Google Pixel 9a is coming in April for $499 and up

The Google Pixel 9a is a smartphone that shares many of the features of Google’s pricier Pixel 9 and 9 Pro smartphones. But it has an updated design (goodbye camera bar), a lower starting price, and a bigger battery than its siblings. Google did cut a few corners to keep the price low though.

Google says the Pixel 9a will be available in April for $499 and up. That makes it a little pricier than earlier Pixel 9a devices. But it’s still not a bad price for a mid-range phone that has a 120 Hz OLED display, the same processor as Google’s latest flagships, and a promise of 7 years of OS and security updates.

The Pixel 9a has a 6.3 inch, 2424 x 1080 pixel pOLED display with 60 to 120 Hz refresh rates, up to 1800 nits HDR brightness, and up to 2700 nits peak brightness.

Like the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, the new phone has a Google Tensor G4 processor. But it has just 8GB of RAM (compared with 12GB of the Pixel 9 and 16GB for the Pixel 9 Pro).

The phone has a 5,100 mAh battery that Google says should be good for over 30 hours of battery life, and it supports fast charging with a USB-C power adapter as well as wireless charging.

In other words, the Pixel 9a has the biggest, longest-lasting battery of any current-gen Pixel phone. It’s also the first Pixel A-series phone to offer IP68 water resistance and the first Pixel device to ship with Android 15.

So how can Google sell this phone for $300 less than a Pixel 9? Among other things it has a pOLEd display instead of OLED, a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 cover instead of Gorilla Glass Victus 2, less memory, and lacks a glass covered back panel.

It also has less memory. But the biggest difference is probably the camera system. Google has upgraded the camera system from the Pixel 8a and says compared with other phones on the market, the Pixel 9a “has the best camera under $500.” But it’s not the same camera system found on the company’s pricier phones.

The Pixel 9a has a 48MP primary camera with optical and electronic image stabilization, a 13MP ultrawide camera with a 120 degree field of view, and support for “Super Res Zoom.” But there’s no telephoto lens and no support for “optical quality” 2X Zoom like you get with the Pixel 9. There’s also no support for “Action Pan” photography, 10-bit HDR video recording, or Cinematic Blur video effects.

The front-facing camera has a 13MP image sensor and a 96 degree field of view, stereo speakers, and dual microphones. While higher-priced Pixel 9 series phones have 3 mics and support for noise suppression and spatial audio, the Pixel 9a does not.

Overall the Pixel 9a does seem like a decent option if you’re in the market for a new Pixel phone and don’t need all the bells and whistles… at least when you’re looking at list prices. But it’s also worth keeping in mind that the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro are half a year old at this point, which mean they’re often on sale at discounts.

If I was on a tight(ish) budget and had to choose between a $499 Pixel 9a and $799 Pixel 9, I’d probably opt for the former. But the decision gets more difficult when the Pixel 9 is on sale for $630 (like it is at time of publication).