Google Pixel 9a Review
Pros
- Best battery life of any Pixel
- Clean, more understated look
- Great camera performance
- Premium AI features
Cons
- Thick screen bezels look dated
- No dedicated zoom lens
- Tensor G4 not as powerful as other flagship chips
- Slow charging
Key Features
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Review Price: £499
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Flagship-level power With the same Tensor G4 chipset as the flagship Pixel 9, the 9a offers great performance and advanced AI.
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Solid camera performance With a new 48MP main camera, the Pixel 9a continues Google's trend of exceptional camera performance.
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All-day battery life – and then some With the biggest battery of any Pixel to date, the Pixel 9a lasts over a day without a top-up.
Introduction
Another year means another Pixel ‘a’ release – but this year’s Pixel 9a is different in a few important ways.
Most notably, the Pixel 9a is the first in the series to not closely mirror the design of the flagship Pixel, ditching the camera bar for an altogether more understated look.
It also boasts the best battery life of any Pixel to date, including the top-end Pixel 9 Pro XL, and offers a smattering of flagship AI features when much of the mid-range competition refuses to do so.
However, the mid-range competition is heating up in 2025 with more tempting, yet affordable, options than ever.
Has Google done enough to secure the Pixel 9a’s place as one of the best mid-range phone choices of 2025? I’ve spent the past week and a bit with the Pixel 9a to find out.
Design
- No iconic Pixel camera bar
- Flat edges and rounded corners
- Boosted IP68 protection
For the first time in years, Google’s Pixel 9a doesn’t follow the design language set by the flagship range, in this case, the Pixel 9 – not wholly, anyway.
Yes, the Google Pixel 9a ditches the curved rear and edges for flat alternatives that provide way better purchase in the hand, and it does kind of feel like the Pixel 9 in-hand as a result, but there’s one massive omission – the camera bar.
Google decided to ditch the iconic Pixel design element with this year’s Pixel 9a, instead opting for the polar opposite: a near-flush, understated dual camera housing. My immediate reaction to the reveal was a little negative, but I think that was more of a knee-jerk reaction to the big change.
Actually using the Pixel 9a, I’ve come to massively appreciate the more simplistic design. It sits near-flat on tables with next to no wobble, it doesn’t catch as I get it out of my pocket like the Pixel 9 Pro XL does, and it gives me extra room for my fingers to rest on the rear. It might not have that iconic Pixel look, but from a usability standpoint, it’s a total win.
The company has also bolstered the phone’s durability with improved IP68 dust and water resistance, the same as you’ll find on some of the best smartphones around.
However, the use of the ageing Gorilla Glass 3 is a little disappointing to see. It’s screen tech that was first launched in 2013, and we’ve seen mid-rangers like the Poco F7 Pro with more durable Gorilla Glass 7i for better protection from drops and scratches.
Elsewhere, it’s very much business as usual; it offers the same combination of an aluminium frame and a plastic rear as previous entries to save on costs. It doesn’t feel like cheap plastic, with a nice matte finish that hides fingerprints, though it equally doesn’t feel quite as premium as the all-metal-and-glass Samsung Galaxy A56 5G.
The use of plastic does at least keep the weight down at 186g, making it nice to hold – especially when combined with the rather compact 6.3-inch screen.
The phone is also available in a range of vibrant, attractive colour options, including the same Peony pink finish as the flagship Pixel 9 collection, along with Iris, Porcelain and Obsidian. The more colourful options are certainly more eye-catching, but I do like the understated look of the all-black model sent for review.
Screen
- Larger 6.3-inch OLED screen
- Thick bezels make the screen look dated
- Adaptive refresh rate needs some work
The Google Pixel 9a sports a larger 6.3-inch pOLED screen than the Pixel 8a, but that doesn’t stop it from easily being the weakest element of the experience overall.
It starts with those seriously thick display bezels. Though not too out of place a few years ago, mid-range phone makers have strived to slim down the once-chunky black bars. Phones like the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G and OnePlus Nord 4 have markedly slimmer bezels and provide a cleaner, more immersive experience as a result.
