Google Pixel 9a Is Missing a Couple of Pixel AI Features
Google’s budget phone for the masses, the Pixel 9a , will cost $499 when it launches in April. That’s a full $100 less than the iPhone 16e and $300 less than the Pixel 9. Despite this, the 9a has many of the same features as the Pixel 9. It’s powered by the same Tensor G4 chip and promises to implement much of the Pixel 9’s AI suite.
Most, but not all. Ars Technica reports that the Pixel 9a will be missing some important AI features at launch. This is because the Pixel 9a has 8GB of RAM, the Pixel 9 has 12GB of RAM, and the Pixel 9 Pro models have 16GB of RAM.
While the Pixel 9a comes with a Gemini Nano on the device, Ars Technica has confirmed to Google that it will use the Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS (“very very small”) model. This is the company’s lightest model available and powers the Pixel 8. By comparison, all other Pixel 9 series phones use the Gemini Nano XS (super small) model.
While you can still use Gemini AI on the Pixel 9a using the power button, the limitation on the XXS model means it won’t have some of the Pixel line’s AI features. 8GB of RAM is not enough to run the Gemini AI models in the background, and the XXS model only runs text.
Because it can’t run in the background and can’t process images, it can’t support features like the Pixel Screenshots app , which requires image processing in the background. It also won’t support call notes, a feature that uses audio analysis to provide on-device summaries of phone conversations using artificial intelligence. It’s also possible that the recently announced spam detection feature in the Pixel lineup might not be available on the Pixel 9a, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Luckily, the Recorder app will still work because it first creates a transcript (not using Gemini AI) and then uses AI to transcribe the text, which the Pixel 9a can do.
That’s all we know for now. More details about what works and what doesn’t won’t be available until the Pixel 9a ships sometime in April. With the launch of the Pixel 9a, the gap between the flagship Pixel and the budget Pixel is widening. Fortunately, it is currently limited to artificial intelligence features. If you don’t intend to use these in-device AI features, you won’t find it difficult.