10 Things You Need to Know About the Google Pixel 9A

Google has officially unveiled its most affordable Pixel, the Pixel 9a. Made to compete against Apple’s latest iPhone 16e, it offers most features from the Pixel 9 series at a significantly lower price. The Pixel 9a will go on sale at the beginning of April and here’s everything you need to know about Google’s most affordable phone.

10 Things You Need To Know About Google Pixel 9a

Table of Contents

1. It’s Cheaper Than iPhone 16E

The biggest advantage of the Google Pixel 9a is its price tag. With an affordable price of $499 or ₹49,999, it is the cheapest Pixel phone from the company. It even undercuts its direct rival, the Apple iPhone 16e which starts at $599 or Rs.59,900. You can save a significant amount of money compared to Apple’s cheapest iPhone. And unlike the iPhone, the Pixel offers a 120Hz refresh rate, seven years of updates, and the same processor as the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.

While the bezels are significantly thick, they do not have an ugly notch in 2025, which is something the iPhone has. Oh, and you get two cameras on the Pixel compared to just one on the iPhone. So yeah, if you are looking to join Team iOS then Google’s cheapest offering might lure you to the other side of the fence.

2. More Updates Even Than Pixel 9 Pro XL

The Google Pixel 9a is the longest-supported Pixel that you can currently buy, at least until the Pixel 10 series arrives. It gets seven years of updates like the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup and it ships with the latest Android 15 out of the box. For those unaware, the rest of the Pixel 9 series arrived with Android 14 like the Pixel 8 lineup. This made them the first Pixel phones to launch with an “outdated” Android version Hopefully the upcoming Pixel 10 series will debut with Android 16 out of the box otherwise the cheapest A series phones will ironically have the longest software support.

3. AI Features That Work Out of the Box (Sorry Apple Intelligence)

The Google Pixel 9a comes with useful AI features that are readily available out of the box. Unlike Apple Intelligence, all features are fully functional and useful. You get AI options like Best Take, Add Me, Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, and Audio Magic Eraser. You also get Night Sight, Astrophotography, and Panorama with Night Sight. There’s Pixel Studio for image generation and Gemini Nano for all your queries.

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4. Pixel With the Biggest Battery Life

The Google Pixel 9a has the best battery life on a Pixel to date. Thanks to its massive 5,100mAh cell inside, it has a bigger battery than the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and even the 9 Pro XL. This makes it the most compact and cheapest Pixel with the longest battery backup. Furthermore, the lower resolution screen and smaller size should help it last significantly longer than the rest of the Pixel 9 series. Oh, and there’s also wireless charging support so you don’t miss out on anything significant.

5. Same Processor as Flagship Pixel 9 Pro XL

The Google Pixel 9a uses the same Tensor G4 chipset as the more expensive Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL. You get the same flagship-grade performance with this 4nm processor. Although the 8GB of RAM is significantly lower than the 12GB you find on the Pixel 9, it’s good enough for day-to-day tasks. There is up to 256GB of storage so you won’t be running out of space.

6. Thick Bezels Are Just Straight Up Ugly

The Google Pixel 9a being the cheapest phone in the Pixel lineup has the thickest bezels in the series. It is an eyesore reminding you of budget phones from the past. Even cheaper phones like the Nothing Phone (3a) offer surprisingly thin bezels on all sides. The 85.5 percent screen-to-body ratio won’t blow your mind and honestly, Google could have shrunken the bezels to make the phone more modern. While it’s not a deal breaker per se given the price tag I was expecting a bit more modern design.

7. The Camera Bump Is Gone

Yes, the iconic camera bump that helped distinguish the Pixel lineup is gone. Depending on how you view it, it can be either a pro or a con. The phone has kinda lost its identity since the steel enclosure surrounding the cameras is what made the Pixel phones stand out in the first place. I feel it looks like hose generic Android phones out there and Google should have at least kept the visor even if it meant ditching the brushed aluminium finish. The only thing good is that the Pixel 9a does not wobble and lies fully flat when kept on a surface.

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8. Less RAM Means Fewer AI Features

Another point of contention with the Google Pixel 9a is the 8GB of RAM. Whether you buy the base 128GB or 256GB storage variant, you are stuck with limited memory. With 2025 being the year of fancy AI features, the Pixel 9a falls a bit short due to its lack of RAM. The Pixel 9a runs Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS since it does not have the 12GB of RAM found on other Pixels. This results in slower processing of AI tasks since the data is not processed locally. Unlike other Pixel 9 phones, Gemini does not keep running in the background and 9a only loads it when required due to the limited memory. The major drawback is that this model isn’t multi-modal and only supports text. This means you miss out on cool features like Pixel screenshots and Call Notes as the 9a cannot process audio or images. The Pixel screenshots can look up the content of your screenshots while Call Notes can analyze phone calls to provide a summary.

9. Fewer Freebies

The Google Pixel 9a being the cheapest phone in the Pixel 9 also offers fewer freebies compared to its expensive sibling. Buyers of the Pixel 9a will receive only a month of Gemini Advanced compared to one year on the rest of the Pixel 9 series. Also, the Gemini Advanced trial for one month is available for everyone out there so there isn’t anything exclusive for Pixel 9a users.

The good part is you are still getting Google One for three months, along with three months of YouTube Premium (although YT Premium is only available for new users who haven’t availed it before). There are also six months of Fitbit Premium although it isn’t much useful if you don’t have a Pixel Watch or Fitbit lying around.

10. Slower Charging and Plastic Back

Last but not least, the Google Pixel 9a has a slower charging speed at 23W which let’s be honest isn’t the fastest in 2025. Even when compared with the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro which have 27W and 37W speeds, the Pixel 9a feels like a blast from the past. What’s worse is the fact that you don’t even get a charger inside the box as a part of the “flagship experience”.

Even the wireless charging speed is capped at 7.5W which is slower than the 15W and 23W of the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro respectively. As a part of the cost-cutting measure, Google has also replaced the glass found on the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup with a plastic one on the 9a.

Pixel 9a – Missed Opportunity

Google had an opportunity to offer something truly flagship in a compact form factor for the price but seems to have missed the mark. As usual, Google has got the pricing wrong but they quickly slash it down so wait for some time if you are keen on buying it.