The Google Pixel 9a will launch as Pixel fans' last, best hope for an affordable Google phone, ever since the company increased the price of its mainline Pixel series by $100 in the previous two years.
Recent generations of Pixel 'a' phones have regularly impressed us with upgrades that made them feel like mainline phones, despite the reduced price. The Pixel 8a currently tops our list of the best cheap Android phones; now, based on leaks, it seems like the Pixel 9a is ready to carry on its legacy.
As you might expect, the Pixel 9a should retain the same Tensor G4 processor as the mainline Pixel 9 series, yet retain the trademark lower price the A series is known for.
More intriguingly, several leaks and rumors have suggested Google will launch a total redesign of the series with the Pixel 9a, to differentiate it further from the flagship Pixels.
What else can you expect from 2025's mid-range Pixel from Google? Read on to see everything we've heard, as well as what we want Google to improve with this generation.
Google Pixel 9a: Price and availability
We expect Google to unveil the Pixel 9a at Google I/O 2025, which typically takes place in May 2025, as it has for the past several years. We have no reason to assume Google will change this pattern, but we also have no concrete rumors to corroborate the date just yet.
Google expanded its lineup of phones in 2024 with the release of the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The Pixel 9a should be the budget-priced latecomer to this lineup, with similar hardware.
Google has priced this budget series at $499 since the Pixel 7a, which upped the series price by $50. You might expect the Pixel 9a price to jump, since Google charged an extra $100 for the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro. But a recent Pixel 9a leak suggested it'll cost $499 in the U.S. and Canada, with a $50 surcharge for the mmWave variant.
If true, the Pixel 9a will remain relatively affordable, competing against other budget phones like Samsung's Galaxy A phones.
Google Pixel 9a: Design and displays
Historically, the Pixel A-series has used a design similar to that of the main series but with a few tweaks. In the Pixel 8a's case, the corners had a slightly wider curve than the Pixel 8 series, making it even more of a squircle.
Google made a massive design shift with the Pixel 9 series, dropping the friendly curves of the last four Pixel releases and going for a much more industrial design. In a way, it looks a lot like if you took a Pixel 4 and mixed it with an iPhone 15.
Several alleged Pixel 9a design leaks show that Google is changing things up once again, seemingly keeping the flat side rails of the Pixel 9 series and further flattening the overall design by removing the trademark Pixel camera bar on the back.
A December leak showed even more detail about the potential new Pixel including the matte back, which appears to be quite a fingerprint magnet if the images are anything to go by. The prototype also features some interesting printing on the back which we believe is used to identify it as a prototype device. These markings will almost certainly not make it to the final retail product.
If these leaks are to be believed, the Pixel 9a will look more like a Nothing Phone 2a or the old Essential PH1 than the mainline Pixel 9 series. Given that Google raised the prices of the main series by $100, this would give the company a reason to keep the price of the Pixel 9a low while maintaining that it's a budget line with a cheaper-looking design.
Google is also said to be keeping the smaller Pixel 9's fun colors for the Pixel 9a, including Iris and Peony colorways. Peony is said to be the same striking pink color as the Pixel 9, while Iris sports a "blueish-purple" hue.
The leak also notes that the Pixel 9a will be 154mm tall and 73mm wide making it slightly larger than the 152.1 mm x 72.7 mm dimensions of the Pixel 8a. A second leak corroborates those numbers and also mentions the thickness at 8.9mm while the display could see an increase to 6.1, 6.2, or even 6.3 inches.
Despite the flatter look, this same leak notes that the camera portion extends the thickest portion to 9.4mm, seemingly contradicting the other two leaks that show an almost completely flat and flush camera housing.
As for the Pixel 9a display, the aforementioned leak suggests it'll measure 6.29 inches, with FHD+ resolution, 1,800 nits of HDR brightness, 2,700 nits at peak brightness, and a 120Hz refresh rate, with Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Compared to the Pixel 8a, it appears the 9a display will be distinctly larger, with 400 to 700 nits brighter depending on the context, but otherwise match it for smoothness, resolution, and durability.
Fans of small phones may be disappointed, but the lack of a camera bar counterbalances the extra size: the 6.3-inch 9a supposedly weighs 2g less than the 6.1-inch 8a. Even if it doesn't look as striking from the back, you may appreciate the extra visual space in front.
Google Pixel 9a: Cameras
We first heard last October that Google would give the Pixel 9a a 48MP main sensor, the same one found on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The secondary UW camera would allegedly stay at 13MP, matching the Pixel 8a.