It’s the one element of the 9a’s screen that I simply can’t overlook, making the £499/$499 look either cheaper or just dated.
I also think Google has more work to do on the adaptive refresh rate on offer; despite being able to switch between 60- and 120Hz depending on what I’m up to, I often find myself locked to the slower 60Hz when scrolling through apps. It’s more jittery as a result, and unlike other phones, there’s no way to force a constant 120Hz. You’re, rather frustratingly, at Google’s whims here.
A 6.3-inch screen, though bigger than its predecessor, still isn’t the best size for watching long-form content or even gaming, though it is one of the more pocketable devices around, with many smartphones adopting something closer to the 6.7-inch mark.
This makes it easy to use one-handed, though it’s still a bit of a struggle to reach the top of the screen with a tall 20:9 aspect ratio.
I might sound like I’m constantly bashing the screen, but there are elements to appreciate. A boosted 2700 nits peak brightness means the Pixel 9a can get plenty bright, making it a dream to use even on bright sunny days, and it also translates to a much better experience when playing HDR content on the likes of Netflix and YouTube.
You’ve also got the key characteristics of OLED screen tech, meaning that blacks are inky black and colours look vibrant. Paired with a fairly detailed FHD+ resolution, day-to-day use is fine – you’ve just got to look past those chunky bezels to appreciate it.
Cameras
- New 48MP primary camera
- Excellent results in most conditions
- The lack of a telephoto lens is slightly disappointing
Google didn’t just redesign the Pixel 9a’s camera housing and leave it at that; for the first time in a few years, there’s also new camera hardware to appreciate. Well, where the primary sensor is concerned anyway.
While the drop in megapixel count from 64MP to 48MP might lead you to believe that it’s a downgrade, it’s certainly not the case. The size of the sensor has increased from 1/1.73in to 1/2.0in for a general boost to light, detail and colour captured, along with a wider f/1.7 aperture to further improve light intake.
Combined with Google’s frankly excellent image processing that delivers exceptionally accurate results, particularly in terms of colours and skin tones, the Pixel 9a is a fantastic little snapper. It doesn’t quite have the legs to compete with the flagship Pixel 9 Pro XL, but in the mid-range market, it stands out.
Even when light levels begin to drop, the Pixel 9a’s main camera continues to deliver. Compared to the similarly priced Samsung Galaxy A56 5G, the Pixel 9a has more accurate tones (the Galaxy had an odd purple hue to low-light shots) and more detail – though it does seem to suffer from lens flare a little more than Samsung’s alternative.
The accompanying ultrawide lens hasn’t had any TLC, however, sporting the same specs as that of the Pixel 8a.
As such, it’s a respectable snapper that can capture vibrant shots with an almost identical colour palette to the main sensor. It’s not quite as capable in low-light environments, however, with a comparatively narrow f/2.2 aperture and the lack of OIS for those pin-sharp long exposures.
I do lament the lack of a dedicated zoom lens, especially with cheaper mid-rangers like the Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro offering telephoto and periscope zooms, respectively.
Google’s digital-based alternative is solid, with less artefacting at 8x than competing mid-rangers, but it can’t compete with the higher levels of zoom from Nothing’s periscope-based shooter.
Flip the phone over and you’ll find the same 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide sensor as previous generations in the ‘a’ series. It’s fine for the occasional selfie and video call, but for any serious photography, I’d recommend sticking to the rear lenses – and the primary lens in particular.
Performance
- Flagship Tensor G4 chipset
- 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage
- Speedy everyday performance
Continuing the trend of Google’s ‘A’ series devices sporting flagship chipsets, the Pixel 9a sports the same Tensor G4 as the flagship Pixel 9 collection.
As noted in our Pixel 9 Pro review, the Tensor G4 isn’t what we’d describe as a performance-focused chipset, with Google shunning all-out performance gains for improved AI smarts – but more on the latter a little later.
