Google Pixel 9a – the real deep-dive review (after May updates)

The Google Pixel 9a is the entry-level 9-series model, and while it shares many hardware similarities, it’s a very different device.

Let’s start with Google Pixel. Australia has embraced the brand and style, making it the #2 Android phone at 9% (USA 12.9% April 2025) behind Samsung at 26.4%. OPPO is #3 (2.13%) and Motorola is #4 (1.38%). Of course, 55% chose not to escape from Apple’s walled garden.

Why? We follow the market, but we can’t be definitive. It started picking up steam at the Pixel 7 in 2023, the Pixel 8 jumped to #2 in 2024 and is staying relatively stable with the Pixel 9 series.

In part, this is because Google is the inventor of Gemini and managed to explain the beginnings of AI very well. Pixel phones are seen as fun, with better cameras, more photography features, Circle to Search, and Gemini AI.

Also, but only for the tech-savvy, it invented Android, uses the pure unpolluted version, and has an amazing seven years of OS upgrades and seven years of security patches.

Yet for all its great points and market penetration, the hardware is average at best. That is not meant to be mean, but Motorola, OPPO and Samsung outflank Google hardware in almost every respect. So, on a ‘speeds and feeds’ basis, you would not look twice.

What are the main differences between the Google Pixel 9a and 9?

Let’s not forget the Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which are all upgrades.

	Google Pixel 9a	Pixel 9	Comment
	$849	$1349	9a represents good value.
Screen	pOLED 8-bit Gorilla Glass 3	AMOLED 8-bit Gorilla Glass Victus 2	While both appear the same, the 9 has a better screen. Victus 21 has higher scratch and drop resistance.
PWM	240Hz	240Hz	Not for PWM sensitive people
Processor	Google Tensor G4	Same	The 9 performs slightly better in AI tests
RAM	8GB	12GB	Google has stated that 12GB is the minimum for Google Gemini
Throttle	31%	48%	It gets hot
Google Gemini	Nano 1.0 XXS Text only	Full version 1.5	It’s a scaled-back version to fit into 8GB and only works on text. No Pixel screenshots
Wi-Fi 6E	Tri-band but limited to 1200Mbps	Limited to 2400Mbpss	1×1 MIMO versus 2×2. Less signal strength.
Phone reception	5pW	6pW	Both are only for city and suburbs use, but the 9 gets a consistently stronger signal.
Charge	23W	27W	9 charges faster
Qi Charge	7.5W	12/15W	Depends on the charger, but 9a takes twice as long
Battery	5100mAh	4700mAh	9a has a longer battery life
Sound	Uses a TAS25 amp with higher THD	Uses a CS35L41 with lower THD	9 sounds better
Build	Plastic back	Victus 2	Plastic is more durable, but Victus is more premium.
Rear Camera	48+13MP No Pro settings No HDR DXOMARK 143	50+48+ ToF sensor Pro settings HDR DXOMARK 154	9 takes better images day and night
Selfie	13MP 4K@30fps	10.5MP 4K@60fps	9 has more natural colours and better preview image accuracy.

We retested the 9 Pro XL and Fold with the May updates to ensure consistency. The results were quite an improvement over the December firmware.

When you look objectively at the differences and whether they affect you, the Google Pixel 9a comes out on top for value.

AUSTRALIAN REVIEW: Google Pixel 9a 8/128GB, SIM/eSIM, Model GTF7P

Brand	Google
Model	Google Pixel 9a
Model Number	GTF7P
RAM/Storage Base	8/128GB
Price base	$847 128GB $997 256GB Cases from $49.99 45W charger $49.99
Warranty months	24-months
Teir	Upper-mid range
Website	Product Page
From	Google Online, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Office Works. Telcos offer monthly phone repayment and mobile data plans: Optus, Telstra, Vodafone.
Country of Origin	Vietnam
Company	Google is a giant company that started with a search engine and is now one of the largest advertising platforms in the world. It is behind the Android and Chrome operating systems. Beginning with the Pixel 8, Google has made AI-enhanced phones with its Google Gemini Nano, cloud, and DeepMind technology, which is used by Samsung and others.
More	CyberShack Google news and reviews
Test date	May 2025
Ambient temp	10-20°
Release	March 2025
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	The warranty is only valid with genuine Australian stock. Wi-Fi 6E/7 requires Australian firmware for its bands. A genuine phone has the R-NZ C-Tick About Phone>Regulatory Labels and the AU warranty under About>Phone>Limited Warranty.

