Why I recommend this $400 Google Pixel over competing models from Samsung and OnePlus

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Google Pixel 9a is the newest midrange telephone from the corporate and retails for $499.
• It contains a new Tensor G4 chip, useful AI instruments, an improved most important digicam, and the biggest battery of any Pixel.
• You may need to accept some finances trade-offs, together with the shortage of a telephoto lens and slower charging speeds.

extra shopping for decisions

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I am inclined to suppose that the oldsters behind the Google Pixel 9a are from the long run as a result of if there’s one factor that the telephone will get proper, it is timing.

The newest Pixel 9a retails for $499, making it a stellar telephone funding in right this moment’s — and the foreseeable future’s — unpredictable financial system. In fact, the recent tariff news I have been tiptoeing via has been in discussions since January.

Additionally: This Pixel 10 rumor just gave Google an edge over Samsung and OnePlus

However with the newest wave of bulletins, it is clear that the buyer electronics market is about to enter a full-blown frenzy, as manufacturers brace for impression, costs teeter on the sting, and buyers rush to lock in worth earlier than the storm really hits.

Which means units just like the Pixel 9a — ones that promise long-term advantages at a comparatively reasonably priced value — matter greater than ever. The timing alone makes the Pixel 9a one of the crucial vital units of 2025, even when it wasn’t meant to be when first unveiled.

Macroeconomics 101 apart, this is what it is advisable to know concerning the Pixel 9a I have been driving each day for a number of months now, together with who can purchase it and what makes it price upgrading to. 

I will admit: initially, I wasn’t offered on the Pixel 9a’s new {hardware} and design. The bezels are noticeably thick by right this moment’s requirements – even when in comparison with equally priced units just like the $459 Nothing Phone 3a Pro and $399 Samsung Galaxy A36 5G – and eradicating the Pixel-famous digicam bar was a alternative.

In principle, stripping down the again of the telephone makes the Pixel more durable to tell apart in a sea of glass sandwiches. In apply, this has two advantages: hand placement and decreased mud accumulation. Whereas I might beforehand tuck my index finger beneath the digicam bar to maintain the telephone upheld, not having the bodily obstruction now means I can maintain the telephone far more freely.

Additionally: I changed 8 settings on my Pixel phone to significantly improve the battery life

Why is that this tech nerd geeking out about ergonomics? As a result of the Pixel 9a’s energy button is pretty excessive, hand placement is one facet you do not need to restrict your self to.

That very same energy button prompts Gemini, which replaces Google Assistant on the Pixel 9a and may now fulfill extra complicated duties, together with multimodal, vision-based help.

If there’s one factor we are able to all agree on, it is that Pixel phones are infamous for gathering mud between the crevices of the digicam bar. That is very true when you have a case outfitted, which additional traps particles and particles close to the digicam bar.

The Pixel 9a has none of these issues, sustaining a clear aesthetic after virtually a month of going out and in of jean pockets, my backpack, and a gadget-filled shoulder bag.

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I am additionally a fan of the brighter show, which now ramps as much as 2,700 nits of peak brightness versus the Pixel 8a’s 2,000 nits. The improved luminance was noticeable after I put the 2 Pixel telephones via my notorious torture take a look at — aka studying text-heavy webpages from the window seat of a bridge-crossing commuter bus. Very scientific, I do know. 

However most finish customers will recognize the practicality of such upgrades, and the Pixel 9a delivers relating to consuming content material below the springtime solar. 

The day-to-day advantages prolong to the processing energy of the Pixel 9a, which options the identical Tensor G4 chipset because the soon-to-be-outdated Pixel 9 collection fashions, together with the $1,099 Pixel 9 Pro XL and $1,799 Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Paired with 8GB of RAM, right this moment’s minimal quantity of reminiscence to run hybrid AI options, you are a telephone that handles most duties gracefully.

