The problem with Google’s Pixel 9a

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Google’s Pixel 9a is one heck of a device.

I’ve had the latest Pixel gizmo in my man-claws for a couple o’ weeks now, thanks to a loaner review unit provided by Google. You can find plenty of piece-by-piece reviews out on the web if you’re interested, but the short version is that using the Pixel 9a by and large feels like using any other recent Pixel phone — with the same delightfully unmuddled Android experience, the same smart calling enhancements and other thoughtful features, and the same exceptional camera setup (broadly speaking).

Now, of course, what you get with a $500 midrange phone like the Pixel 9a isn’t identical to what you get with Google’s top-of-the-line Pixel 9 flagships. The regular Pixel 9 phones have more powerful processors, more capable cameras, and less prominent bezels around their displays — along with a somewhat more premium feel, in general. But, truthfully, outside of the presence of a telephoto zoom lens on the standard 9 models, we’re talkin’ about the types of differences that an average Android-appreciating animal would never really notice, even if that sort of stuff might mean something to the true tech nerds among us.

The Pixel 9a also lacks some of its higher-end siblings’ AI capabilities, but — sorry, Google — most of that will be of little to no practical consequence for most of us. The only thing I actually miss is the Pixel 9’s barely-mentioned system for setting simple reminders around screenshots, which I’ve really come to appreciate and rely on (but which you can emulate on any Android phone, with a little creative thinking).

Critically, the Pixel 9a follows the lead of its predecessor and includes seven full years of near-instant Android operating system updates, monthly security patches, and quarterly feature drop rollouts — something that matters much more than most casual phone shoppers realize and that no other Android device-maker comes close to matching in the same consistently reliable way.

So, yeah: The 9a is quite a device, to say the least — and at $500, it offers a commendable long-term value. And yet, in spite of all of that, it’s tough to wrap my head around who, exactly, would be well-advised to buy it.

Let me explain.

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The Pixel “a” position

In order to understand why the Pixel 9a is such a puzzling proposition, we need to zoom out a little to remember how and why the Pixel “a”-line actually came into existence in the first place.

The first Pixel “a” phone launched a whopping seven years ago, way back in the prehistoric time of 2018. Back then, the Pixel 3a was a decidedly cheaper-feeling phone, with all sorts of surface-level downgrades from its Pixel 3 sister — and with a $400 price that was half the regular Pixel 3’s $800 starting cost.

With the following year’s Pixel 4a follow-up, the phone got even more affordable — as did the gulf in cost between it and its flagship equivalent: The 4a sold for $350, while the regular Pixel 4 kept the same $800 price.

From there, things started getting murky. 2021’s Pixel 5a jumped up to $450, while the regular Pixel 5 dropped down, somewhat strangely, to $700. It was a weird year, and the weirdness only got more extreme with the next smartphone cycle — when the Pixel “a” option stayed at $450 and the flagship Pixel 6 fell to $600, creating just a $150 difference between the two options.

Things have fluctuated further in the time since then, but you get the idea: Google’s Pixel “a”-series was originally positioned as a more affordable entry point to the Pixel experience. And over time, it’s grown closer and closer in cost to the higher-end, compromise-free flagship path while also growing more premium and shedding many of its early asterisks. This year in particular, that puts the Pixel “a” series in a really interesting place.

Officially, the Pixel 9 starts at $800 while the 9a sells for $500. But realistically, the higher-end Pixel is often as sale for as little as $549, as it was in certain places just last week. As of this writing, the regular 9 is listed for $649 on Amazon and $700 at Best Buy (which also will typically do a price match, if you ask).

And that makes it tricky to know what, exactly, to make of the Pixel 9a in the grand scheme of things.

Google’s Pixel pricing puzzle

If you look back over the 7,792 years I’ve been obsessing over this area, you’ll see that my typical stance has been that the Pixel “a” phones are usually the most advisable options for most people — those who want an exceptional all-around Android experience, including near-instant ongoing software updates for a full seven years, but don’t care enough about the finer points (the most premium materials, the absolute best camera setup imaginable, and so on) to justify the added expense of the top-of-the-line alternative.

But when the difference between the two tiers is 50 bucks? Even a hundred — or $150? At a certain point, if you can justify the relatively small contrast in cost, it seems almost silly not to go with the best of the best.

If the Pixel 9a were still priced around $350 to $400, as those earlier midrange models were — or if we lived in a world where the regular Pixel 9 weren’t so frequently on such significant sales — the 9a would be a no-brainer. Like before, it’d be the best entry point into the most compelling all-around Android experience, particularly for anyone focused on value, working with a limited budget, or just not especially interested in the top-of-the-line niceties some of us appreciate.

As it stands now, though, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher, in spite of being a stellar-seeming phone and arguably still the best all-around Android experience you can buy at its price.

Google’s Pixel 9a, in all of its available color options.Google

Plain and simple, Google’s gotten itself into an awkward place with its current Pixel pricing puzzle. The entire point and appeal of the Pixel “a” series has always been its value and the quality of experience it provides at that midrange price — particularly when you consider the software support it’ll continue to receive for a full seven years, when other phones in its tier will be lucky to see a couple clunky updates many months late.

That’s still true, technically, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Pixel 9a in a vacuum — or for anyone who’s looking to spend $500 and not a penny more.

But when you can pay as little as 50 bucks more to get the superior Pixel 9, particularly for professional purposes, the 9a loses much of the sheen that sets it apart and defines its place in the present Pixel pack.

So what do I think about the Pixel 9a? I think it’s a fantastic device — I really do. And I think it’s hands-down the best Android experience you can get for $500. 

But I also think it’s a tough phone to wholeheartedly get behind when it’s so tantalizingly close in price to a similar model with even more power, poise, and polish.

More than anything, I think Google needs to figure out what, exactly, it wants its Pixel “a” line to be — or maybe just to remember what an incredible option it can represent when the pricing makes sense and the midrange model’s position isn’t so mysteriously muddled.

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