Latest news with #9a
India Today
25-04-2025
- India Today
Google Pixel 9a review in 10 points: More phone for less price
India Today Tech Google Pixel 9a review is out, and it's all good news for Pixel fans, those who've been waiting patiently for Google to release a true value package. Remember, Google has been making these phones for years now, but it is only now – in 2025 – that it has finally hit the sweet spot. They say good things come to those who wait and 9a proves it. Everything from the design scheme to display, power (and efficiency), to the camera, has been upgraded, mostly for the better. And – this is the most important part – the price has come down significantly over the last our review talks in depth about the many pros and some cons of the Google Pixel 9a, in this report, we will try and give you a more condensed – TL; DR – version for those who prefer things short and crisp. Hopefully, this should help you make an informed decision about what to expect from the phone, just in case you've been eying it or even if you're just browsing. Without any further ado, here's our Google Pixel 9a review in 10 quick points: Pixel a-series legacy finally matures: The Pixel 9a is Google's most compelling a-series Pixel to date. After years of being almost good enough, this version finally feels ready to stand tall on its own. All the previous models, including last year's Pixel 8a, came with asterisks, be it price, less than ideal specs, or simply lack of polish. The 9a offers a more complete package in every sense of the word. advertisement New design - For better or worse: Google has removed its hallmark camera visor, a design shift that, while refreshing, may not be to everyone's liking, especially if you are a long-time Pixel fan. The upside is, there is no camera bump whatsoever, resulting in a chassis – which is made of plastic and metal - that is more streamlined than before. The build is solid. The overall footprint is like the relatively more premium Pixel 9. Bigger, brighter display: The 9a gets a 6.3-inch p-OLED display that brings a lot to the table. It is sharp, fast and smooth, and delivers impressive brightness of up to 2700 nits in HBM (high brightness mode) and 1800 nits in HDR, the same as the Pixel 9. That said, the bezels are quite chunky, and the fingerprint scanner is optical, not ultrasonic, reminding you of the phone's budget roots. Tensor G4 power, shared with Pixel flagships: The Pixel 9a is powered by the same Tensor G4 chip as Google's top-tier Pixel 9-series phones. This is a big deal for a phone that's trying to cater to the mass-market. The focus is largely on ensuring your everyday interactions are faster and fluid, rather than blindly chasing benchmark scores. Performance is reliable. The best battery yet in a Pixel: The Pixel 9a bags a massive 5100mAh battery, the largest ever in a Pixel phone. You can expect 4–5 hours more battery life than the Pixel 9 and almost as much endurance as the larger Pixel 9 Pro XL with LTPO display. Charging speeds are reasonable: 23W wired and 7.5W wireless, though slower than the Pixel 9's 27W/15W setup. advertisementUpgraded primary camera: Google continues to shine in the camera department with the Pixel 9a. Its new 48-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture and OIS (optical image stabilisation) captures highly detailed, dynamic shots even in low light. The classic 'cool and contrasty' Pixel look is alive, a clear sign that Google has given it the same level of attention as its more powerful devices. Secondary cameras fall behind: While the main camera impresses, the ultrawide and selfie cameras aren't quite as exciting. The 13-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide is the same as the Pixel 8a's and feels a bit dated, especially now that other Pixel 9 phones use 48-megapixel ultrawide sensors. Similarly, the 13-megapixel front camera is fine in bright conditions but lacks sharpness in challenging light. These are not deal-breakers, but they do highlight where Google could do better in the next iteration. advertisement AI smarts: The Pixel 9a supports the majority of Google's latest AI features, from call screening to Magic Eraser, smart suggestions, and Pixel Studio. Gemini is at the heart of most of these breakthroughs, and they work well enough. Some high-end AI features like Pixel Screenshots are missing, likely due to RAM constraints (the 9a has 8GB RAM). Be that as it may, the 9a still offers the richest AI experience of any phone in this price range. Value that finally makes sense: At Rs 49,999 for the 256GB model, the Pixel 9a undercuts its predecessor Pixel 8a by Rs 10,000 while offering meaningful upgrades. It's more phone for less money is how we described it in our full review. Verdict: The Pixel 9a is undoubtedly the most balanced of all the Pixel a-series phones ever made. It is not perfect, but it has finally crossed the point where Pixel fans can get behind it and say with some assurance that this is what they have always wanted – a no-compromise phone that is worth buying without any asterisks.