Test ratings

We use the following ratings: Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations), and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) for many of the items listed below. We occasionally give a Passable rating that is not as good as it should be, and a Pass+ rating to indicate it is good but does not quite meet the Exceed standard. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – yes, it is a Pixel

I am going to start with my last impression first. We complete a ‘blind’ review based solely on our test hardware and software. It is how we can find over 300 data points and analyse the results of over 70 tests. This time, I waited until the 5 May firmware update as I had heard of issues with the camera, battery life, screen auto brightness, touch screen response, some AI features (which I will address later), and some test software incompatibility.

To be charitable, I always find that you need to wait for at least two updates before the product behaves as it should. For example, with the Pixel 9, Pro, XL, and Fold, the updates have unlocked the processor’s power by as much as 10%. Phone reception has improved (slightly), and AI has just kept improving.

But back to last impressions first. Being one of the last published reviews, I have read all the major ones that came before. And you know what – most are full of BS. Some say:

• No PWM – wrong
• The GPU has ray-tracing – wrong
• No throttling – wrong
• Full Google Nano AI – wrong is Nano XXS
• The same screen as the Pixel 9 – wrong
• A superb 32-bit screen – wrong, it is a good 8-bit (RGBA x 8 = 32), not a 10-bit screen.
• Superb sound – wrong, and it is an issue with all Pixels
• Wonderful phone reception – wrong, it uses an older modem, as in the 8a.
• Ultra-fast cable and wired charging – wrong
• Better camera than the 9 – wrong, as DXOMARK shows
• USB-C 3.2 full implementation (video, audio, data, charge) – wrong

So, I was really looking forward to the cheap Pixel that got it right – wrong.

Again, not being mean to Google and not taking away from the 9a is, it’s a well-made, extremely well-marketed, average mid-range phone that Joe and Jane Average will love.

To me, however, the first impression is a smaller, black (obsidian) glass slab without the 9-series camera bar.

Screen – Pass

It is pOLED (plastic OLED), not the AMOLED supplied by Samsung for the other 9s, so we can see where some of the cost savings are. It is an 8-bit/16.7 million colour screen. Colour accuracy is good, it is very bright, and users will love it.

Our issues include:

• It has 240Hz Pulse Width Modulation with very deep modulation at that. This is not for PWM-sensitive people. Read PWM – Is your phone making you sick? OPPO and Motorola have solved PWM issues, and Google needs to.
• The photo image preview is off. Colours do not match the excellent photos.
• Banding (Typical of 8-bit screens).
• It has large bezels that are evident when you disable the sombre dark theme.
• At 100% brightness, the screen draws a lot more current, effectively reducing screen-on battery life.
• It has heaps of brightness but does not support Dolby Vision.

Summary: It’s a good pOLED screen commensurate with the price, and only the tech-snobs would tell you otherwise.

