Pixel 9a for 549 euros: Google’s flagship smartphone has the longest lifespan

Pixel 9a for €549: Google’s flagship smartphone has the longest shelf life

Pixel 9a for €549: Google’s flagship smartphone has the longest shelf life

Not only in May, but already today, Google unveiled the new entry in the current Pixel series with the Pixel 9A at an unchanged price of €549. This time, Google only partially follows the design of the more expensive models; the cameras almost disappear into the housing. The battery is larger than any other Pixel 9.

The price remains at €549

The Pixel 9a can now be pre-ordered from Google at the same price of €549 with 128 GB or €609 with 256 GB of storage in the colors Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, and Peony. The launch was originally scheduled for March 26, but shortly before the announcement, Google needed to “investigate an issue affecting a small number of devices” and therefore delayed the launch until April. However, there is still no specific April date. As with all Pixel devices, the smartphone comes with a seven-year Android update guarantee, feature drops, and security patches from the start of sales.

Android 15 with lots of Google Gemini

The Pixel 9a is available in Peony, Porcelain, Iris, and Obsidian. Image 1 of 6

Flat design with symmetrical edges

The Pixel 9a is a standout in terms of design. It shares features like the flat aluminum frame and the symmetrical edge OLED display, but the back can be done without the camera from the Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro (XL). Instead, Google has managed to fit both cameras into the housing; only a small lip protrudes minimally.

IP68 protection against dust and water

At 73.3 × 154.7 × 8.90 mm, the dimensions are almost identical to those of the predecessor, the Pixel 8A. The Pixel 9a still had a more compact and practical design due to the removal of the camera. The aluminum frame in the same color as the housing created a high-quality appearance. The matte plastic back prevents fingerprints, while Gorilla Glass 3 is supposed to protect the entire front and is IP68 certified.

Lighter 6.3-inch OLED display

This time, the OLED display reaches a slightly larger 6.3 instead of 6.1 inches with 1,080 x 2,424 pixels and a refresh rate of 60 to 120 Hz. The cheaper model has 1,800 cd/m² for the full screen and 2,700 instead of 2,000 cd/m² for the higher-end Pixel 9 variants. The increased brightness in Google’s Berlin office has always ensured good readability in photo lighting. The Pixel 8a’s “chin” belongs to the new edition, but the symmetrical panel border goes hand in hand with fairly wide bezels in the lower price range.

Tensor G4 as in the flagships

On par with the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro (XL) is the new processor, where with the Tensor G4, the same chip absorbs power regardless of the smartphone’s price. In addition to the increased CPU and GPU performance, the SOC offers expanded AI capabilities for Google’s faster TPU. It also features a newer, more efficient modem from Samsung, whose foundry division produces the chip in 4nm. The 8GB LPDDR5X and memory configurations with 128GB and 256GB are available.

The OLED display grows to 6.3 inches

The OLED display grows to 6.3 inches Figure 1 of 3

The TPU is relevant, among other things, in photo functions, for example, with up to eight times “Super Res Zoom” on the main sensor or by removing and adding people. The Pixel 9A also adopts features such as the Night Sight mode for panoramic photos, which offered significantly better quality in more expensive models.

The dual camera is more compact than last year.

The camera hardware itself is identical to the Pixel 8a’s dual lenses this year, except that the cameras disappear almost completely into the chassis this time around. As Google explained at the preview date, the two discreetly integrated cameras were prioritized from the very beginning during development, and the other components were adapted differently in the smartphone.

However, a smaller sensor for the main camera also contributes to the compact design, which this time combines 48 MP at 1/2 inch instead of 64 MP at 1/1.73 inch. Google still promises better recordings than with the Pixel 8a and offers users a more open front panel at f/1.7 instead of f/1.89. The second camera for ultra-wide angle shots remains identical to the Pixel 8a at 13 MP and f/2.2. There’s still no autofocus for macro shots for this camera, for good reason. Instead, Google reduced the main camera’s minimum focusing distance to 5 cm, so it can be better used for macro photography.

Pixel 9a and Pixel 9 Pro XL cameras compared

Pixel 9a and Pixel 9 Pro XL cameras compared (image 1 of 3)

The largest battery of any Pixel 9 smartphone

Google prefers to publish the battery capacity, which is higher than any other current Pixel smartphone at 5,100 mAh; even in the Pixel 9 Pro XL, it’s “only” 5,060 mAh. From “more than 24 hours” as the official runtime for the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and its direct predecessor, the Pixel 8A, this increases to 30 hours in the Pixel 9A. Using Extreme Power Saving Mode, according to Google, as with all Pixel 9s, up to 100 hours are possible, while the Pixel 8A achieved a maximum of 72 hours.

