ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Google Pixel 9a is the newest midrange cellphone from the corporate and retails for $499.
- It encompasses a new Tensor G4 chip, useful AI instruments, an improved major digital camera, and the most important battery of any Pixel.
- You will should accept some finances trade-offs, together with the shortage of a telephoto lens and slower charging speeds.
extra shopping for selections
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I am inclined to assume that the parents behind the Google Pixel 9a are from the longer term as a result of if there’s one factor that the cellphone will get proper, it is timing.
The most recent Pixel 9a retails for $499, making it a stellar cellphone funding in right this moment’s — and the foreseeable future’s — unpredictable financial system. In fact, the recent tariff news I have been tiptoeing via has been in discussions since January.
Additionally: This Pixel 10 rumor just gave Google an edge over Samsung and OnePlus
However with the newest wave of bulletins, it is clear that the patron electronics market is about to enter a full-blown frenzy, as manufacturers brace for impression, costs teeter on the sting, and consumers rush to lock in worth earlier than the storm actually hits.
Which means gadgets just like the Pixel 9a — ones that promise long-term advantages at a comparatively reasonably priced worth — matter greater than ever. The timing alone makes the Pixel 9a one of the crucial vital gadgets of 2025, even when it wasn’t meant to be when first unveiled.
Macroeconomics 101 apart, this is what it’s good to know in regards to the Pixel 9a I have been driving each day for just a few months now, together with who can buy it and what makes it price upgrading to.
I am going to admit: initially, I wasn’t bought on the Pixel 9a’s new {hardware} and design. The bezels are noticeably thick by right this moment’s requirements – even when in comparison with equally priced gadgets just like the $459 Nothing Phone 3a Pro and $399 Samsung Galaxy A36 5G – and eradicating the Pixel-famous digital camera bar was a selection.
The Google Pixel 9a (left) and Pixel 8a (proper).
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
In concept, stripping down the again of the cellphone makes the Pixel more durable to differentiate in a sea of glass sandwiches. In observe, this has two advantages: hand placement and decreased mud accumulation. Whereas I’d beforehand tuck my index finger beneath the digital camera bar to maintain the cellphone upheld, not having the bodily obstruction now means I can maintain the cellphone rather more freely.
Additionally: I changed 8 settings on my Pixel phone to significantly improve the battery life
Why is that this tech nerd geeking out about ergonomics? As a result of the Pixel 9a’s energy button is pretty excessive, hand placement is one facet you do not need to restrict your self to.
That very same energy button prompts Gemini, which replaces Google Assistant on the Pixel 9a and may now fulfill extra advanced duties, together with multimodal, vision-based help.
Gemini Reside not too long ago acquired an replace that lets the AI pull in context from the cellphone’s digital camera. Simply level and ask.
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
If there’s one factor we will all agree on, it is that Pixel phones are infamous for gathering mud between the crevices of the digital camera bar. That is very true you probably have a case geared up, which additional traps particles and particles close to the digital camera bar.
The Pixel 9a has none of these issues, sustaining a clear aesthetic after nearly a month of going out and in of jean pockets, my backpack, and a gadget-filled shoulder bag.
Additionally: My Android Auto was having trouble connecting until I did this one thing
I am additionally a fan of the brighter show, which now ramps as much as 2,700 nits of peak brightness versus the Pixel 8a’s 2,000 nits. The improved luminance was noticeable after I put the 2 Pixel telephones via my notorious torture check — aka studying text-heavy webpages from the window seat of a bridge-crossing commuter bus. Very scientific, I do know.
However most finish shoppers will admire the practicality of such upgrades, and the Pixel 9a delivers in the case of consuming content material beneath the springtime solar.
The day-to-day advantages prolong to the processing energy of the Pixel 9a, which options the identical Tensor G4 chipset because the soon-to-be-outdated Pixel 9 sequence fashions, together with the $1,099 Pixel 9 Pro XL and $1,799 Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Paired with 8GB of RAM, right this moment’s minimal quantity of reminiscence to run hybrid AI options, you are a cellphone that handles most duties gracefully.
Google says switching to the Tensor G4 chip yields a 30% velocity bump in internet searching over final yr’s Tensor G3, and I imagine it. With the Pixel 9a and Pixel 8a in hand (and on the identical Wi-Fi community), the previous loaded up the assorted picture carousels, internet hyperlinks, and the story river on ZDNET’s homepage just a few seconds sooner. Save just a few seconds right here and there, and also you’re an accumulatively snappier searching expertise.
The large query is how the Tensor G4 holds up over time. By that, I imply mobile efficiency, energy effectivity, and reminiscence administration after 1-2 years, as these have all been issues raised by real customers. In Google’s protection, the corporate does not essentially market its gadgets as multitasking powerhouses or ones that may spell the top of gaming consoles. Regardless, I will be conserving tabs.