Screen Specs

Size	6.3
Type	Actua pOLED
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat with centre O-hole
Resolution	2424 x 1080
PPI	422
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	84.22% with largish bezels
Colours bits	8-bit/16.7m colours Google calls this 24-bit (3 x 8-bit RGB)
Refresh Hz, adaptive	Fixed 60 or adaptive 60/120Hz
Response 120Hz	N/A
Nits typical, test	Not disclosed. Test 100% window 824 nits.
Nits max, test	1800 HBM (Test 5% Window 1340) 2700 Peak (Test 5% window 2100)
Contrast	Infinite 1,000,000:1
sRGB	Not disclosed (Test Natural setting 100% sRGB)
DCI-P3	Not disclosed (Test 93% of 16.7m colour gamut)
Rec.2020 or other	N/A
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	2.5
HDR Level	HDR10/HLG/HDR10+ (No Dolby Vision)
SDR Upscale	No
Blue Light control
PWM if known	120Hz <50% brightness 240Hz >50% Brightness A 240Hz cycle is very low and will affect PWM-sensitive users.
Daylight readable	Yes
Always on Display	Yes
Edge display	No
Accessibility	All Android features
DRM	L1 for FHD, SDR and HDR (should be available)
Gaming	<2ms GTG
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass 3 Mohs levels 6
Comment	This is an 8-bit/16.7m colour screen, while flagships have 10-bit/1.07 billion colour screens (except for Samsung). We can see the difference between the photo and video image preview and the result. The screen does not support Dolby Vision (it should). PWM is among the most severe we have seen, and sensitive users will need to look elsewhere.

Processor – Pass

You will likely assume that because it has the same processor as the other 9s, it will perform the same – wrong.

Google designs its silicon and contracts with Samsung to make it. The Tensor G4 is loosely based on the 4nm Samsung Exynos 2400, the same Samsung modem and Mali GPU as the Pixel 8 Tensor G3.

We don’t comment on the Tensor G4 speed (or lack thereof😁) because we accept Google’s assertion that it is fast enough for AI, productivity, and content consumption. It gave us a lag-free experience expected of a premium handset.

The Pixel 9 (in brackets) outperforms the 9a by 5 to 15%. The AI differences are due to the 8GB RAM and the same NPU as the 8a. We also know that the Gemini Nano is the XXS scaled-down version with fewer features to fit the RAM.

The modem is the Samsung Exynos 5300, which is also used in the 8a. It’s strictly a city and suburbs modem.

The GPU is rather old-school and does not support ray tracing for games. Indeed, its somewhat excessive throttling/heat and lower performance mean keen gamers should look elsewhere.

Summary: Fit-for-purpose, but we are happy that Google will no longer base its Tensor on the Samsung Exynos SoC. TSMC will make the Pixel 10 SoC in Taiwan.

Type	Google Tensor G4 fabricated by Samsung Titan M2 security chip NPU (same specs as Pixel 8)
nm	4
Cores	1 x 3.1GHz, 3 x 2.6GHz, 4 x 1.95GHz
Modem	Samsung Exynos 5400c
AI TOPS OR Multi-thread Integer Operations Per Second (INOPS) GINOPS = billion	On charge Geekbench AI – last figure is rating (Pixel 9 in brackets) CPU: 1982/1946/2969 (3112) GPU: 749/885/839 (870) NNAPI: 395/4541/8020 (9031) AiTuTu: 98,135 (106,817) AI Benchmark: 1051 (1213) GFLOPSS: 14.62 (14.6) GINOPS: 19 (19.38)
AnTuTu	870,361
Geekbench 6 Single-core	1751 (1973)
Geekbench 6 multi-core	4523 (4713)
Like	Single Core SD7+ Gen 2 Multi-Core SD7+ Gen 2
GPU	Mali-G715 MP7 940MHz Ray tracing is not supported.
GPU Test
Open CL	7701 (7541)
Like	SD8+ Gen 1
Vulcan	7689 (8578)
RAM, type	8GB LPDDR5x
Storage, free, type	128GB UFS 3.1 (95GB Free)
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps sustained/peak	1450 (1140) 1910 Max (1376)
CPDT internal seq. write MBps sustained/peak	291.1 (148.3) 363.656 Max (165.32)
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	Files finds it as an OTG for cut and paste, but not as a mountable device, and will not speed test.
Comment	What a waste! A USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps interface that does not support mountable drives. It does support Alt DP audio/video/data/charging streams.

Throttle – Passable

The 9a has been firmware ‘throttled’ to overcome early heat issues. As you can see, raw power (GIPs) has been scaled back from 347,069 to 295,901, with the result that this nearly 20% performance drop brings Throttling back to 31% (9s are as high as 48%).

Again, using the same SoC does not guarantee the same performance.