India Today
24-04-2025
- India Today
Google Pixel 9a review: Budget Pixel, finally done right
Try, try till you succeed. That, in essence, is the story of the Pixel 9a, Google's all-new budget Pixel smartphone for the time Google has been making these 'affordable' a-series phones—it has been a while—I've had two types of emotions, and they've been constantly at war with each other. A part of me said, why bother? The other insisted the best is yet to come. In other words, even though I've had a hard time reviewing—and recommending—these phones for one reason or the other, deep down, I would keep coming back for more. With 9a, it seems, my prayers have been answered and Google's persistence has paid be fair, last year's Pixel 8a came very close to delivering the best hardware package you could expect from Google at the time. It covered a lot of ground and fixed many problems of its predecessor(s) except maybe that it could have priced it better. With the Pixel 9a, the price has come down significantly all the while improving upon a winning formula to such an extent that we can say, these phones have finally started to walk the talk. The Pixel 9a is available for Rs 49,999 for 256GB, without any conditions. That is Rs 10,000 less than what the 8a cost at launch for the same amount of list of upgrades is long. The design is all new. The display is brighter. The battery is bigger. Charging is faster. There's a new chip and more powerful optics. New phone for less price—the 9a has winner written all over it, even without getting into the specifics. The specifics, luckily, echo the sentiments of the specs to a great Pixel 9a design and displayThe phone's exterior, which is the first thing you notice when you unbox any phone, says a lot about what sort of category it belongs to. This includes ID (short for industrial design) and choice of build materials. The general thumb rule is that more affordable devices tend to look a certain way and come with stripped-down materials. In cases like the Pixel a, the device is often built around an existing template. For the Pixel 8a, it was the Pixel 8. For Pixel 9a, it is the Pixel 9. The Pixel 9a has a plastic back and comes in three colours: Obsidian, Porcelain, and Iris. The phone has a metal frame and is IP68 rated. advertisement But while the 8a was very close to its fancier sibling, the 9a is a bit different. This has its merits. The most visible one of them is that there is no camera bump on the back, because Google has removed the camera visor, possibly to cut cost. That visor has been a Google Pixel trademark and seeing it gone—at least for those who've been following it closely—will take some time to adjust, some might not get used to it at all. I am all for change and, frankly, it's nice to see a decent phone without any camera bump after so long, but I can't help but point out that this also makes the phone look somewhat cheap and fragile. It doesn't feel that way—rather it is built solid with a matte composite back and metal frame—but as is the nature of these things, looks are as important, and the 9a fails to make an impression quite like the Pixel 8a. You get a 6.3-inch display with wide, chunky bezels. The Pixel 9a is slightly bigger than the Pixel 8a, though the increase doesn't come at the cost of increased dimensions, which is always challenging to pull off. The 9a, in fact, is closer to the Pixel 9 with its 6.3-inch display, but the panel is different. Here, Google is using a p-OLED screen (which is perhaps adding to its slim proportions), but just like the design, chunky bezels give away the phone's budget footing. The fingerprint scanner is also optical, not ultrasonic. Everything else about this display is as high-end though. It has plenty of pixels (1080p, 422ppi), it is fast and smooth (up to 120Hz is supported), and it is plenty bright (2700 nits HBM, 1800 nits HDR). It is essentially a pro-grade display at a non-pro Pixel 9a performance and camerasThe same pro-ness extends to the underlying chip. The 9a has the same Tensor G4 as any of the more expensive Pixel 9-series phones, including the Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Google doesn't discriminate. With the G4, it has been transparent about positioning as well, not overselling it with lofty claims but talking about real-world use cases. It has designed the chip specifically to make everyday interactions with your phone—and this includes AI—faster, not to beat while newer Qualcomm chips, like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 8 Elite, might smoke the Tensor G4 in terms of raw power, meticulous tuning and optimisation ensure it feels as competitive in day-to-day. RAM is 8GB, not 12GB like the Pixel 9, which explains why some AI features are missing. Pixel Screenshots is a notable