Past the Alphabet
Past the Alphabet is a weekly column that focuses on the tech world each in and out of the confines of Mountain View.
I am what some would name a “specs snob.” Which means that I would like the most recent, best, and strongest system that I can get my fingers on. After years of reviewing telephones and gadgets that no one ought to use however everybody purchased, I (largely) determined that sufficient was sufficient. It additionally would not assist that across the time I made that non-public resolution, I obtained my fingers on the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
So after I noticed that Google introduced the Pixel 9a, I simply learn the headlines and simply stored it shifting. It wasn’t till I learn the glorious hands-on from Android Central’s very personal Michael Hicks that I began to look a bit deeper into what the 9a needed to provide.
To get this out of the best way, I do not like Google’s resolution to take away the digicam bar. It has been a staple of the Pixel lineup because the Pixel 6, and whereas I have not stated this out loud, I used to be additionally disillusioned when it was faraway from the Pixel 9 Professional Fold. Now, colours however, the Pixel 9a simply blends in with the ocean of rectangles that everybody makes use of.
Anyhow, on paper, the Pixel 9a is virtually the right cellphone for almost all of individuals. Do you want an all-day battery life? The 9a delivers a 5,100mAh battery, paired with a bigger vapor chamber for higher cooling, which, in flip, ought to imply the Tensor G4 has a bit extra room to breathe. Oh, and by the best way, Google claims these two adjustments are the the explanation why the digicam bar was sliced off.
Talking of efficiency, the Tensor G4 is within the cockpit, with 8GB of LPDDR5X driving shotgun. That sounds nice, proper? Really, yeah, I believe it sounds fairly darn good. What’s that? You do not get Pixel Screenshots or Name Notes? Oh properly.
Apparently, it is because Google is utilizing an “additional additional small” Gemini Nano mannequin. In accordance with Ars Technica, Google confirmed that this mannequin has different limitations, comparable to “the dearth of multimodality—Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS is text-only.”
Usually, I might placed on my Jerry hat and be irritated that Google did not determine a approach to embody options that needs to be staples throughout the complete lineup. So why am I sitting right here feeling the exact opposite?
As a result of that is the precise drawback that Google wanted to resolve.
Flashback to final 12 months’s Pixel 8a launch, and you’ll have a tough time convincing me that the Pixel 8 was really the higher cellphone. Except the digicam {hardware} and digicam options, the Pixel 8a supplied virtually the identical expertise whereas costing $200 much less.
With the Pixel 9a, there are fairly just a few variations, however Google managed to drop the much less vital options whereas offering some sound reasoning as to why.
The Pixel 9a nonetheless permits you to benefit from the fruits of Gemini’s labor, however it simply won’t be as quick and might’t deal with something aside from textual content. It is not outfitted with the very best digicam that Google presents, however the 48MP essential lens nonetheless sounds fairly darn good, and you are not shedding out on Google’s picture processing.
Certain, it has a bigger display and greater battery than its brethren, however the digicam bar is gone, and the bezels are large. On prime of that, the Pixel 9 options an ultrasonic fingerprint reader, however some would argue that an optical sensor is best anyway. Personally, I simply assume Google must embed it within the energy button, however what do I do know?
So, as a substitute of getting 95% of what the costlier model has, you get one thing nearer to 85% or possibly 90%. All whereas paying $200 much less and coming in a greenback in need of the $500 imaginary line within the sand.
However what concerning the iPhone 16e? Yeah? What about it? Apple may need overwhelmed each Google and Samsung to the punch with a brand new mid-range cellphone, however the iPhone 16e additionally prices $100 extra and falls brief in loads of methods.
For those who do not imagine me, simply examine this out:
So, right now Google launched the Pixel 9a, and it continues to point out how a lot of a humiliation the iPhone 16e is.Right here’s all the pieces the Pixel 9a has over the iPhone 16e, regardless of being $100 cheaper:– Blue and pink colour selections– 6.3” show vs 6.1”– 120 Hz vs 60 Hz– 2,700… pic.twitter.com/Vj75GqF1JVMarch 19, 2025
Which jogs my memory, for those who’re feeling bitter or betrayed by Google leaving out some Gemini options, simply do not forget that Siri cannot even inform you what month it’s. No, I am not kidding.
For years, if somebody requested me to advocate the very best cellphone for $500, I might in all probability have informed them to both watch for a deal or simply get an iPhone. Even when that meant getting the last-gen iPhone SE, which nonetheless had the bodily dwelling button. That is now not the case, as Apple continues to stumble and fall tougher and tougher whereas Google retains mosying on alongside. As such, for those who requested me that very same query right now, I might inform you to give up speaking to me and pre-order one already.
There’s simply one thing concerning the Pixel 9a that feels comfy, and that is coming from somebody who hasn’t really used one but. Not solely that, however the Pixel 9a may be the primary Android cellphone that I might be ok with giving to an older member of the family. The peace of thoughts of with the ability to hand somebody a cellphone and absolve your self from being the devoted tech assist rep makes the Pixel 9a price each penny and doubtless extra.
The answer
Google solved a serious drawback with the Pixel 9a, and whereas we’ve to attend a bit longer earlier than it is launched, the wait will probably be price it. As a substitute of the A Sequence rendering the non-Professional Pixel pointless, every cellphone in Google’s lineup has its place.
