If you are looking for a reasonably priced smartphone, you are a bit spoiled for choice at the moment. There’s the Nothing Phone 3a for a start, and the iPhone 16e. But now Google has thrown the Pixel 9a into the mix, promising AI “magic” without breaking the bank.
Google’s A series of smartphones can always be relied on to deliver decent power and features, despite the fact that they aren’t the premium end of its smartphone range.
A lot of that comes from the software. In a smartphone age where hardware is being pushed to its limits, the software really comes into its own. Google has gone big on AI in the past couple of years and the 9a benefits from all that, from the built-in assistant to the camera. Plus the 9a has one of the cleaner versions of Android that you will see, with none of the bloat that other manufacturers add on top.
And it does all this at a reasonable price. In terms of cost, the 9a sits between the Nothing Phone 3a, which will cost you €349, and the iPhone 16e at €729.
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What do you get for your money? You get great battery life and a bright OLED display, and plenty of space to store your photos, videos and other important information. You also get up to seven years of software support, which makes it good value if you plan to hang on to the phone for an extended time.
The 5,100mAh battery that will comfortably see you through to the end of the day and beyond
The Pixel 9a even looks good, although Google’s decision to ditch the more obvious camera bar for a smaller housing has divided people. Love it or loathe it, the camera bar stood out. But it also made it difficult for the phone to sit flat when laid on a table. Instead, the Pixel 9a has a much smoother, almost flush camera and flash.
The 9a also comes in new colours that include peony, a bright pink that will certainly grab attention, and the purple iris colourway.
The matte back on the 9a makes it easier to keep hold of, but it doesn’t feel as premium as the regular Pixel 9 line up, and at first I thought there was a protective covering on it that needed to be removed, similar to the screen peeling incidents that hit the first Samsung Fold.
On the inside, you get the same G4 Tensor chip that its more powerful stablemates debuted, although the Pixel 9a limits its RAM to 8GB. For the most part you won’t feel the loss, but there are some of the more advanced AI features that need the extra power. For example, the 9a doesn’t support Pixel Screenshots, which will analyse your screenshots, take in all the information and all you to search and recall that data. It’s not a huge loss for most people, but as someone who frequently takes screenshots to remember information (and subsequently loses them), this is one of my most-used features on the Pixel 9 Pro.
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Another feature that is not supported on the 9a is Call Notes, which generates AI summaries of calls when enabled. However, that feature requires a US sim card, so its loss is far less relevant outside that geographical area.
But it does include the AI camera features. Even without the extra software features, the Pixel 9a camera does more than a decent job. The dual camera system has a 48-megapixel main sensor and a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens, throwing in a 13-megapixel camera for selfies. The resulting images are sharp and detailed, with good colour. You also get Add Me, to make sure you aren’t left out of the group shots, the ability to create the best take from your shots and using some AI magic to reframe and reimagine your existing photos. That is in addition to the Night Sight low light mode, panorama shots, long exposures and portrait mode.
Google has also given Gemini the ability to access the camera on the phone so you can point it at anything and ask Gemini about it. It correctly identified some skincare products and offered advice on how to use them, spotted an NFC tag on the back of my smartphone and almost got the phone model correct (it was off by one generation). It is another useful feature that makes Gemini a more useful assistant than others currently available.
Pixels have always done reasonably well for me on battery life, but the 9a steps it up a notch with the 5,100mAh battery that will comfortably see you through to the end of the day and beyond. There was no scrambling for a charger or packing extra battery packs when I was going to be on the move for the day; it just worked. And because Google has included wireless charging with the Pixel 9a – usually the first thing to be sacrificed in the race to lower the price – I could just throw it on the wireless charger for a top up.
Good
Still great value for money, the Pixel 9a balances style and substance, and gives you a long run at things, too, thanks to seven years of support.
The AI features work well for the most part, although the loss of the Pixel Screenshots feature will hurt some. But it has the most useful ones, including the camera features such as Best Take and Add Me.
Gemini’s new capabilities aren’t exclusive to the Piel 9a, but they are included, so you can point the camera at objects and question the AI-powered helper.
Bad
Lower RAM means a few sacrifices, such as the previously mentioned Pixel Screenshots. I wasn’t a huge fan of the matte back either, although it did make it easier to hold; the papery texture set my teeth on edge a bit.
Everything else
Google has bumped up the Pixel 9a’s rating to IP68, so it should withstand a little more rough and tumble than before. Wireless charging is the basic standard, but it is included.
The display has a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,700 nits – which means bright sunlight (when it appears) won’t be an issue.
Verdict
Google sets the bar here for reasonably priced smartphones.