omission. Everything else works at par, which also means that the Pixel 9a is—now—the cheapest phone to try Google's current and next-gen AI features. (You do not get a year of Gemini Advanced for free when buying it like with 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold though.) There is no camera bump. The Pixel 9a has fantastic battery life, which was mostly expected given that it has a 5100mAh, the biggest we've seen on any Pixel phone to date. This means the 9a can last 4–5 hours longer than the Pixel 9 (4,700mAh) and almost as much as the Pixel 9 Pro XL (5060mAh), which has the advantage of having an LTPO display. Charging is capped at 23W wired and 7.5W wireless. The Pixel 9 has 27W wired and 15W wireless. The 9a is powered by Google's Tensor G4 chip and runs Android 15 right out of the gate. advertisementFor photography, the Pixel 9a packs a new 48-megapixel primary sensor which is paired to a brighter f/1.7 aperture optically stabilised lens (compared to the Pixel 8a). The revamped setup brings noticeable improvements in picture quality right from the amount of detail that it can pull in tricky and low light to dynamic range, which, again, adds to the overall detail and authenticity of photos. The signature 'cool and contrasty' Pixel look remains intact across landscape and portraits even in this budget Pixel, which—if you're a fan or enthusiast—could be a big reason why you might want to buy it. The ultrawide—13MP/f/2.2—is a do-over from the Pixel 8a and has started to show its age, especially when you start comparing it to the other Pixel 9-series phones, all of which now have a 48MP sensor. The front camera, too, is only serviceable with the 13MP f/2.2 setup, taking good-enough photos when you give it lots of out full camera samples below; Click to access more Google Pixel 9a: Should you buy it?The Pixel 9a feels like a culmination of years of refinement, and it finally feels like the one budget Pixel phone that gets almost everything right. The hardware upgrades are many, and they are meaningful: a brighter, more vivid display, a bigger battery that easily lasts a day and more, and an improved primary camera that produces stunning results in nearly all conditions. From a performance standpoint, it delivers where it matters most—daily reliability, clean software (with guaranteed seven-year software support), and AI smarts. The haptics are tight, the speakers loud and there are compromises—chunky bezels, a plasticky design, underwhelming ultrawide and selfie cameras—but they feel like calculated trade-offs in a phone that's priced more smartly than any recent Pixel a-series device. At Rs 49,999, the 9a undercuts its predecessor while offering more where it counts and is the first in the line-up that I can recommend without adding an asterisk.
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- The Guardian
Pixel 9a review: Google's cut-price Android winner
Google's latest cut-price Pixel offers the best bang for your buck in Android phones and is arguably better in many areas than some models costing twice the price. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The Pixel 9a starts at the same £499 (€549/$499/A$849) as last year's equally good value model. That makes it £300 or so less than Google's regular Pixel 9 and places it up against mid-rangers such as Nothing's Phone 3a Pro and Samsung's Galaxy A56. Google has stuck with its tried and tested A-series formula, packing the 9a with top-level specs, chips and cameras, cutting a few corners to bring the price down. The result is an extremely compelling package for the money. The 6.3in OLED screen is crisp, smooth and bright, looking better than many rivals costing far more. It has slightly thicker bezels around the edge than the Pixel 9, but keeps the premium-feeling aluminium band around the outside. The back is high-quality plastic rather than glass, but it's difficult to tell unless you know. The 9a has full IP68 water resistance, too, matching the best in the business. The big change is that the standout camera bar on the back is gone. Instead, the twin cameras sit almost flush poking through a small black oval. It means the phone sits flat on a desk and is a little sleeker, but it has also lost some of its charm looking far more generic than the rest of Google's phone designs. Screen: 6.3in 120Hz FHD+ OLED (422ppi) Processor: Google Tensor G4 RAM: 8GB Storage: 128 or 256GB Operating system: Android 15 Camera: 48MP + 13MP ultrawide, 13MP selfie Connectivity: 5G, Sim/eSim, wifi 6E, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3 and GNSS Water resistance: IP68 (1m for 30 minutes) Dimensions: 157.7 x 73.3 x 8.9mm Weight: 185.9g Inside, the 9a has the same top-tier Google Tensor G4 chip as the rest of the Pixel 9 line but with