The Pixel 9a: Affordable Package, Slight Delay
How are we feeling about its brand new look, Pixel fans?
Hot off the heels of the affordable iPhone 16e release, Google has now officially revealed its own budget option with the expected Pixel 9a! And like its Cupertino rival, things have really changed a fair bit, especially in the design department.
Let’s check out what this much more affordable entry has to offer compared to its big Pixel 9 brethren.
A Brand New Design
As seen on the photos, the Pixel 9a looks different from the base Pixel 9. The camera bar has been made even smaller and made flush with the overall design, making it easier to slip inside your pocket. The Pixel 9a’s also got a very flat back and slightly bigger bezels around the screen.
Its display is quite bright too, definitely on-par with the base Pixel 9 thanks to its 6.3-inch Actua display. It’s a fast 120Hz refresh rate screen too, so using your apps and games should feel buttery smooth to navigate. It’s looking like a rather light phone too.
The Pixel 9a comes in nice matte colors like Iris (Lavender), Peony (Pink), Obsidian (Black), and Porcelain. Again, another contrast with the base Pixel 9’s more glossy options.
Photography with AI
With the official reveal of the Pixel 9a, Google’s now claiming to have the best mobile camera for phones under $500. While these results will definitely depend on personal preferences when it comes to things like colors and post-processing, the Pixel 9a is packing some decent hardware and software for this task.
For one, Google’s bringing their Macro Focus on the Pixel 9a for the first time, allowing you to better capture miniature detail. Easily doable too, with the 48MP main and 13MP ultrawide the phone is packing.
Then there’s all the AI photography features such as Add Me, which lets you add someone to the picture like say, the photographer, and Magic Editor which gets you more options when it comes to editing on-device. You can even reimagine photos now, adding effects like falling leaves or making the green of the grass pop more.
Some Missing Features
The Pixel 9a comes equipped with the same Tensor G4 found in its much bigger and older brethren, with Android 15 and support for up to 7 major Android upgrades. So you’re definitely not missing out on any major performance differences between the two.
Still, the A-series always compromise somewhere in order to reach its more affordable price point right? In this instance, it looks like some of the AI features were the ones to get the axe. Gemini Nano has reportedly been scaled down, at least the on-device version.
This is supposedly due to some RAM limitations, with the Pixel 9a only coming with 8GB of RAM compared to the 12GB found in the other Pixel 9 devices. Like, some of the features will work but it is limited and doesn’t always run on-device.
We’ll have to test and compare how these AI features differ between the upcoming Pixel 9a and the other Pixel 9 phones. Still, if you don’t really care about any of these mobile AI features and assistants then this shouldn’t be too big of a problem.
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Delayed until April?
Surprisingly, Google didn’t immediately make the Pixel 9a available for pre-order, despite the announcement. Apparently, there’s a small “component quality issue” found on a small number of Pixel phones, which necessitated the delay. Not even review units were sent out.
Instead, the phone will reportedly be available this coming April, giving Google enough time to sort out any early problems with this new handset. We should be all set for a smooth launch experience by then.
In the meantime, you can shop for the latest full-featured Pixel 9 phones at a more affordable price here at Kimstore! The Pixel 9 Pro XL for instance, provides everything you need from a big, immersive display, some of the best cameras, and great performance across a wide variety of apps!
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