The more recent 9a leak mentioned above confirmed this, while adding additional info: The 9a may feature a 48MP GN8 Quad Dual Pixel primary camera with an ƒ/1.7 aperture, while both the secondary rear sensor and front sensor may hit 13MP with an ƒ/2.2 aperture.
In other words, only the main sensor will change from what the 8a offered, at least for hardware. New Pixel 9 camera software and AI tools like Add Me and Reimagine in Magic Editor should appear on the Pixel 9a, but not some of the Pixel 9 Pro's tricks like Zoom Enhance that require higher-quality sensors.
Google Pixel 9a: Specs and performance
The Google Pixel 9a should use the same Google Tensor G4 processor as the Pixel 9. This was all but assured, even before the major Pixel 9a leak listed the Tensor G4 and Titan M2 security processor, because Google has used Tensor in the last three generations of Pixel A-series phones.
Tensor G4 is only a minor upgrade over the Tensor G3 in most respects, although it's capable of processing specific AI-related tasks faster than some other leading flagship processors. It also runs quite a bit cooler than the Tensor G3 but at the expense of being slower in gaming and other heavier graphics processing-based scenarios.
Google is not expected to deliver a massive upgrade to its Tensor line until Tensor G5, currently slated for the 2025 release of the Pixel 10 series — and then the Pixel 10a, in theory.
The Pixel 9a would likely ship with the Tensor G4 processor, which is only a minor upgrade over the Tensor G3 inside the Pixel 8a.
The alleged Pixel 9a tech specs sheet provides other key details: 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, Android 15 with seven years of updates, 5,100mAh battery, 23W wired and 7.5W wireless charging, an under-display fingerprint sensor, and Wi-Fi 6E.
In other words, based on this spec sheet (if accurate), the Pixel 9a and 8a will have comparable memory, storage, software support, security, and connectivity. The key difference will be in battery and charging, adding about 600mAh capacity and an additional 5W and 2.5W to its wired and wireless charging speed.
A small performance and battery boost, with comparable specs otherwise, seems reasonable given that Google made so many requested spec upgrades, like the display refresh rate, in the Pixel 8a. The redesign and larger display seem to be Google's focus with this generation.
Google Pixel 9a: Wishlist
As with any new phone, there are a few things we'd love to see Google improve on the Pixel 9a over existing phones like the Pixel 8a. Leaks seem to confirm some of our requests, but since we can't be certain the leaks are accurate, we'll keep them as is.
A lower-priced option
The Pixel 6a, 7a, and 8a are all great phones that offer a lot of value, but a $450-500 phone is still financially out of reach for a lot of people. In fact, the Galaxy A-series makes up the bulk of the sales for Samsung. Google's Pixel market share continues to grow, and there's little doubt the Pixel A-series has a big part in this.
How much more could it grow, then, if Google offered a truly budget-priced model? We're talking something under $300 that could still offer the Pixel experience, even if it had to cut back on some of the more premium features of the Pixel series — like the latest Google Tensor processors or upgraded camera modules.
Keep the Tensor
Having a chip like the Tensor G4 inside a mid-range phone like the Google Pixel 9a is downright incredible. One of the best reasons to buy a Pixel A-series phone over the rest of the $450-500 competition is the processor, as it's far better than anything you'll likely ever find at that price range. We're hoping the Tensor G4 comes in the Pixel 9a, as we expect it will.
A real dark mode
Dark mode is a lie on more phones than I'd like. Unfortunately for Pixel owners, the Pixel is one of the worst offenders of this sin. I'd love to see Google give users a proper "lights out" dark mode where the background is completely black instead of this dark grey nonsense Google has been using for years.
It'll both be better for battery life and help with the next request!
Flicker-reduction option
As the nits delivered by displays continue to grow higher and higher each year, more companies are using OLED displays that don't dim in a traditional way. Instead, they use Pulse Width Modulation (or PWM), and people like me are, unfortunately, very sensitive to this kind of display flickering.
While we have some tips and tricks for PWM-sensitive folks, the best solution is for manufacturers to offer a flicker-reduction option. Companies like Motorola and OnePlus offer anti-flicker solutions on their phones, and we know Google can do it if they really wanted to.
Faster charging
Google has largely been using the same 18W charging speed for its phones since the inception of the Pixel line. While it upgraded the Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 to 30W, the Pixel 8a still only supports 18W charging.
Phones like the OnePlus 12R, which costs the same $499 as the Pixel 8a, offer 100W wired charging at the expense of removing wireless charging. Considering how truly slow (and probably useless) 7.5W wireless charging is, I'd be happy to see wireless charging go away if it meant we could get faster wired charging.