only 8GB of RAM rather than 12GB on the more expensive models. The chip is fast and performance is snappy. It won't win any raw performance awards but is markedly faster than most mid-range chips and played games just fine. The battery also lasts a long time: up to 57 hours between charges with general light use, including actively using the screen for nine hours and spending five hours on 5G. That is the longest of all the Google Pixels and means it should see out two days, rivalling some of the longest-lasting handsets on the market. You likely won't notice the smaller amount of RAM compared with the Pixel 9 in daily use, but it limits some of the potential for running Google's AI systems locally on the phone. The 9a has to make do with a smaller version of Google's Gemini AI tools that can only process text on-device, precluding some of the fancy audio or image-based tools such as the popular Pixel Screenshots and Call Notes apps from the Pixel 9. All the Gemini features that use the web to process things, such as Gemini Live, work great. As do the various photo editing and image generation tools. The 9a can also produce summaries of voice recordings, but only those under about 15 minutes as there is a maximum number of words it can process in one go. The rest of the Android 15 experience matches the other Pixel phones, which makes it one of the best in the business. Even better at this price is Google's seven years of software support for its Pixels, which means you can safely use the 9a for far longer than most in the mid-range market. Google's Pixels have some of the very best cameras, which includes the 9a. It has a new main 48-megapixel camera twinned with a 13MP ultrawide, which matches that from last year's model. The main camera is capable of shooting better photos than many full-price flagship phones, and is only a smidgen behind the regular Pixel 9 in low-light scenarios, taking longer to get the shot. Photos across a range of lighting conditions are full of detail and well balanced, while the ultrawide continues to be one of the better options available. The main camera offers a solid 2x zoom that can stretch up to 8x with more obvious digital artefacts. New for the 9a is a macrophotography mode that uses the main camera and can produce some great shots, though sometimes it struggles to focus and is only sharp in the centre of the image. The selfie camera is solid on the front, while video capture is equally good. The 9a has popular Best Take and Add Me AI features from the main Pixel 9, as well as various AI editing tools in Google Photos including Magic Editor, unblur and audio magic eraser. Google says the battery should last about 1,000 full charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity. The phone is repairable by Google and third-party shops with genuine replacement parts available direct from iFixit. The Pixel 9a is made with recycled aluminium, glass, plastic and tin, accounting for at least 23% of the phone by weight. The company publishes an environmental impact report for the phone and will recycle old devices free of charge. The Google Pixel 9a costs £499 (€549/$499/A$849). For comparison, the Pixel 9 costs £799, the Samsung Galaxy A56 costs £499, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro costs £449 and the Apple iPhone 16e costs £599. The Pixel 9a shows Google knows how to make a cut-price flagship phone at a mid-range price better than any other. The combination of top-tier chip, long battery life, great screen and a class-leading camera beats phones costing a lot more. Google's quality software and long seven years of support only sweeten the deal. A few corners have been cut to bring the price down, but they aren't noticeable in day-to-day usage. Missing things such as a lack of wifi 7, satellite messaging or spatial audio, or the use of a plastic back can all be forgiven at this price. While more expensive Pixel phones offer a few more bells and whistles, it's hard to overlook the Pixel 9a. It is the best mid-range phone by a wide margin and is the handset to buy for anyone looking for a quality experience that goes the distance for less. Pros: seven years of software updates, class-leading camera, great screen, top-tier chip, very long battery life, recycled materials, good AI features, undercuts high-end phones on price. Cons: design quite generic, no optical zoom for camera, raw performance short of best, plastic back, no built-in spatial audio, no wifi 7 or satellite messaging, older Gorilla Glass 3.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
Google Pixel 9a