Faster and Wireless Charging

While charging on the Pixel 8A was still possible with 18 watts using Google’s 30-watt power supply, the manufacturer specifies up to 23 watts with its own 45-watt power supply. Google continues to support wireless charging with up to 7.5 watts. Technical data of Google Pixel 9A
Google Pixel 9a Google Pixel 5Google Pixel 5agoogle Pixel 6google Pixel 6 Progoogle Pixel 6agoogle Pixel 7Google Pixel 7 Progoogle Pixel 7a ✔google pixel 8google pixel 8 PROGOOGLE PIXEL 8A ✔GOOGLE Pixel 9google Pixel 9 Pixel 9a ✔ Google Pixel 8a Google Pixel 5Google Pixel 5agoogle Pixel 6GOOGLE Pixel 6 Progoogle Pixel 6agoogle Pixel 7 Google Pixel 7 Pro Google Pixel 7A ✔ Google Pixel 8 Google Pixel 8 PROGOOGLE PIXEL 8A ✔ GOOGLE 9 Pro Xl Google Pixel 9A ✔ Google Pixel 7a Google Pixel 5 Google Pixel 5a Google Pixel 6 Google Pixel 6 Pro Google Pixel 6a Google Pixel 7 Google Pixel 7 Pro ✔Google Pixel 8Google Pixel 8 ProGoogle Pixel 9 Pro XLGoogle Pixel 9A ✔ Software:
(at publication) Android 15.0 Android 14.0 Android 13.0 Display: 6.30 inches, 1080 × 2424
421 PPI, 120 Hz
OLED, HDR, Gorilla Glass 3 6.10 inches, 1080 × 2400
431 PPI, 120 Hz
OLED, HDR, Gorilla Glass 3 6.10 inches, 1080 × 2400
431 PPI, 90 Hz
OLED, HDR, Gorilla Glass 3 Operation: Touch, fingerprint sensor, FACE SCANNER SOC: Google Tensor G4
1 × cortex-x4, 3.10 GHz
3 × cortex-a720, 2.60 GHz
4 × cortex-a520, 1.92 GHz
4nm, 64-bit Google Tensor G3
1 × cortex-x3, 2.91 GHz
4 × cortex-a715, 2.37 GHz
4 × cortex-a510r, 1.70 GHz
4nm, 64-bit Google Tensor G2
2 × cortex-x1, 2.85 GHz
2 × cortex-a78, 2.35 GHz
4 × cortex-a55, 1.80 GHz
5nm, 64-bit GPU: Mali-G715 MP7
940 MHz Mali-G715 MP7
890 MHz Mali-G710 MP7
848 MHz RAM: 8,192 MB
LPDDR5X 8,192 MB
LPDDR5 Memory: 128/256 GB 128/256 GB 128 GB 1. Camera: 48.0 MP, 2160p
LED, f/1.70, AF, OIS 64.0 MP, 2160p
LED, f/1.89, AF, OIS 2. Camera: 13.0 MP, f/2.20 3. Camera: No 4. Camera: No 5. Camera: No 1. Front Camera: 13.0 MP, 2160p
Display Flash, f/2.20 2. Front Camera: No GSM: GPRS + Edge UMTS: HSPA +
↓ 42.2 ↑ 5.76 Mbps LTE: Advanced Pro 5G: NSA / SA WLAN: 802.11 A/B/G/N/AC/AX
5.3 Orthung: A-GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo, Qziss, Navic A-GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS Weitere: USB-C 5,100 MAH, 23.0 W
Firmly installed and wireless charging 4,492 mAh, 18.0 W
Firmly installed and wireless charging 4,385 mAh, 18.0 W

Firmly installed wireless charging size (W × H × D): 73.3 × 154.7 × 8.90 mm 72.7 × 8.90 mm 72.9 × 152.4 × 9.00 mm Protection class: IP68 IP67 Weight: 186 g 188 g 194 g Price: €549 / from €449 from €306

Techastuce received information about this item from Google under NDA. The only requirement was the earliest possible publication date.