As such, the Tensor G4 isn’t quite on the same level of performance as the likes of the Snapdragon 8 Elite or Apple A18 Pro in the benchmark department, with results not that much better than last year’s Pixel 8a in many tests. It’s still competitive for a mid-ranger, but the gap isn’t as wide as it should be.
However, as with the flagships, you wouldn’t be able to tell this in everyday use, even with 8GB of RAM compared to the 12GB you get from the premium models.
This phone absolutely flies, whether you’re simply scrolling through TikTok videos or doing something a little more processing-heavy, like AI photo editing or splicing together videos in CapCut.
I’ve not experienced a single stutter or any lag over the past week or so of use, including playing games like Archero 2 and Call of Duty Mobile – though the latter can cause the phone to get a little hot to the touch, especially if I crank up the texture quality.
If you are a dedicated gamer, more performance-focused phones with better cooling – like the Poco F7 Pro or Poco X7 Pro – would better suit your needs, but what the Pixel 9a offers is more than enough for a casual game every now and again.
Connectivity is also top-notch for a mid-ranger. It might not offer Wi-Fi 7 like the flagship models do, but it’s still a very new standard, and I doubt many would be able to make use of it anyway. That said, the combination tri-band Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, NFC and eSIM connectivity shouldn’t leave you wanting for more.
Software & AI
- Stock Android 15 with Pixel-exclusive features
- Range of flagship-level AI features
- Seven years of OS upgrades
If there’s one reason beyond camera performance to opt for the Pixel 9a over other mid-rangers, it has to be the company’s combination of software and AI.
The Pixel 9a ships with stock Android 15 out of the box that Android purists will be sure to love, free of the stylised interfaces, additional features and confusing systems that often come with custom Android skins like Xiaomi’s HyperOS. It’s Android as Google intended, with a sprinkling of Pixel-exclusive features to seal the deal.
These range from small features, like the phone’s ability to constantly recognise and list songs you hear in the background throughout the day, to bigger AI features that are still fairly rare on mid-range phones.
There’s nothing new here that we haven’t already seen from the flagship Pixel 9 range, but the fact that it’s even in the same conversation is impressive; Samsung’s competing Galaxy A56 5G doesn’t offer any Galaxy AI-branded features at all.
That said, this year’s additions include Add Me and Google’s overhauled Gemini experience – including the ability to live share your screen with the assistant – alongside returning favourites like Magic Eraser, automatic recording transcription and the ever-popular Google Circle to Search.
It does miss out on the ability to process voice, images and videos on-device from the flagships, but most of the major features are present and accounted for. Whether these AI features will actually make a difference or not is totally dependent on how you use your phone, but it’s certainly nice to have from a value perspective.
That experience is set to continue to improve over time too, with Google committing to the same seven years of OS upgrades as its flagship range. That’s practically unheard of in the mid-range market, and essentially means that the phone will eventually get the Android 22 update – and, going by Google’s track record, in pretty decent time too.
Battery life
- 5100mAh battery
- Potential to last well into the second day of use
- Slow wired and wireless charging
In a rather odd turn of events, the Pixel 9a doesn’t just boast better battery life than the Pixel 8a with a larger 5100mAh battery, but it’s better than the flagship Pixels too – per Google’s estimates of 30+ hours of charge compared to 24+ hours from other Pixel devices, anyway.
I’ve found that to be on the money in everyday use too. With other Pixels, including the big-screen Pixel 9 Pro XL, I never felt quite alleviated of my battery anxiety in the way that phones like the Oppo Find X8 Pro had. The Pixel 9a, on the other hand, just kept on going, surpassing every battery prediction I made during my week’s use.
For example, after a day of light use, I noticed that the Pixel 9a still had 42% charge at around midnight. I went to bed soon after without charging the phone, expecting it to be near-dead by the time I woke up the following day.