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. Starting at $499, the Pixel 9a is the most affordable member of Google's Pixel 9 lineup. It takes everything that's great about the $799 Pixel 9 and subtracts some nice-to-haves like mmWave 5G, reverse wireless charging, and satellite messaging. That still leaves a bright and sharp display, a powerful Tensor G4 processor, sharp cameras, Gemini AI, and a long software support window. With these flagship-level features, the Pixel 9a easily stands out as the most well-rounded handset you can buy for less than $500, earning it our Editors' Choice award for midrange Android phones. Measuring 6.1 by 2.9 by 0.4 inches (HWD) and weighing 6.6 ounces, the Pixel 9a is just a bit taller and lighter than the outgoing Pixel 8a (6.0 by 2.9 by 0.4 inches, 6.8 ounces). It's taller and thicker than the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro (starting at $999), both of which measure 6.0 by 2.8 by 0.3 inches and 7.0 ounces. Meanwhile, Apple's iPhone 16e (starting at $599) is smaller at 5.8 by 2.8 by 0.3 inches and 5.9 ounces. Google has turned half a page as far as design is concerned. The 9a is distinct from the other Pixel 9s thanks to its flat back panel that nixes the camera bar. A small black bezel surrounds the dual rear camera array, which protrudes only slightly from the surface. From all other angles, the 9a closely resembles its Pixel siblings with its flat front and flat sides. The power button and volume rocker are on the right side, while a USB-C port (v3.2), down-firing speaker, and SIM tray are on the bottom edge. The buttons are clicky with good travel. The large screen is covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and surrounded by a relatively thick bezel compared with the Gorilla Glass Victus and thin bezels of the other Pixels, but it's not distracting. The Pixel 9a doesn't support microSD cards and has no 3.5mm headphone jack. A fingerprint sensor is located under the display. More importantly, the front-facing camera near the top of the display powers facial recognition for biometric authentication that is secure enough for sensitive applications like banking. The fingerprint sensor and facial recognition worked without issue in testing. The phone's metal frame elegantly transitions into the front glass and the 81% recycled plastic back. The back panel's sandblasted finish gives it a smooth, matte look and a good grip. The Pixel 9a is available in Iris (lavender), Obsidian (black), Peony, or Porcelain (white). I received the Iris model for testing. Its purple shade is subtle and frequently appears as blue depending on the light. It's a good look, and I'm happy that Google offers affordable phones in fun colors instead of just black or white. For durability, the Pixel 9a is rated IP68, which means it can withstand water and dust, just like the other Pixel 9 models. This is an improvement over the Pixel 8a's lesser IP67 rating. Spec for spec, the Pixel 9a has the same display as the Pixel 9. It's a 6.3-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 2,424 by 1,080 pixels, a density of 422 pixels per inch, a refresh rate from 60 to 120Hz, and a maximum brightness of 1,800 nits for HDR content and 2,700 nits at its peak. It's larger and brighter than the Pixel 8a's 6.1-inch display, which reaches a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits. The 9a's bright display makes it easy to use the device outdoors, even under sunlight. Meanwhile, the iPhone 16e features a 6.1-inch screen with a resolution of 2,532 by 1,170 pixels, a fixed refresh rate of 60Hz, and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits. The Pixel 9a uses the exact same Tensor G4 processor found in the rest of the 9 series. Google says it has the same number of CPU, GPU, and NPU cores, which are all at the same clock speeds as in the pricier Pixels. It comes with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB ($499) or 256GB ($599) of storage. In Geekbench 6, which measures raw CPU Power, the 9a earned a single-core score of 1,704 and a multi-core score of 4,425. These numbers are a moderate jump from the Pixel 8a's 1,545 and 4,208 but essentially the same as the Pixel 9's 1,742 and 4,573. The iPhone 16e destroyed them all with scores of 3,441 and 8,362. On the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which measures how a phone performs general mobile tasks, the 9a scored 12,857, which is another small improvement over the 8a's 11,982. To assess graphics performance, we use the GFXBench Aztec Ruins test. The phone ran it at 68fps, which is well ahead of the 8a's 55fps and the 16e's 58.8fps. In general, the Pixel 9a is competitive with the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup, with scores that sometimes exceed even the Pro line. It's worth noting, however, that the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and 9 Pro XL all have 12GB of RAM, which might help with multitasking and some AI tasks. Check out