Throttle test	Battery (Pixel 9 in brackets)
Max GIPS	295 901 (347,069)
Average GIPS	237 904 (248,889)
Minimum GIPS	202 988 (153,404)
% Throttle	31% (48%)
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	We ran several throttle tests, and the results were consistent. They match the rest of the Pixel 9 series. This is not a gamer’s SoC.

Comms – Pass

The results are lower than the 9s and reflect a different antenna design and 1×1 MIMO (not 2×2 as often assumed), which limits Wi-Fi 6E 6GHz to 1200Mbps. There is no MLO aggregation, either.

Slower Wi-Fi is not a big issue, but advertising it as Wi-Fi 6E when it is no faster than Wi-Fi 5 AC 5Ghz is—well—wrong.

We are also disappointed that Google refuses to adopt the full USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 audio, video, data, and charge standards and allow mountable USB/SSD storage.

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 6E Tri-Band 2.4/5/6GHz Google claims 2 x 2 MIMO, but this is 1×1 MIMO performance, with Wi-Fi 6E 6GHz band not exceeding 1200Mbps (it should at least be 2400Mbps) and nowhere near MLO at 5000Mbps.
Test 2m -dBm, Rx/Tx Mbps	-43/632 to 1201/1179 to 1201
Test 5m	-50/520-1161/1040 to 1201
Test 10m	-51/596 to 1081/962 to 1201
BT Type	5.3
GPS single, dual	Dual-band GNSS 2m accuracy. OK for in-car navigation GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS, NavIC
USB type	USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 10Mbps
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For	Screen mirror over USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 as well as Chromecast.
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes
Gyro	Yes
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer	Yes
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other
Comment	It has a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps interface and now allows Alt DP 1.4 screen mirroring. However, it does not allow mountable external SSDS, which is a real issue for vloggers and videographers.

4/5G – Pass

Samsung Exynos modems have traditionally had trouble getting higher signal strength, even in the city. But using the 5300 modem from the 8a is just money-saving.

This finds only one tower (it is not designed to look for more) and gets a maximum 4G outdoor signal of 5 picowatts. Even cheapie phones get 10-20pW.

Indoors, it’s worse, with Band 28 dropping to -100dBm and 100fW. You need to enable Wi-Fi calling over the internet for indoor use.

Summary: Good for city and suburbs with a decent strength Band 28 and Band 3.

If you live in a poor reception area, please read our readers’ experiences with Telstra Bluetick and learn how to understand the signal strength you get at home.

SIM	Single SIM and eSIM
Active	Single Active
Ringtone single, dual	Single
VoLTE	Yes
Wi-Fi calling	Yes
4G Bands	B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/14/17/18/19/20/21/26/28/32/38/39/40/41/42/66/75
Comment	All Australian and international bands
5G sub-6GHz	n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/20/26/28/38/40/41/66/75/77/78/79
Comment	All sub-6GHGz bands
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
DL/UL, ms	36.4/11.1/31ms (band 28) average
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	4G: Band 28 from -83 to -94 501.2fW to 5pW – below average 5G: no usable signal
Tower 2	No
Tower 3	No
Tower 4	No
Comment	Strictly a city and suburbs phone, where there is good tower coverage. Indoor coverage – 100fW – barely 1 bar

Battery – Pass

While we don’t deduct points for no charger inbox it is significant, as to get 23W charging, you must use its $49.99 45W charger. Or at best, you will get 9V/2A/18W and slower charging.

Qi charge is limited to 7.5W, and you can use most Qi charge stands or pads.

We applaud Google for including a recharge cycle count in its Battery Information setting.

Now for the interesting news.

After 200 cycles, the firmware adjusts the maximum voltage in stages until 1000 charge cycles to help stabilise battery performance and aging. As your battery ages, you may notice small decreases in its runtime.