Additionally: Why you shouldn’t buy a Google Pixel phone right now – even if you’re a superfan
I am extra hopeful in regards to the Pixel 9a’s future due to its battery and endurance. Unsurprisingly, this is likely one of the longest-lasting Pixel telephones I’ve examined, with a 5,100mAh capability that units a brand new document for Google.
The 1-2 additional hours I’ve squeezed out of the Pixel 9a in comparison with the Pixel 8a (4,492mAh) have been admirable, particularly with my camera-heavy workflow. The truth is, my battery checks — which encompass 45 minutes of steady utilization, from searching social media feeds to streaming movies to creating calls — put the Pixel 9a in pole place above the Pixel 9 Professional XL. Now, if solely Google may enhance the wired charging velocity from the sluggish 23W ranking. Give me 65W! 45W! I am going to even take 30W.
(Whereas I am right here: the flush digital camera design of the Pixel 9a additionally makes it rather more appropriate with numerous wi-fi charging docks.)
Oddly, the Pixel 8a (left) has a smaller punch gap design on the entrance than the Pixel 9a (proper) – despite the fact that the digital camera sensors are the identical.
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
On paper, the brand new 48-megapixel major digital camera on the Pixel 9a seems to be like a downgrade from final yr’s 64MP shooter, however the bigger picture sensor on the previous does make a distinction.
Additionally: I tried the controversial Android phone that’s got the internet buzzing – and left impressed
I principally observed the efficiency hole when evaluating nighttime images and in environments with less-than-usual lighting. Pinching into images exhibits the Pixel 9a capturing extra element and vividness, naturally leading to higher distinction and coloration accuracy. The Pixel 9a additionally nails pores and skin tones, which will be very troublesome when your surroundings’s coloration temperature (learn: leaning extra orange or blue) is off.
What left me wanting extra was the zoom capabilities, as I felt the shortage of a devoted telephoto lens after I attended a New York Knicks recreation again in April and could not seize a high quality shot of the tip-off with the 8x (max) optical zoom — despite the fact that I sat only a few sections away from the courtroom. (A extra distant shot of the complete area, taken with the 13MP ultrawide and pictured above, appeared incredible.)
Related feelings had been felt after I tried to seize the unshakable aura of turkeys crossing a road on Staten Island. The curiosity killed me, and one step nearer meant the birds bolting away.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Cash is a delicate subject now greater than ever, so this is my shopping for recommendation after testing the Google Pixel 9a and each different A-series machine since 2019.
That is probably the most well-rounded cellphone you should buy for beneath $500, and the intrinsic worth that comes with it — the seven years of software program help, the assorted AI options which have trickled down from extra premium Pixel telephones, and so forth. — makes it a extra affordable selection than its flashier rivals.
Whether or not you worth a great show, dependable battery life, or a digital camera that will get the pictures you need (simply do not be too formidable), the Pixel 9a will serve you effectively. It is one of many few best Android phones I would advocate for its itemizing worth and extra so if there is a provider deal that matches your plan.
However do you have to purchase one if you happen to’re utilizing a 1-2 year-old handset? In all probability not. As a substitute, I counsel ready for the following huge gross sales occasion, because the $799 Pixel 9 will probably fall inside an identical worth vary — again.
Should you can wait it out, the Pixel 9, for round $50-$100 extra, is the higher smartphone deal, and it is a machine we take into account the best option for most consumers proper now, together with energy customers and enterprise professionals. Regardless, your choices within the midrange market are promising proper now, and the timing could not be higher.
ZDNET’s evaluation crew spends upwards of a yr testing the ins and outs of each main cellphone launch, evaluating the day-to-day efficiency, digital camera high quality, battery life and endurance, and particular options. This is a breakdown of each issue we take into account earlier than we make suggestions:
- Design and ergonomics: How good a cellphone seems to be and feels performs an enormous function in lots of customers’ shopping for journeys, so we take into account these facets closely when testing.
- Efficiency: A number of elements have an effect on a cellphone’s efficiency, together with LTE/5G sign, battery life, and background duties. Subsequently, we usually start our evaluations with a completely charged handset, all background duties closed, and as steady a cellular connection as potential.
- Digicam high quality: ZDNET checks cellphone cameras by capturing tons of of images and movies of varied topics and in numerous lighting circumstances. We additionally evaluate the output to that of older fashions.
- Battery life and charging: It is also vital for us to judge how lengthy telephones final beneath gentle, average, and heavy utilization, how lengthy they take to recharge, and the way they do it (wired, wi-fi, or each).
- Particular options: These options distinguish examined gadgets from a bustling smartphone market and hopefully deliver added worth to customers, not the alternative.
- Pricing and availability: Past finances concerns, we additionally word if a cellphone is out there within the US or solely internationally.
For a extra in depth breakdown, take a look at our complete phone testing methodology page.
This text was initially revealed on April 10, 2025, and was up to date on August 16, 2025, to mirror the newest retailer offers and upcoming launch of the Pixel 10 sequence.