all the Pixel 9 benchmarks below: For real-world gaming performance, we play the resource-intensive Genshin Impact. The Pixel 9a had no problem with the game, whether it was set to medium or high graphics at 60 frames per second. The gameplay and animations were smooth, with no dropped frames or slowdowns. The back of the phone becomes warm during longer gaming sessions but not hot. The Pixel 9 packs the largest battery in the entire 9 series at 5,100mAh (the 9 Pro XL comes close at 5,060mAh). Its maximum wired charging speed is 23W (up from 18W in the 8a), and it charges wirelessly at up to 7.5W. Reverse wireless charging is unavailable, though it is supported by the remaining Pixels (except for the 9 Pro Fold). In our battery rundown test, in which we stream a 1080p video over Wi-Fi with the screen at full brightness, the Pixel 9a lasted 13 hours and 15 minutes, which is a 60-minute improvement over the Pixel 8a and a 90-minute improvement over the Pixel 9. It's surprising to see the cheapest Pixel supersede its peers here. The iPhone 16e is on another level at 21 hours and 39 minutes. Google doesn't include a charger in the box. When connected to a compatible fast charger, the 9a reached 23% in 15 minutes, 47% in 30 minutes, and 100% in 1 hour and 35 minutes. That's not a record, but it's quick enough. For connectivity, the phone supports sub-6GHz 5G with C-band frequencies but not mmWave like the Pixel 8a or the rest of the 9 series, which means wireless data speeds will be limited compared with those models. Google didn't have an answer when asked why it dropped mmWave support. The phone also includes Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, dual-band GPS, and Wi-Fi 6E. The 9a can hold one physical SIM card and operate one eSIM. On T-Mobile's 5G UC network in New York City, the phone reached a maximum download speed of 384Mbps and an upload speed of 67.1Mbps. For comparison, a Pixel 9 Pro reached 412Mbps down and 44.4Mbps up in the same location. When connected to a Wi-Fi 6 access point, the Pixel 9a reached peak speeds of 441Mbps down and 5.39Mbps up. The 9 Pro hit 392Mbps down and 4.68Mbps up in the same spot. When I took the phones to the limits of my Wi-Fi network, both performed well. The 9a reached 244Mbps down and 11.2Mbps up, while the 9 Pro reached 298Mbps down and 9.59Mbps up. Unlike the Pixel 9a, the 9, 9 Pro, and 9 Pro XL all support emergency satellite messaging services and are better choices if you often travel far from terrestrial wireless networks. Call quality on the Pixel 9a is good. In a test recording, my voice sounded clear even over loud background noise. In such cases, you hear only the faintest amount of the noise underneath. To test call volume, I press a decibel meter to the earpiece with the volume all the way up, where it reached 76.4dB. I conduct speakerphone tests with the same decibel meter placed six inches away from the phone's down-firing speaker. Here, the 9a reached 77.2dB. I find volumes at or above 70dB easy to hear, and the Pixel 9a meets this threshold. To gauge media playback, I use the same six-inch test. The 9a emits sound from the earpiece and down-firing speaker. When playing Metallica's "Enter Sandman," the Pixel 9a put out 92.2dB. The lowest bass notes of The Knife's "Silent Shout" weren't easily audible. For a richer audio experience, pick up a pair of good Bluetooth headphones. The Google Pixel 9a has a 48MP camera at f/1.7 with optical image stabilization (OIS). This is a change from the 8a's 64MP f/1.89 main camera, but thanks to the 9a's larger aperture, it lets in more light than the 8a and is better at low-light photography. Google carries over the 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera from the 8a. Generally, images from the main and ultra-wide cameras are pleasing and consistent. Colors are bright, though slightly oversaturated, and photos have excellent detail. The 9a's main camera takes 12MP images thanks to pixel binning, and the resulting shots are nearly identical to the Pixel 9 Pro's. You cannot take full-resolution pictures with the default camera app; this is a feature Google limits to its Pro line. Shots from the ultra-wide camera are tonally the same as the main camera, though you'll notice some warping in the corners. The Pixel 9a and 9 don't have a telephoto camera, but the 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL do. The 9a and 9 support Google's hybrid Super Zoom, but the 9 Pro and Pro XL have superior optical chops when it comes to zooming in on faraway subjects. Like the Pixel 8a, the Pixel 9a features a 13MP f/2.2 front-facing camera. Once again, colors are a bit oversaturated and the overall image is brightened. Details are well preserved. Portrait images look good, but glasses and fine details like