Google Pixel 9a hands-on: Extreme makeover, phone edition

I had an idea of what to expect going into my Google Pixel 9a hands-on in Mountain View, but its new "personality" still took me by surprise in person. It's the first hard-edged, no-camera-bar Pixel I've ever seen, with the 2019 Pixel 4 as the closest Google-made lookalike I could find. And it takes some getting used to.

We've seen more and more Android phones take the flat-edged, machine-cut route in recent years, from the Pixel 9 Pro and OnePlus 13R to the Galaxy S25. The Pixel 9a sharing that style is no surprise, but it comes in tandem with a flattened camera sensor that makes the whole package look very minimalist.

Google explained why it cut the camera bar during its pre-brief: it prioritized adding a larger battery, which meant finding ways to thin down the design to keep it from becoming too bulky. And the designers wanted to "give it its own personality" yet still have it "be part of that Pixel family."

As someone whose first Google phone was the Pixel 6 and who currently uses the Pixel 9, I have no small amount of nostalgia for the camera bar as it's evolved from a massive rectangle to a bold oval cutout. Despite Google's reasonable justification, seeing the camera equivalent of the Pixel Watch's droplet display smooshed into the Pixel 9a's top-left corner was an adjustment!

Since Google has asked us to hold off on any 9a software coverage or testing until next week, I can only focus on surface-level impressions and officially shared specs for this Pixel 9a hands-on. But there's already plenty of information for us to chew on, particularly how the Pixel 9a was upgraded over the Pixel 8a.

All about the junk in that trunk

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I obviously couldn't test battery life in a short demo, but the new 5,100mAh battery and larger vapor chamber make themselves known across the entire Pixel 9a design. You could argue it's the signature upgrade!

Google managed to keep the 9a at the same 8.9mm thickness as the Pixel 8a, but only through plenty of "optimization." Google said they had to "shrink" the camera module down to a thin sliver and use a skinnier pOLED display — the same type you see on most foldable phones.

Despite all that effort, the Pixel 9a is about 0.5-1mm thicker than most of our favorite cheap Android phones. Why? Because these phones typically have much larger displays and dimensions, so they have more space to spread out their 5,000mAh batteries.

That said, it's very rare to see a battery this large paired with a display this petite. Weigh its 5,100mAh capacity against the 3,500mAh iPhone 16, 4,000mAh Galaxy S25, 4,492mAh Pixel 8a, or 4,700mAh Pixel 9; it puts that extra thickness in perspective.

Compared to past A-series phones, the 6.3-inch Pixel 9a is a couple of grams lighter than the 6.1-inch Pixel 7a and 8a. For anyone used to this lineup, the 9a might look thicker because you don't get those rounded sides anymore, but it's more of the same.

If you're bold enough to go caseless, you'll appreciate that Google preserved the 8a's rounded corners. As I held the 9a, I appreciated the softer sides in my palm compared to the harder points of the 7a.

In hand, it doesn't feel especially dense, and the smaller width compared to your typical 6.8-inch handheld makes it more comfortable in general.

One obvious quality of life improvement, thanks to the missing camera bar? Sliding the Pixel 9a into your pocket is easier than it's been for any Pixel since the Pixel 5a. No more snags and fumbling! (Don't worry, I didn't try and smuggle out a 9a in my pocket.)

The new normal for the A-series

If the new Pixel 9a camera cutout looks familiar, Google says that's on purpose. Pixel product manager Soniya Jobanputra explained that they were "inspired by water droplets, similar to the design showcase on our Pixel Watch faces."

Having reviewed the Pixel Watch 3, I can see the resemblance, but they're more like cousins than siblings. The Pixel Watch is large enough to make the droplet comparison obvious, while the 9a lens is a bit too thin for the droplet theme to be as apparent.

One similarity between them is that both make me anxious when it comes to drops or falls. This exposed camera sensor sticks out a sliver, enough to take the brunt of a fall; I'd definitely recommend using a Pixel 9a case.

One thing I quickly noticed with the camera sensors in person is that they tend to catch dust and gunk along the edge. This also applies to any Pixel camera bar or naked S25 camera sensor, and it's less noticeable on the Porcelain, Peony, or Iris models than on the Obsidian. But it's still worth noting.

I can't judge the camera quality yet, but Google gave the Pixel 9a a new 48MP main sensor that Google says is "slightly different" from the one on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold but has the same core specs; check that review for a preview of the quality to expect.

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The 9a sensor beats the 8a's with a larger aperture and Dual Pixel autofocus, but does have a smaller resolution and image sensor.

I'd assume the Tensor G4 will provide a little more postprocessing oomph — along with new exclusives like Macro Focus and Astrophotography. Generally speaking, the Pixel A-series has a reputation for great budget photos thanks to Tensor, regardless of the sensor quality.

This shrunken-down sensor is at the core of the Pixel 9a's "new flat design profile." Jobanputra says they wanted to "set it apart from the other Pixel 9 phones while still remaining true to the iconic Pixel look."

From that, I took that this hard-edged, soft-cornered look might be the norm moving forward, while the camera bar will become a flagship perk. However, if the leaked Pixel 10 renders are to be believed, they suggest the next-gen will keep the camera bar.

Pixel 9a specs: The hardware you'd expect (mostly)

While I have to save my hardware and software opinions on the Pixel 9a until my review, Google's production team shared some insights into its production that should help you know what to expect.

As mentioned above, the Pixel 9a has the "biggest battery life of any Pixel available today," bigger even than the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Google says they wanted to "eliminate battery anxiety" and that "this user segment has also been very sensitive to the battery life," prompting them to make it a priority.

As much as we loved the Pixel 8a, battery life was arguably a weak point compared to other budget phones. Now, the Pixel 9a capacity beats the Moto G Power 2025, and while it may be too expensive for the true "budget" crowd, it could still gather more attention than before.

In the past, teardowns have shown that the A-series uses a slightly different version of Tensor chips than the flagships. One journalist asked during the briefing if this would be the case for the 9a, and they responded that it is "the same chip that is in the 9 and the 9 Pro."

Whatever's going on with the hardware, the Tensor G4 benchmarks fall short of Snapdragon-powered phones, and the Pixel 9a will have 4GB less RAM than the Pixel 9. That said, I think it'll be easier to stomach mid-tier performance with a mid-tier price.

Google also slightly upgraded the Pixel 9a charging speed to 23W, but that's still slower than the 27W speed that our Pixel 9 reviewer called "almost unbearably slow." And I personally wouldn't bother with 7.5W wireless charging.

As for other upgrades to highlight, the Pixel 9a slightly improves its water resistance to IP68, and the display hits the same brightness as the Pixel 9. But otherwise, you're getting the same memory, storage, connectivity standards, ports, refresh rate, and ultrawide/ selfie cameras as the Pixel 8a.

In other words, the Pixel 9a might look like a paradigm shift for the series, but the guts haven't changed except in predictable (and useful) ways. Even the price is unchanged: it'll cost you $499 when it launches this April.