Google's ugly Pixel 9a design is exactly what you wanted

Google Pixel devices are one of the few smartphones that you can readily identify from far away. The camera housing, whether a full bar on older Pixels or the newer oval shape, is immediately recognizable. That's why when Google ditched the iconic camera bar on the most recent Pixel 9a, it made waves. Some people love the move, but many more seem to hate it.

The company originally gave Android Central a few reasons it decided to make the Pixel 9a nearly flat at the camera bar's expense. Improved thermal performance, a larger batter capacity, and the need to give the Pixel 9a its own personality were at the top of the list.

Now, Google has more to say on the change in a blog post.

"We wanted to have a physical interpretation that would match the personality of the device," said Soniya Jobanputra, a Pixel product manager.

Contrary to what you might think after seeing the Pixel 9a online or in photos, the camera bump isn't flush — it's referred to as a "dome" by the company. The design is said to mimic a water droplet, like the Pixel Watch 3 design. However, industrial designer Yomi Matsuoka notes that "if you put a case on it, there’s no bump at all."

It turns out that the Pixel 9a wasn't guaranteed to ditch the camera bar, or the more recent camera oval. It tested a few of them in experiments that "focused on [the camera bump's] overall form and appearance as well as certain shapes’ ability to withstand drops and impact." Eventually, the company settled on the Pixel 9a camera bump design we have today.

The reception to the Pixel 9a's design is odd

People aren't thrilled with the Pixel 9a's design, according to multiple social media posts. One user described their take on the phone, saying it "kinda looks like a colored brick with a weird camera shape." As someone with a Pixel 9a review unit, I'm qualified to say that take isn't exactly wrong. What's unusual about the public reception to the Pixel 9a's design is that Google seemingly gave customers exactly what they asked for.

The idea of removing the camera bump in favor of adding more battery has been around seemingly since the dawn of smartphones. More specifically, since phones universally accepted the idea of non-removal batteries and large camera bumps protruding from their rear casing. If you don't believe me, one Redditor pondered whether phones should just get thicker instead of sporting camera bumps six years ago on the Google Pixel subreddit.

More battery instead of camera bump? from r/pixel_phones

This specific thread isn't an outlier, either. Multiple times per year, the concept of making phones thicker to incorporate more features and longer battery life trends on social media.

This time, Google actually listened. It made the Pixel 9a thicker, added more battery life, and swapped out camera sensors. The phone measures 8.9mm, has a giant 5,100mAh battery, and has an almost-flat design. On paper, the Pixel 9a — with multi-day battery life and a utilitarian design — should've impressed enthusiasts who have been clamoring for this kind of thing for the better part of a decade.

The takeaway here isn't that the Pixel 9a design is perfect, because it's absolutely not perfect. It's boring and lacks the character that made Pixel phones popular in the first place. However, the design satisfies a long list of requests by smartphone buyers made for years, and that proves consumers don't always know that they want.