hair can get lost in the mix. As for video, the 9a shoots up to 4K resolution at 60fps on the rear and up to 4K30 on the front. Both cameras capture realistic color and fine details. The rear camera's OIS yields mostly smooth video, but there's some slight bumpiness here and there. Meanwhile, the front-facing camera doesn't have OIS, so be sure to steady yourself when shooting with it. Google ships the Pixel 9a with Android 15, and the phone will get OS updates, feature drops, and security fixes for seven years. This length of commitment is matched only by Samsung. The Pixel 9a shares many of the same AI-enhanced photography tools as the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro. For an in-depth look at each feature, check out my Pixel 9 Pro XL review. Here, I'll provide a general overview. Google's AI photography tools take care of unblurring images and face replacement, so group shots look great. The 9a supports Add Me, which allows the photographer to join a group photo. The camera app walks you through the steps to make things simple. Auto Frame lets the phone crop or expand your shot for a better-composed image, and Reimagine lets you easily change the background of a picture with a few taps. The Pixel 9a handles all of these duties quickly; I didn't notice any significant difference in processing time compared with the Pixel 9. These advanced features are explained in an easy-to-understand way, so you can make major edits to your photos without needing to learn much. Google's Gemini AI assistant continues to impress with its ability to see your screen or see the world through your camera. I used Gemini Live for tips on improving my photos, and it helpfully guided me through the menus to make the needed adjustments. It's great to see this level of AI capability on a sub-$500 phone.
Gulf News
20-03-2025
- Business
- Gulf News
Google launches Pixel 9a, rivaling Apple's iPhone 16e
Google Alphabet Inc.'s Google launched a redesigned version of its budget Pixel phone, upgrading the chip and battery life weeks after Apple Inc.'s lower-end iPhone 16e went on sale. The new Pixel 9a, announced Wednesday, costs $499, in line with the price of last year's Pixel 8a. That compares with the $599 starting price of the iPhone 16e, which went on sale in February and is being positioned as a lower-end alternative to the iPhone 16. The Pixel 9a will be available in stores in April. While Google's Pixel phones have won over some customers with their artificial intelligence capabilities and integration with Google services, the devices have never made a significant dent in the premium segment dominated by Apple and Samsung Electronics Co. But the lower-end products have helped the company slowly expand its overall market share, with IDC saying Google recorded its 'highest-ever smartphone volumes' in the third quarter last year. The new iPhone 16e presents Google with fresh competition in the lower-end phone space. At the current price points, the Pixel 9a device is only $100 cheaper than the 16e, with both products offering similar specifications — other than the superior camera on the Google handset. In addition to upgraded internals, the Pixel 9a brings a new design with flat edges instead of curved, matching the general look of the higher-end Pixel 9 introduced last year. It also has a flat back, removing the camera bump from prior models. The back of the phone has two cameras: a 48-megapixel main sensor and a 13-megapixel option for ultrawide photos. The main sensor's megapixels are a downgrade from the 64 megapixels on the 8a, but Google says the system has actually been improved to let in more light. It also adds a macro focus mode. The 9a has a slightly larger screen than the 8a, moving from a 6.1-inch display to a 6.3-inch one. By comparison, the iPhone 16e has a smaller 6.1-inch size. The 9a's panel can also reach 2,700 nits of brightness outdoors, compared with a 2,000-nit limit on the 8a. The battery life is now rated at 30 hours on a single charge, up from 24. With a battery saving mode, it can last as long as 100 hours, Google says, an improvement over the previous claim of 72 hours. The new model comes in black, white, light blue and pink. The 9a is being offered with the same 128 gigabytes of internal storage at the starting $499 price or 256 gigabytes of storage for $599. However, it replaces the in-house Tensor G3 processor with a new Tensor G4. Other changes include improved water and dust protection, moving from the IP67 standard to IP68. The Pixel 9a was originally scheduled to go on sale this month, but Google pushed back the release as it works through a component issue that it said is impacting a small number of units. Sign up for the Daily Briefing Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox
