Google has officially announced the Pixel 9a, the most affordable entrant in the Pixel 9 series. The new model starts at $499/INR 49,999 and will be available in April.
The Pixel 9a features the same design language as the other Pixel 9 series devices. The front houses a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 panel with flat edges that blend into the flat aluminum frame. On the back is a flat polycarbonate panel, which completes the slab-like exterior. This is quite the departure from the rounded edges of its predecessor, the Pixel 8a. The phone is also IP68 compliant now for dust and water resistance.
The Pixel 9a has a slightly larger 6.3-inch pOLED display with 2424×1080 resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate. The new display is capable of 1800 nits of brightness in HDR content (measured at 100% display area) and up to 2700 nits peak brightness (measured at 5% display area). The display supports HDR but with a limited 8-bit color depth. The display also features an optical fingerprint reader.
Iris • Obsidian • Porcelain
The Pixel 9a runs on the new Google Tensor G4 chip with the Titan M2 security coprocessor. It comes with 8GB of memory as standard and a choice of 128GB or 256GB internal storage.
The phone also gets a reworked camera system. The old 64MP unit on the Pixel 7a and 8a has been replaced with a 48MP f1.7 camera with Quad PD Dual Pixel AF and OIS. It is capable of recording video in 4K at up to 60fps. The ultra-wide camera is, however, the same 13MP f2.2 unit as before. Similarly, the front 13MP camera from the 8a has also been carried over and is still limited to 4K video at 30fps.
However, the Pixel 9a does get a couple of new photography features. It’s the first A-series phone to get a Macro Focus option, which lets you capture details from up close. It’s also the first A-series phone to feature Google’s Astrophotography feature.
The Pixel 9a has a larger 5100mAh Li-Ion battery with a claimed 30+ hours of battery life. It features “fast” wired charging (23W) as well as Qi-wireless charging support.
Official cases
The Pixel 9a comes with Android 15 out of the box with all of Google’s new AI features in tow. As with other Pixel devices, it will receive seven years of OS and security updates from launch.
The Pixel 9a comes in four colors, Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, and Peony although not every color will be available in every region.