Why the Pixel 9a Is Still the Best Google Phone for Most People
Late last month, Google released the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro . These are the latest major releases in the Android world, which may prove more significant given the muted reaction to the iPhone 17 in some corners of the internet . But even if you’re considering upgrading to a new operating system, I wouldn’t recommend either version of the Pixel 10 as your first choice.
Instead, I think the Pixel 9a is, hands down, the best Google phone for just about everyone. It’s technically called a Pixel 9, but it’s also Google’s newest budget version, so it’s current-generation like the rest. And while the company has made some concessions to get the price down, they’re fairly minor, but the device does have some unique selling points.
You Don’t Need Pixel 10 AI
“What about all those cool new AI features on the Pixel 10?” you ask. I’ve tried both the base model Pixel 10 and the Pixel 10 Pro, and here’s the truth: You don’t need them.
Google’s Pixel 10 series announcement put a premium on AI, and the search giant is indeed ahead of Apple and other smartphone makers in this area. But even with that head start, it’s clearly starting to lose ground. Existing AI features like the Gemini assistant and Screenshots app are available on the Pixel 9, but most of the Pixel 10 exclusives are focused on the camera app, and I don’t think most users will stick with them for long.
Case in point: 100x zoom . This Pixel 10 Pro-exclusive feature seems convenient at first glance, supposedly letting you zoom in 100 times while still getting high-res photos. But it really just uses the same blurry digital zoom as other phones, then runs your shots through AI to try to fix them. It’s not really a reason to buy a Pixel 10 Pro — you can now get a similar result by simply posting a photo to the free, AI-powered browser-based image generator Gemini as a prompt — and it often gave me photos with dreamy, unrealistic looks that I wouldn’t be comfortable posting. Just look at what it did to my beloved Chrysler Building, and ask yourself if you’d want to take a photo of a famous landmark only to get a half-melted, bizarre version instead. If you ask me, it’s firmly in the realm of novelty at best.
I had similar reactions to other big AI camera developments this year, like using Gemini to edit photos or having AI tell you how to compose a shot. Gemini’s image editing, which lets you use natural language to edit photos, is convenient, but it also takes away control and doesn’t show you whether it’s doing a simple operation like cropping or something more complex like generative fill. You can check the metadata of your new photo to be sure, but frankly, the results aren’t good enough to waste time on.
The same can be said for Camera Coach, which uses AI to help you take photos. The benefit of this feature is that it doesn’t add AI to your photos, but the advice it gave me was rarely more than “make sure your subject is in the frame” and “follow the grid that previous-generation Pixels might have already mapped to your phone.” It’s mostly unobtrusive — even with Camera Coach, you can take the final shot at any time — but it’s so inconsequential that I doubt most people will bother downloading it at all.
To Google’s credit, there are a few non-camera AI additions that feel more convenient, like Magic Cue and Voice Translate. But you’re unlikely to encounter them very often. Magic Cue will use AI to pull information from Google apps like Gmail and display it in other Google apps when it might be important, like during a phone call. It might show you your boarding pass for an upcoming flight while you’re calling to check it, for example. But the feature doesn’t work with third-party apps, and since that’s how I use my phone most of the time, I didn’t see any pop-ups for the feature while testing the Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro.
I also couldn’t get Voice Translate to work during my testing. This feature uses AI to translate both your voice and the other person’s voice if you’re speaking to each other in different languages. The voice cloning sounded pretty impressive during the Made by Google demo . It also requires both people on the phone to have a Pixel 10, and since you can’t count on having a bunch of friends who speak different languages and use the same phone, this will be little more than a tech demo for most people.
In essence, Google’s new AI is a high-flyer, but its features are either so niche or so unreliable that they’re of little interest to buyers outside of a very specific category of users. It’s fun to play with, sure, but is it worth $300-$500?
The camera is thinner and not much weaker
But even if the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro aren’t worth it for their AI alone, the hardware still gets an advantage, right? Well, in the case of the base Pixel 10, it even got a little worse in one particular area, coming closer to the Pixel 9a.
One of the things I dislike most about Google Pixel phones is the camera bar, which is a long horizontal ridge that runs the entire top width of the device. It houses the camera sensor, but I personally would have preferred a weaker camera that was flush with the body.
With the Pixel 9a, Google has granted me my wish. This phone is the first Pixel in a long time to ditch the camera panel, replacing it with a single, much thinner block in the corner of the device, and that’s it. Considering that the camera panel has returned on both the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro, that alone makes the Pixel 9a a worthy alternative.