Even with two hours of music playback – hey, I like to listen to white noise, okay – the phone only dropped by six percent over eight hours. In fact, it kept going past lunch and only gave up at around 4:30pm that afternoon.
That’s not something I could say about any Pixel until this point, and it’s amazing to me that it’s from the most affordable Pixel in the range.
As excellent as the Pixel 9a’s battery life is, charging isn’t quite as exceptional. It’s faster than the Pixel 8a by a whole 5W, from 18W to 23W, with the latter still way behind what you’ll get from mid-rangers like the 45W Samsung Galaxy A56 5G.
That translates to sometimes frustratingly slow charge speeds. The phone manages only 40% in 30 minutes and a full charge in 1 hour and 48 minutes, one of the slowest in its price point.
The Pixel 9a does win some points back with support for Qi wireless charging, but at 7.5W, it’ll be way slower to charge your phone in a pinch.
Should you buy it?
You want a great all-rounder
From great camera performance and AI smarts to all-day battery life, the Pixel 9a offers much of what consumers want from a mid-range smartphone.
You want the best screen experience
The Pixel 9a is let down by rather thick bezels, even when compared to more affordable phones. The adaptive refresh rate also needs some optimisation, reverting to 60Hz when not necessary.
Final Thoughts
The Pixel 9a is a great phone that does nearly everything right. It offers a great design, now distinct from the flagship Pixel 9 collection, with improvements to an already solid camera offering, boosted performance and the longest battery life of any Pixel I’ve used to date.
Then there’s also Google’s approach to software and AI, offering stock Android 15 with a smattering of flagship Pixel AI features and functionality and the same industry-leading seven years of OS upgrades to boot. That’s practically unheard of in the mid-range space in both respects.
However, the competition is heating up in the mid-range space, and as exceptional as the Pixel 9a is, shortcomings – particularly in the screen department with thick bezels and hit-and-miss adaptive refresh rate tech – mean it’s not the very best smartphone in all respects.
And, as good as Google’s AI Super Zoom tech is, the Pixel 9a really needed a zoom lens to stay competitive in the camera space, with cheaper phones now coming with dedicated telephoto and periscope snappers.
Still, you’re getting exceptionally good value overall, and that’s key for the best mid-range phones.
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. We use industry-standard tests to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
- Used as a main phone for over a week
- Thorough camera testing in a variety of conditions
- Tested and benchmarked using respected industry tests and real-world data
FAQs
No. It comes with a USB-C cable, but you’ll need to source your own charging brick separately.
Yes, the Pixel 9a is water resistant with an IP68 rating.
Google has committed to seven years of OS upgrades for the mid-range Pixel.
Test Data
| Google Pixel 9a | |
|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 single core | 1652 |
| Geekbench 6 multi core | 3801 |
| 1 hour video playback (Netflix, HDR) | 1 % |
| 30 minute gaming (light) | 6 % |
| Time from 0-100% charge | 108 min |
| Time from 0-50% charge | 40 Min |
| 30-min recharge (no charger included) | 40 % |
| 15-min recharge (no charger included) | 22 % |
| 3D Mark – Wild Life | 2597 |
| GFXBench – Aztec Ruins | 66 fps |
| GFXBench – Car Chase | 79 fps |
Full Specs
| Google Pixel 9a Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £499 |
| USA RRP | $499 |
| Manufacturer | |
| Screen Size | 6.3 inches |
| Storage Capacity | 128GB, 256GB |
| Rear Camera | 48MP + 13MP |
| Front Camera | 13MP |
| Video Recording | No |
| IP rating | IP68 |
| Battery | 5100 mAh |
| Wireless charging | No |
| Size (Dimensions) | 73.3 x 8.9 x 154.7 MM |
| Weight | 186 G |
| ASIN | B0DSWFHTL2 |
| Operating System | Android 15 |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| First Reviewed Date | 10/04/2025 |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2424 |
| HDR | No |
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz |
| Ports | USB-C |
| Chipset | Google Tensor G4 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Colours | Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, Peony |
| Stated Power | 23 W |
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