Evaluation: Google Pixel 9a is the price range cellphone to beat in 2025

For years, Google’s Pixel A-series line has been probably the greatest offers in smartphone-land. So long as you may tolerate (or hell, even desire) Android to iOS, these are usually one of the best telephones that may be had for $500.

That hasn’t modified with the brand new Pixel 9a, however the market panorama has…considerably. Apple just lately launched its model of a price range cellphone with the iPhone 16e, a $599 machine that gives one thing near the Pixel A-series expertise, however on iOS. Nonetheless, in the event you’re not enamored with the Apple ecosystem and want a very good mid-range cellphone with flagship options, the Pixel 9a remains to be the champ in that regard.

I don’t love the Pixel 9a’s new design all that a lot, however that’s small potatoes in comparison with its good battery life, strong on a regular basis efficiency, and have parity with the comparatively costlier Pixel 9, which did not fairly justify its $799 price ticket for me.

Google Pixel 9a: Spectacular specs, generic design

The brand new design does not do a lot for me.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

For a beginning worth of $499, right here’s what you get contained in the Pixel 9a:

• Show: 6.3-inch show

• Decision: 1080×2424 decision and 120Hz variable refresh charge

• Processor: Google Tensor G4 processor

• RAM: 8GB

• Storage: 128GB storage

• Battery: 5,100mAh battery (24-30 hours in our testing)

Google’s total gimmick with the A-series Pixel telephones is that every one is very shut in specs to the earlier fall’s flagship Pixel cellphone, and that’s no completely different right here. The Pixel 9a has the very same show specs because the Pixel 9, the identical processor, and the identical beginning storage. You’re getting much less RAM right here (8GB in comparison with 12GB), however as a trade-off, you’re additionally getting an even bigger battery. The Pixel 9’s measured in at 4,700mAh.

It’s also possible to pay an additional $100 to get 256GB storage, however that’s the one variance right here.

We’ll get into the sensible, on a regular basis variations afforded by these specs in a minute, however the largest distinction between the 2 telephones by far is how they appear. The Pixel 9 had the identical horizontal digital camera bar that sat atop the middle of the cellphone’s bottom as a number of different Pixel fashions earlier than it. That, to me, was form of an iconic search for the Pixel sequence, which does not actually have some other distinctive visible signifiers. 

Google dropped that solely with Pixel 9a. As a substitute, the 2 rear digital camera lenses dwell in a barely raised little oval-shaped housing on the left-top facet of the cellphone’s again. Put merely, it appears to be like very generic. It appears to be like like a prop cellphone in a film the place they don’t wish to do any product placement. I don’t assume it appears to be like unhealthy, thoughts you, however Google took one thing that was instantly visually identifiable as a Pixel and turned it into one thing that, from a distance, simply appears to be like like some other generic cellphone.

That stated, it does really feel good within the fingers and is nearly the correct measurement for me. I additionally love the colour picks this time round: Peony, Iris, Porcelain, and Obsidian. I had the Peony mannequin for assessment functions, and it appears to be like simply beautiful, although not fairly as beautiful as my pink iPhone 16.

Google Pixel 9a: A flagship show

The show remains to be strong, however unchanged from the Pixel 9.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

There isn’t so much to say concerning the Pixel 9a’s show as in comparison with the Pixel 9’s as a result of they’re precisely the identical. Nonetheless, in comparison with the iPhone 16e, there’s one main distinction value noting.

Particularly, Google’s cheaper handset provides a considerably increased refresh charge than Apple’s price range cellphone. You rise up to 120Hz efficiency on Pixel 9a, whereas the iPhone 16e remains to be inexplicably locked to 60Hz. I don’t actually perceive why Apple is so behind the instances on this, locking 120Hz help to its Professional telephones solely, however that’s nonetheless sadly the truth we dwell in.

By itself deserves, although, the Pixel 9a’s show didn’t give me something to complain about. 6.3-inches is about as huge as I desire a cellphone to be with out it feeling too tall within the fingers, and its 2,700 nits of peak brightness greater than do the job on a vibrant, sunny day in Brooklyn.

Google Pixel 9a: Rock-solid efficiency

Get charged up.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

Pixel 9a is powered by the very same Google Tensor G4 chip because the Pixel 9. At a sure level, you start to surprise why the Pixel 9 exists in any respect. Happily, this is not a assessment of the now-overpriced Pixel 9.

Anyway, I discovered no efficiency hiccups to talk of throughout my time with Pixel 9a. Setup is a breeze, as all the time, and apps load as rapidly as will be anticipated throughout each day use. Multitasking doesn’t appear to gradual it down a lot in any respect, both. The one factor I might observe is that I discovered the Pixel 9a to get just a little heat whereas watching YouTube movies. Granted, I used to be utilizing it with no case, so that may mitigate this challenge. However simply be warned that, in the event you determine to go caseless, you would possibly really feel a tiny bit of warmth after extended use.