Google recommends replacing the battery after 1000 cycles, but as you will see in the teardown later, that is a monumental issue. iFixit has replacement batteries for about A$100, but it really is not a DIY job.

mAh	5100mAh Now includes a recharge cycle count in Battery Information. Claim a 30-hour life.
Charger, type, supplied	23W wired (maximum 18W with most chargers)
PD, QC level	PD 3.0 PD or PPS charger will work.
Qi, wattage	7.5W
Reverse Qi or cable.	No
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)	60Hz screen
Charge % 30mins	Claim:  55% in about 30 minutes (Test 42%)
Charge 0-100%	90 minutes 140W GaN charger
Charge Qi, Using Belkin Boost Charge 15W	Over 4 hours, as it only charges at 7.5W
Charge 5V, 2A	5 hours
Video loop 50%, aeroplane mode	24 hours
PC Mark 3 battery	16 hours Accubattery 15 hours 50 minutes
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	796.3 minutes (13.27 hours) 3359 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	4 hours 43 minutes Accubattery 4 hours 21 minutes
mA Full load screen on	1750-1800mA
mA Watt idle Screen on	300-350 50% brightness 650-700 100% brightness
Estimate loss at max refresh	Tested at 60Hz. Allow a 20% reduction for 120Hz.
Estimate typical use	Google advertises 30 hours of typical use. Given its relatively high current under load, heavy users will get 4-5 hours of screen on and 10-12 hours of use. Typical users will get 15-24 hours of use.
Comment	No charger inbox

Sound hardware – Pass

The 9a uses 2 x TAS2505 2.5W mono amps with up to 10% THD (total harmonic distortion) at full volume. The rest of the 9s use 2 x 5W CSL35L41 mono amps with 1% THD at full volume. The sound quality is impacted (see next segment).

In addition, it does not decode Dolby Atmos or any spatial sound and lacks any EQ (Equaliser).

It requires an external DAC cable if using cabled earphones. On the positive side, it is reasonably loud.

Speakers	Forward-firing earpiece and bottom-firing speaker
Tuning	N/A
AMP	2 x TAS25XX 2.6W (for stereo) 10% THD Different from Pixel 9 series using 2 x 5W CS35L41 @ 1% THD
Dolby Atmos decode	No
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	No, and requires an external DAC to use analogue earphones.
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC, royalty-free aptX and HD, LDAC
Multipoint	Yes
Dolby Atmos (DA)	No, and no Spatial settings
EQ	No
Mics	Two – one for voice and one for noise reduction
Test dB
Volume max	81.8
Media (music)	79.6
Ring	80.4
Alarm	81.3
Notifications	81.2
Earpiece	57.9
Hands-free	Decent hands-free with some noise cancellation
BT headphones	Good channel separation

Sound signature – Passable

Music needs a mix of bass, mid and treble to sound good. No!

Clear voice needs a focus on 1-4kHz to make voice conversations clearer. Yes!

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Linear build to 1kHz – almost no high bass. Also choppy and clipping frequency.
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Almost nil – a long, slow build
Mid 400-1000Hz	Still slow building
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flatish
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flattish
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Steep linear decline to 10kHz
High Treble 6-10kHz	Steep linear decline to 10kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Flattens to 15kHz, then drops, followed by a slight recovery to 20kHz.
Sound Signature type	This is one of the worst music sound signatures I have listened to. No low/mid/high bassClipped and slowly building mid (no vibrancy)1- 4 kHz for clear voice is fineAlmost no significant treble.
Soundstage	There is a bias towards the bottom speaker. The sound stage is as wide as the device. DA content makes no difference at all.
Comment	If you like listening to audio or video on the speakers, buy earphones.

Build – Pass+

Foxconn’s build quality is top-draw. However, there is one issue in replacing the battery. As such, it earns 5/10 for repairability. We have a teardown video below.

Size (H X W x D)	154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9mm x 185.9g
Weight grams	185.9
Front glass	Gorilla Glass 3
Rear material	Plastic
Frame	Aluminium
IP rating	IP68
Colours	Iris Peony Porcelain Obsidian
Pen, Stylus support	No
Teardown	Very hard to remove the battery. Not a DIY job.
In the box
Charger	No
USB cable	1m USB-C to USB-C 2.0 3W cable
Buds	No
Bumper cover	No

OS – Exceed but curious

We would typically discuss AI features, as we have covered these in other documents. To be fair, those interested in AI will have read all they can before deciding to purchase. But you need to understand that 8GB of RAM significantly limits AI capabilities now and in the future.