Google says switching to the Tensor G4 chip yields a 30% pace bump in net searching over final 12 months’s Tensor G3, and I consider it. With the Pixel 9a and Pixel 8a in hand (and on the identical Wi-Fi community), the previous loaded up the varied picture carousels, net hyperlinks, and the story river on ZDNET’s homepage a number of seconds sooner. Save a number of seconds right here and there, and also you’re an accumulatively snappier searching expertise.

The massive query is how the Tensor G4 holds up over time. By that, I imply mobile efficiency, energy effectivity, and reminiscence administration after 1-2 years, as these have all been issues raised by real customers. In Google’s protection, the corporate would not essentially market its units as multitasking powerhouses or ones that may spell the tip of gaming consoles. Regardless, I will be protecting tabs.

Additionally: Why you shouldn’t buy a Google Pixel phone right now – even if you’re a superfan

I am extra hopeful concerning the Pixel 9a’s future due to its battery and endurance. Unsurprisingly, this is among the longest-lasting Pixel telephones I’ve examined, with a 5,100mAh capability that units a brand new file for Google. 

The 1-2 further hours I’ve squeezed out of the Pixel 9a in comparison with the Pixel 8a (4,492mAh) have been admirable, particularly with my camera-heavy workflow. The truth is, my battery exams — which encompass 45 minutes of steady utilization, from searching social media feeds to streaming movies to creating calls — put the Pixel 9a in pole place above the Pixel 9 Professional XL. Now, if solely Google might enhance the wired charging pace from the sluggish 23W ranking. Give me 65W! 45W! I will even take 30W. 

(Whereas I am right here: the flush digicam design of the Pixel 9a additionally makes it far more suitable with varied wi-fi charging docks.)

On paper, the brand new 48-megapixel major digicam on the Pixel 9a appears like a downgrade from final 12 months’s 64MP shooter, however the bigger picture sensor on the previous does make a distinction. 

Additionally: I tried the controversial Android phone that’s got the internet buzzing – and left impressed

I largely seen the efficiency hole when evaluating nighttime images and in environments with less-than-usual lighting. Pinching into images exhibits the Pixel 9a capturing extra element and vividness, naturally leading to higher distinction and colour accuracy. The Pixel 9a additionally nails pores and skin tones, which could be very tough when your surroundings’s colour temperature (learn: leaning extra orange or blue) is off.

What left me wanting extra was the zoom capabilities, as I felt the shortage of a devoted telephoto lens after I attended a New York Knicks recreation again in April and could not seize a top quality shot of the tip-off with the 8x (max) optical zoom — regardless that I sat just some sections away from the courtroom. (A extra distant shot of the total enviornment, taken with the 13MP ultrawide and pictured above, appeared implausible.) 

Comparable feelings have been felt after I tried to seize the unshakable aura of turkeys crossing a road on Staten Island. The curiosity killed me, and one step nearer meant the birds bolting away.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Cash is a delicate matter now greater than ever, so this is my shopping for recommendation after testing the Google Pixel 9a and each different A-series system since 2019.

That is essentially the most well-rounded telephone you should purchase for below $500, and the intrinsic worth that comes with it — the seven years of software program assist, the varied AI options which have trickled down from extra premium Pixel telephones, and so forth. — makes it a extra affordable alternative than its flashier opponents.

Whether or not you worth a very good show, dependable battery life, or a digicam that will get the photographs you need (simply do not be too formidable), the Pixel 9a will serve you properly. It is one of many few best Android phones I might suggest for its itemizing value and extra so if there is a service deal that matches your plan.

However do you have to purchase one if you happen to’re utilizing a 1-2 year-old handset? In all probability not. As an alternative, I counsel ready for the subsequent massive gross sales occasion, because the $799 Pixel 9 will doubtless fall inside the same value vary — again. 

When you can wait it out, the Pixel 9, for round $50-$100 extra, is the higher smartphone deal, and it is a system we think about the best option for most consumers proper now, together with energy customers and enterprise professionals. Regardless, your choices within the midrange market are promising proper now, and the timing could not be higher.

This text was initially revealed on April 10, 2025, and was up to date on August 16, 2025, to mirror the newest retailer offers and upcoming launch of the Pixel 10 collection.