And the best part? The Pixel 9a’s smaller camera is actually every bit as good as the base Pixel 10’s. It just doesn’t have the lens.
Yes, Google added a new telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom to the Pixel 10, but it also reduced the ultra-wide lens’ resolution from 48MP to 13MP, matching the Pixel 9a’s. And since both phones have the same main lens, that means you’re not missing out on anything by choosing Google’s budget phone for anything other than zoomed-in shots.
To be fair, the Pixel 10 Pro is more powerful than both phones in every way, but I’d argue that for most users, it’s overkill. If you rarely or never use the camera’s zoom lens, whether to zoom in or out, you’ll get similar results on all three devices. So why pay more? Especially considering the Pixel 9a’s camera is much sleeker. If you’re an occasional photo taker, it can give you the same results while taking up less space. A stealth improvement.
Better battery life and smooth OLED display
While the Pixel 9a’s camera is arguably on par with the more expensive Pixel 10, it’s battery life that’s superior. It packs a 5,100mAh battery, which is significantly larger than the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro. In simpler terms, Google promises 30 hours of battery life for the 9a, but only 24 hours for both Pixel 10 models.
This borne out in my testing. While the Pixel 10 ran out of juice after about 18 hours of video playback at 50% brightness (my standard test), the Pixel 9a was only slightly less than 50% charged in the same time frame. And it was closer to half full when the Pixel 10 Pro ran out of juice after 16 hours of playback. I haven’t had a chance to spend a full day on this device yet, but based on my testing, that’s how long it’ll last, easily putting the other Pixels to shame.
Sure, 50% brightness on the Pixel 9a isn’t as bright as other phones, as peak brightness is only 2,700 nits versus 3,000 nits on the Pixel 10 and 3,300 nits on the Pixel 10 Pro. But 2,700 nits is still plenty bright — the iPhone 16 maxes out at 2,000 nits. The display is on par with the Pixel 9a in every other way: It’s the same size (6.3 inches) and resolution (1080 x 2424) as the Pixel 10, and Smooth Display technology enables a responsive 120Hz refresh rate. It’s even an OLED display, so you’re not compromising on anything for the cheaper price.
Half the price of the Pixel 10 Pro
Perhaps the biggest reason to choose the Pixel 9a over the Pixel 10 is the same reason it was worth it compared to other Pixel 9s : it’s just cheaper.
While the Pixel 10 starts at $799 and the Pixel 10 Pro starts at $999 , the Pixel 9a starts at just $500 . Considering how close it is to even Google’s current-generation flagships, that’s a heck of a deal. And that’s without even cutting into storage, as both the Pixel 9a and all Pixel 10 Pro models start with 128GB. The cost to expand storage here is also the same — just a $100 premium — though the Pixel 10 Pro uniquely offers capacity beyond 256GB.
I’ll miss the Pixelsnap, but the Pixel 10a is probably coming in a few months.
I’ve been pretty happy with the Pixel 9a so far, but I have to make one concession: it doesn’t have PixelSnap, and I’m going to miss that.
While MagSafe has been available on iPhone since the iPhone 12, the Pixel only got its own version this year. Pixelsnap technology allows you to magnetically connect your phone to compatible accessories and chargers without the need for cables or metal adhesive rings.
Honestly, it’s convenient. It supports Qi2 charging for faster wireless charging, and while Google has its own official Pixelsnap accessories , it also worked great with my Belkin iPhone charger, as well as a third-party MagSafe wallet I bought for my iPhone.
I’d give up that convenience by choosing the Pixel 9a over the Pixel 10, but I’m not sure I’d miss it enough to spend another $300-$500. If there’s one reason to buy the Pixel 10 over the Pixel 9a, I think this is it.
What about the Pixel 10a?
Like the 9a, Google will likely release a budget version of the Pixel 10 series, at which point this article will likely become irrelevant. Of course, the Pixelsnap isn’t guaranteed, but given how close the 9a is to the 10, I’m sure it will be there — it’ll be an easy way to differentiate the 10a from its predecessor.
But the Pixel 9a only came out in April of this year, and you can bet the Pixel 10a will follow the same pattern. That means we’ll be waiting more than six months, and frankly, I don’t like making too many predictions. Technology is always on the horizon, but we have to live in the present when making purchasing decisions. And for now, the Pixel 9a is still the best Google phone for most people.