Regular readers of this regrettably infrequent column will know that I am a Pixel user and fan, mainly for its cameras. So when Google sent me the Pixel 9a about two months ago, well after it was launched, I thought it would be a good opportunity to spend a good amount of time with the latest midranger from the big Goog, and do a proper long-term review. 

Now, with the Pixel 10 launches around the corner, I think the insights from having used the Pixel 9a over the past weeks give me some idea – both good and bad – about what to expect in the coming months. But before I get started, I must warn you that the Pixel 9a does not stick to the tried and tested Pixel script, so get ready for some surprises. 

Variants and hardware

The Pixel 9a comes in a single variant, with 256 GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM, and it sells for Rs 49,999. The Pixel 9a is available in Obsidian (black), Iris (lilac), and Porcelain (white) which is the one I have with me. 

The hardware achievement that has been touted about the Pixel 9a is that they got rid of the camera bump. Colour me unimpressed. The end result is an anonymous, almost prototype-looking slab that has the least visual flair of any smartphone that I’ve ever reviewed. Now, one could argue that visual flair is unnecessary in a mid-range device, but one would be wrong. Make phones fun to look at! 

The bump-less slab is surrounded by aluminium rails, and the back is a smooth glassy plastic. It looks nice and premium. Overall the phone is extremely slippery and I am personally quite surprised I have managed to not put any dings or scuffs on the phone in the time I’ve had it – which, I suppose, is at least in part a testament to the aging but capable Gorilla Glass 3 in front. Slippery phones are annoying to hold and if I owned the Pixel 9a, I’d put a case on it in a heartbeat. On the plus side, the Pixel 9a is IP68 rated, a smidge better than its predecessor. 

The Pixel 9a features the Tensor G4 processor, much like its flagship siblings, and comes with a 6.3” 120Hz display, making the phone a ‘compact’ device in 2025. One-handed use is comfortable, especially compared to the behemoths that dominate the smartphone space. The bezels are a bit wider than the flagships, but it’s basically a non-issue unless you’re comparing them side by side.

The Pixel 9a sports a 48 MP main camera with a bigger sensor and brighter lens than the Pixel 8a, and this will become evident when we put it through its paces. The ultra-wide is a fixed focus 13MP unit and on the front is a fixed-focus 13MP selfie camera. The battery is rated at 5100 mAh which is quite generous for a smaller phone. Charging works at a criminally slow 23W speed, at best. The terrible tradition of no headphone jacks continues.

In use

Where do I start? I’ve used and reviewed plenty of smartphones over the years and, with most of them, the “in use” section talks about a broadly fast, smooth experience. Because that’s what most smartphones are like these days – boringly competent. 

But worry not, the Pixel 9a is here to spice things up. 

It’s the buggiest smartphone I have ever reviewed. When I first got it, it was running Android 15 and it had a bunch of bugs, including random behaviour from apps, apps freezing up, and navigation gestures simply not working. At one point, the accelerometer stopped working completely, but a restart fixed that.

I kept waiting for an update that would fix things, but even the jump to Android 16 did not improve the situation. The Pixel 9a remained buggy and frustrating to use. Yes, it’s usable, but with back gestures not working on several apps, one feels like an iPhone user, having to reach all the way to the top of the screen to go back. The horror!

It’s hard to focus on the performance aspect of the Pixel 9a, but when it’s not bugging out it feels very fast and smooth and quite like a flagship device. Apps open fast, switching is quick, and things are all ticking along nicely until you have to do something drastic like going to the previous screen in WhatsApp. Did I get unlucky and get an unusually buggy device? It’s quite possible. But then, if I were you, I wouldn’t take a chance on a phone that has even the possibility of being this annoying to use.

The 1800 nit display is bright enough even outdoors, and the fingerprint sensor works reasonably well. The sound is also very good, delivering loudness and body, even if it’s not quite at iPhone levels. Battery life is superb, and apart from a brief period where an Instagram bug caused severe drain (fixed soon enough), I’ve not had a day where I didn’t go to bed with a good amount of battery left. I often got between seven and eight hours of screen-on time. 

The Pixel 9a also comes with all sorts of AI features, which are fun to tinker around with, but I don’t personally find them especially compelling. Am I being a Luddite? Yes, but I suspect most users aren’t making much use of these features either. If you are someone who does, please do tweet at us and tell me I am wrong.

Overall, if the bugs magically fixed themselves, this device would be good to use because it scores well on every performance parameter that matters – but alas. 

Camera

Now that I’ve gone over all the bad stuff, let me get to the good bits. 

The Pixel 9a is the first a-series Pixel with camera performance that can go toe-to-toe with the flagships. Using a slightly bigger and brighter camera unit, the Pixel 9a takes terrific photos with its main sensor, even excelling in low light.

I had an Oppo Find X8 Pro with me for a while earlier this year, although I could not review it, and that is a much more expensive flagship device, but I’d take the Pixel 9a’s main camera over that one, any day. The colours are spot on, the white balance is well judged, the tone curve is great, and skin tones are every bit as good as Google is famous for. And turning off Ultra HDR means the pictures don’t look too bright either. 

Of course, like all other smartphones, the auto-exposure tends to skew bright. But now that you can tap on the image and control exposure (needs to be enabled in settings), that isn’t much of an issue here. 

The pictures are snapped quite fast, as well (perhaps helped by turning off Ultra HDR). There’s still some lag, especially if you’re using Portrait Mode, but it’s improved from before. Do I wish it was near instantaneous like an iPhone or one of the Chinese phones? Of course, but I guess you can’t have it all. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best camera on a phone in its price category. I do wish they’d change their camera interface to be more like the iPhones, but this applies to all Pixels and not just the Pixel 9a. 

The video performance on the Pixel 9a is also creditable, visibly improved from its predecessor the Pixel 8a. You also get a somewhat flat image that is ripe for tweaking to your tastes. Video is not quite as good as the iPhones, but more than good enough for most people. 

The ultrawide camera performs creditably, with consistent colours and sharpness, although this unit performs noticeably less well than the primary in low light and for video. 

Selfies are good if a little bright. Overall I have no complaints about the cameras. At this price, it feels like a smash hit. 

Should I buy it?

There is an alternate universe in which the Pixel 9a that I have with me is bug-free. And in that alternate universe, it is a very compelling buy. 

The camera is top-class, the few hardware corners that have been cut are so minor that you’re barely likely to notice them, and the performance, smoothness and battery life are all comparable to the flagships. All of this for a shade under Rs 50,000 would make it a slam dunk recommendation.

Sadly, we don’t live in that alternate universe. In this universe which we have to make do with, the phone I have in my hand has been relentlessly buggy and a constant annoyance to use. Once again, it is possible that I got especially unlucky. But even if that’s the case, it’s not a chance that I can with a clear conscience recommend anyone to take. So I’d say, sit this one out. And to Google, I’d really ask them to clean up their act! In the meantime, I am really looking forward to switching back to my 2.5 year old Pixel 7. 

This Google Pixel 9a was sent to the reviewer as a loaner unit for review purposes. The unit will be returned on completion of the review. Google has been given no advance information about the content of this review and exercises no copy approval.

Contact the author on X @vinayaravind.

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