On the metrics facet, Pixel 9a doesn’t end as an elite contender, but it surely’s additionally a $500 cellphone, so it doesn’t have to. Its multi-core rating within the Geekbench 6 benchmarking software program is 4,229, which may be very near the Pixel 9’s rating of 4,358. That’s clearly not even near the ten,049 you’d get from a Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely, however that’s a flagship cellphone, and this isn’t. 

The purpose is that Pixel telephones typically have underwhelming benchmark scores in comparison with the competitors, however the precise on a regular basis efficiency is completely high-quality. I didn’t even discover the discount in RAM from 12GB to 8GB in comparison with the Pixel 9 I examined.

The Pixel 9a comes with Gemini in-built

Just about each cellphone launched in 2025 is now described as an AI smartphone, and the Pixel 9a is not any exception. It comes outfitted with Google Gemini built-in, together with entry to Gemini Reside and Circle to Search. These are the identical AI options that graced the Pixel 9 lineup final yr. None of those options has been considerably upgraded in any manner, however they’re a minimum of there if you would like them. Personally, I discover these AI instruments fairly gimmicky, however in the event you’re excited about AI bells and whistles, this cellphone’s obtained ’em.

On the very least, it’s one other notch within the, “Why even purchase a Pixel 9?” argument.

Google Pixel 9a: 24 hours of battery life

It stays alive for a very long time.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

The Pixel 9a’s 5,100mAh battery is larger than the 4,700mAh cell within the Pixel 9, however let’s be actual: these numbers don’t imply a lot of something to the common individual.

I examined each telephones with Mashable’s commonplace cell battery-testing protocol: operating movies on loop at 50 p.c brightness till they died. Once I did this for the Pixel 9 final yr, it petered out after 19 hours and 20 minutes. The Pixel 9a, nonetheless, was in a position to final 24 hours and 24 minutes beneath the identical circumstances.

That’s a reasonably large hole, and the takeaway is that this smartphone lasts a very long time for a $500 cellphone. Normal use bears this out, too, as I used to be in a position to go roughly 24 hours between prices in on a regular basis circumstances, too. Google charges it for 30 hours, which I may see being achievable in the event you turned off 120Hz mode, however then you definitely’d be giving up one of many huge benefits the Pixel 9a has over most iPhone fashions, so why would you do this?

Google Pixel 9a: How good are the cameras?

I might say the largest discrepancy between Pixel 9 and Pixel 9a exists within the digital camera array, which is to be anticipated. Finances telephones hardly ever have superb cameras, however for what it’s value, I believe the Pixel 9a does simply high-quality for the value.

You get a 48MP major lens and a 13MP ultra-wide lens on the again, which pale compared to the 50MP/48MP equivalents on Pixel 9. The front-facing digital camera’s 13MP spec is just a little greater than the ten.5MP selfie cam on Pixel 9, a minimum of. Nonetheless, if you would like higher specs, you’re going to wish to get a Pixel 9. That a lot is for certain.

Nonetheless, the Pixel 9a can take some very vivid, sharp, and colourful pictures in its personal proper.

The Pixel 9a does this graffiti justice.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

One cause the 9a takes such an enormous step up from the Pixel 8a? The addition of Macro Focus, which helps you to get in actual shut on small objects like budding flowers and seize granular quantities of element. I do not love the shortage of a transparent visible signal that Macro Focus is in impact whereas utilizing the digital camera app, however you may see which pictures use it in your gallery afterward. It really works fairly effectively!

Macro Focus is a pleasant addition.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

This is not something new for Google, however as all the time, Night time Sight is a godsend in low-light circumstances. My yard is not possible to shoot in at night time with out it. See the earlier than and after for your self:

Unsurprisingly, you solely rise up to 8x zoom in Pixel 9a, which is identical as Pixel 9. It is positively not the unimaginable 30x zoom you’d discover in a Pixel 9 Professional, but it surely’ll do.

Lastly, portrait mode nonetheless appears to be like good. Not a lot else to say about it.

Bokeh for days.
Credit score: Alex Perry / Mashable

So, is the Google Pixel 9a value it?

Android lovers who simply desire a largely clear model of the OS with a full characteristic set and good battery life in all probability don’t have to look anyplace else. For now, the Pixel 9a is the price range smartphone to beat in 2025.

This dialog is made barely extra attention-grabbing by the latest addition of the iPhone 16e, however the Pixel 9a’s show superiority alone kinda settles the argument in my thoughts, at the same time as a faithful iPhone man. Apart from that, that is principally only a cheaper Pixel 9 that doesn’t look fairly as cool. 

For simply $500, although, you’re not attempting to make a trend assertion. You’re attempting to get a top quality cellphone with a good digital camera, and the Pixel 9a accomplishes that.