It is critical to note that this is pure Android, which makes upgrading and transitioning from other Android phones easy—it works. Other brands using proprietary User interfaces, Google app substitutes and switching programs can make it hard to leave them.

Please ignore the Safety features – most are currently only for the USA.

Android	15
Security patch date	5 May 2025 – current
UI	Pure Android
OS upgrade policy	7 years
Security patch policy	7 years – monthly updates
Accessibility	Accessibility Hearing Aid compatible Guided Frame Magnifier Live Caption Live Transcribe & Sound Notifications TalkBack screen reader Lookout Reading Mode Sound Amplifier & Conversation mode Camera Switches Voice Access Real-time text
Other	Safety – some are US-only at present Emergency SOS Crisis Alerts Car Crash Detection Safety Check Emergency Location Service Emergency contacts and medical info Android Earthquake Alerts System Theft protection
Comment	Pure Android and the best upgrade policy, bar none.
Security
Fingerprint sensor location, type	Optical under glass
Face ID	Secure Face Unlock
Other	Tensor M2 Chip
Comment	VPN by Google One at no extra cost End-to-end security designed by Google Multi-layer hardware security: Tensor security core, Titan M2 security chip and Trusty (Trusted Execution Environment) Seven years of OS, security and Feature Drop updates from launch Anti-malware and anti-phishing protection, including support for passkeys Automatic security checks and privacy controls with Security and Privacy Hub Camera and mic toggles Private Compute Core Android System Intelligence Android Messages end-to-end encryption and Android backup encryption Learn more at g.co/pixel/security and g.co/pixel/certifications.

Google Pixel 9a rear camera – Pass+

Our review is a point-and-shoot with all settings at default, which is how Joe and Jane Average take photos. If you want a more detailed photography review, head here.

This is the main difference between the rest of the 9s (in brackets). The 9 Pro and Fold also have telephoto sensors.

It has a 48MP (50MP) sensor that bins to 12MP (12.5MP) and a 13MP (50MP) Ultrawide. It is also missing the ToF (Time of Flight) distance sensor used to measure depth accurately.

AI-wise, Pixel has always done more with less. Its computational photography produces great results in most conditions. It gives you a pleasing picture rather than necessarily the real thing, and users love that.

Without a depth sensor, it uses AI to identify the foreground subject in a bokeh photo. Some of the ‘outlines’ are a little fuzzy, but you can’t beat the overall image appeal.

 DXOMARK has analysed the Google Pixel 9a and awarded it 143 points. That is pretty good company between the Samsung S24/25 Ultra and iPhone 15. The top score goes to the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, at 158, with the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max at 157.

You need to know that it has an 8X digital zoom, no auto HDR, and auto macro mode is hit and miss.

Google Pixel 9a test shots

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	48MP bins to 12MP
Sensor	50MP Samsung GN8 cropped to 48MP
Focus	Quad PD Dual Pixel
f-stop	1.7
um	.8 bins to 1.6
FOV° (stated, actual)	82
Stabilisation	Gyro EIS and OIS
Zoom	8X
Rear 2	Ultrawide
MP	13MP
Sensor	Sony IMX712
Focus	PDAF
f-stop	2.2
um	1.12
FOV (stated, actual)	120
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Special	Missing Pro setting DCI-P3 for photos or videos
Video max	4K@60fps 4K@30fps HDR stereo recording
Flash	Single
Auto-HDR	No
	No Pro settings Photo Portrait Night Sight Panorama Add Me Long exposure HDR Astrography Google Photos editing via the cloud
QR code reader	Yes
Night mode	Yes
DXO Mark	DXOMARK camera test   Rank 143 Pro Accurate exposure and good highlight retention Fairly neutral white balance and nice colours in most test conditions Good rendering of fine detail in daylight and indoors, as well as in macro mode Con Lack of detail in very low-light scenes Occasional dynamic range instabilities across consecutive shots Noise reduction instabilities across consecutive shots Depth estimation artifacts in bokeh shots

Google Pixel 9a front camera – Pass

It has gone for a straight 13MP sensor without binning. The 9 has a 10MP and the 9 Pro has a 42MP sensor with 10.5MP.

