 9 Pro has dropped by a third, making it cheaper than the Pixel 9 – but still somewhat more expensive than the Pixel 9a.

The changes in the camera section are modest, but the quality of macro images is genuinely improved. And Google’s excellent software matters just as much as the optics and sensors.

For new buyers, the Google Pixel 9a is a good buy. If you already have a Pixel 8a, the situation is slightly different, as the biggest difference is the processor performance, which has improved by around 10 per cent in round figures compared to last year.