The Pixel 9a is a boring phone, and I love it.
The Pixel 9a reminds me a lot of my previous daily driver, the Pixel 5.
The polycarbonate back is plain and utilitarian, empty apart from a subdued Google logo and cameras housed in hardly a bump – a rarity these days. The front is just as generic – the only thing interrupting the display, framed by even bezels, is a single hole punch camera.
It was the simplicity of the Pixel 5 that drew me to it. The Pixel 5 – and now the Pixel 9a – embodied a practical philosophy that I particularly agreed with. No bells and whistles, no flashy design, no ginormous quadruple camera bump on the back. Just a reliable phone with solid fundamentals – software, camera, battery life. And of course, the value that accompanies a phone without excess.
This review will take on a different format from my typical reviews. Because I’m already telling you upfront that this is a great phone if all you want is a phone that just works, has good software support, and a good set of cameras. You already know that if you want a larger, higher resolution display, or a telephoto camera, this phone isn’t for you.
But for everyone else, the question is, how does the Pixel 9a compare to other phones in a similar category? Is it worth its asking price? That’s what I’ll try to answer below through a series of comparisons.
The Pixel 8a Comparison
Let’s start with a comparison with its predecessor, the Pixel 8a.
| Specs | Pixel 9a | Pixel 8a |
| Build | 154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9 mm, 186 g | 152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9 mm, 188 g |
| Water Resistance | IP68 (1.5m for 30min) | IP67 (1m for 30min) |
| Display | 6.3″ 1080 x 2424 (422ppi) 120Hz 1800nits / 2700nits (HDR) | 6.1″, 1080 x 2400 (430ppi) 120Hz 2000 nits (HDR) |
| Processor | Google Tensor G4 | Google Tensor G3 |
| Memory | 128 / 256GB UFS 3.1 8GB RAM | 128 / 256GB UFS 3.1 8GB RAM |
| Cameras | Main: 48 MP, f/1.7, 1/2.0″ Ultrawide: 13 MP, f/2.2, 120Ëš, 1/3.1″ Selfie: 13 MP, f/2.2, 1/3.1″ | Main: 64 MP, f/1.9, 1/1.73″ Ultrawide: 13 MP, f/2.2, 120Ëš, 1/3.1″ Selfie: 13 MP, f/2.2, 1/3.1″ |
| Battery | 5100 mAh Charging: 23W wired, 7.5W wireless | 4492 mAh Charging: 18W wired, 7.5W wireless |
| Price | 128GB: S$489 (Shopee Official Store during 4.4 Sale) 256GB: Out of Stock at time of this review | 128GB: S$799 ($724 on Shopee Official Store on 16.4) 256GB: S$939 |
Looking at the paper specs, you’re getting pretty solid upgrades across the board. The display on the Pixel 9a is larger and brighter. You also get a newer processor – the same one that’s in the much more expensive Pixel 9 Pro series of phones. The battery is also 13.5% larger with faster wired charging.
The only questionable change on paper is the smaller main camera sensor; though in my testing, I didn’t see a noticeable downgrade in image quality compared to the Pixel 8a. In fact, it would seem that the 9a is using the same sensor as my current daily driver, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which I’ve been very happy with.
The question then is, are the upgrades worth the extra cost? We’ll look at just the 128GB version for simplicity’s sake. Accounting for the latest Shopee sales from the official Google Store, the Pixel 8a costs just S$489, while the Pixel 9a could be had for S$724. That’s a ~S$230 (48%) price difference.
That’s simply phenomenal value on the Pixel 8a’s part. This is especially so considering that the Pixel 8a is guaranteed 7 years of OS and security updates all the way till May 2031 – the extra year of software support is definitely not a reason to get the 9a over the 8a.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to get the Pixel 9a over the 8a on paper is the larger battery. It not only means that you’ll get longer battery life now, but also that battery life will remain acceptable for longer.
In my Pixel 8a review, I praised its battery, saying that I typically get ~30% battery at the end of the day with 4-5h of SOT. In my testing with the Pixel 9a, that number is 40-50%, or 10-20% more than what I got with the Pixel 8a.
I’d say that if you can find a Pixel 9a on sale for around S$650-680, the premium might be worth it over the now ~S$500 Pixel 8a. But at the retail price of S$799, the little practical value that the upgrades offer is hard to justify.
The Pixel 9 Comparison
This one is easy. I’ve reviewed the Pixel 9, and I definitely wouldn’t pay a premium for the Pixel 9 over the Pixel 9a.
Compared to the Pixel 9a, the Pixel 9 offers:
- Slightly smaller bezels
- 12GB RAM vs 8GB
- Larger main and ultrawide camera sensors
- Ultrasonic vs optical fingerprint readers
- Slightly faster wired (27W vs 23W) and wireless charging (12W vs 7.5W)
But:
- Is heavier at 198g vs 186g
- Has a more fragile glass back vs polycarbonate
- Has a 4700mAh battery vs 5100mAh
Everything else is practically the same. And in the main differences – RAM and camera sensor size, I’d say you wouldn’t notice much of a difference in day to day use. Just look at my camera comparison between the Pixel 9 series of phones.
The Nothing Phone 3a Comparison
If there’s one phone I’d consider as a competitor, it’s the Nothing Phone 3a / 3a Pro.
The Nothing Phone 3a can be had for around the price of the Pixel 8a, S$500. But there are a few things you’d be giving up:
- Poorer processor performance (~30% CPU, 60% GPU delta) from the Snapdragon 7S Gen 3
- IP64 (splashes) vs IP68 (1.5m submersion for 30min) water resistance
- Poorer camera software processing performance
- 3 years OS, 6 years security updates vs 7 years OS and security on Pixel
You would be getting 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage though, both higher than the base config (8/128GB) Pixel 9a that we’ve been referring to. You’ll also be getting a 2x telephoto camera, whereas the Pixels settle for digital zoom.
Still, for the same price as the Pixel 8a, I’d probably get the Pixel over the Nothing for the superior processor, water resistance, software support, and camera performance (save for the lack of a telephoto lens).
As for the Nothing 3a Pro, I probably wouldn’t recommend paying S$100 for it over the Nothing Phone 3a / Pixel 8a just for the 3x telephoto lens (vs 2x).
Final Words
As I used the Pixel 9a as my daily driver for almost a month, I was surprised at how little I missed my Pixel 9 Pro Fold, a phone which costs more than double the price.
The display is the same. The battery life is the same. The performance is the same. The main and ultrawide cameras are the same. The software and software support are the same.
The only significant features missing from the Pixel 9a compared to the Fold are the large internal screen and telephoto lens, both of which I don’t miss on a daily basis.
Yes, I find myself missing the large internal screen whenever I had to view a PDF. And I miss the telephoto lens when trying to capture some slides or a fast food menu from far away. I’m sure I’ll miss the telephoto when on vacation or on a trip to the zoo. But for the most part, these are just nice-to-haves, not day-to-day necessities.
If anything, my time with the Pixel 9a reassures me that if something were to happen to my Fold, there is a solid affordable option to fall back to. And on most days, I’d hardly notice a difference.