Google AI tries hard to match skin tones and be politically correct. It largely succeeds.

It has quite a wide angle, so it’s perfect for small group selfies.

Front	Selfie
MP	13MP
Sensor	Sony IMX712
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.2
um	1.12
FOV (stated, actual)	96.1
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen Fill
Zoom	No
Video max	4K@60fps
Features
Comment

CyberShack’s view: Google Pixel 9a—This review is the only one to objectively point out its strengths and weaknesses

First, a caveat—we are not so focused on speeds and feeds for this review, as this is, as Google asserts, fine for everyday use and basic AI. What basic AI means in the future is another story, as 8GB will limit what this can do despite 7 OS upgrades.

I have also been using the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and Fold for the past few weeks to compare their experiences, and I have to say it has been a pleasure. I am really beginning to appreciate pure Android and the ability to quickly and seamlessly swap phones because of Android 15’s transfer functions.

Back to the phone. It gets a buy recommendation provided you are a city/suburbs dweller – the Samsung 5G modem is its Achilles heel.

Enthusiasts and pro users will value the knowledge about USB-C 3.2 and a few operational issues that widen the capability gap between it and the rest of the 9s.

Competition

At $847 with 8/128GB and a dual camera sensor, it is outclassed by the Nothing (3a) and (3a) Pro – class-leading mid-rangers. It is extremely well-featured with 12/256GB, Qualcomm SD7 Gen 3 (better phone reception), and a 50+50+8MP camera with a telephoto lens. It lacks Google’s 2+7+7 warranty/OS/patch, but it’s kicking serious goals.

The Pixel 9 is currently on discount at $997 (usually $1265), and it would be a good step up for $150.

At $999, the OPPO Reno 13 Pro also presents compelling features and value. OPPO Reno 13-series – the right one for you

Google Pixel 9a Rating

Our ratings are based on a strict and sometimes unforgiving points system. Interestingly, it scores 79, the same as the Pixel 8a and 9 and one point behind the Pixel 9 Pro, Pro XL and Fold (at 81).

Where it loses points is for phone reception (fine for city and suburbs), no charger inbox (we did not deduct for that), 8GB is not for full AI or futureproof for AI (we will start to see 16 and 24GB phones soon) and it still has 128GB where most in this category are 12/256 or even 512GB.

So, we ask you to be more forgiving. It probably deserves more points for ‘trying’ and largely succeeding as a phone for the masses.

Features	80
	This is hard. As a smartphone, it rates below other flagships. As an AI phone, it gains some points, but the question is, will you use these enough to warrant purchasing this over another flagship?
Value	80
	Ditto to Features – it does not stack up on speeds and feeds.
Performance	75
	The Tensor G4 throttles badly. The Qualcomm SD8 Gen 1/2 is 40-60% faster.
Ease of Use	80
	It’s a two-edged sword. Tech-savvy users will try the AI camera features, but I suspect most will simply point and shoot. It is hard to beat the 2+7+7 warranty, OS upgrade and security patches.
Design	80
	I don’t mind Google styling – it is different in a sea of glass slabs.
Rating out of 100	79
Final comment	While it is an evolution of the Pixel 8a, it is more about the AI camera features and Google marketing. Regrettably, it is not a class leader but more of a good phone for the masses.

Pro
1	Great point-and-shoot camera with AI features if you need them.
2	Bright screen
3	Raises the bar on OS and security patch updates
4	Regular feature drops add value.
5	Google Gemini has potential.
Con
1	Camera preview is off due to the 8-bit screen.
2	Throttles and 8GB is too tight for full AI.
3	Sound is not for music.
4	Battery life is not as good as claimed.
5	Does not implement USB-C 3.2 Gen2 external mountable SSD support.