Google Pixel 9a review: Engaging AI features and mighty battery life give Apple's 'budget' iPhone a run for its money

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MailOnline tests the new Google handset, described as a more accessible alternative to Google's flagship Pixel 9 (£799).

Google Pixel 9a review: Engaging AI features and mighty battery life give Apple's 'budget' iPhone a run for its money READ MORE: iPhone 16e review: I tested Apple's new budget smartphone By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE Published: 04:00 EDT, 19 April 2025 | Updated: 04:00 EDT, 19 April 2025 e-mail View comments Rating: Apple released its latest ‘budget’ phone, the £599 iPhone 16e , back in February after months of feverish anticipation. But not to be outdone, rival tech giant Google has released its own handset at an ‘unbeatable’ price – the Pixel 9a. The device – which at £499 is £100 cheaper than Apple’s equivalent – has a 6.

3-inch display, two rear cameras and more than 30 hours of battery life on a single charge. It’s packed with ‘helpful’ AI tools such as Gemini – Google’s chatbot which was built to rival OpenAI ’s ChatGPT , now on Apple phones. MailOnline tests the new Google handset, described as a more accessible alternative to the firm's flagship Pixel 9 (£799).



Pixel 9a is available in four colours – pink, purple, white and black, or if you speak Google’s language, ‘peony’, ‘iris’, ‘porcelain’ and ‘obsidian’. I inadvertently opt for peony, which is a striking pink – enough to make me look like MailOnline’s biggest Barbie fan. Google's new Pixel 9a has a 6.

3-inch display, two rear cameras and more than 30 hours of battery life on a single charge To cut the cost, Google has used plastic instead of glass for the back of Pixel 9a (but life in plastic is, as they say, fantastic). However, so as not to make it look too chintzy, there's pink recycled aluminum going around the frame. DISPLAY Pixel 9a has a nice crisp, 6.

3-inch display with 2,424 by 1,080 pixels (that's the tiny, light-emitting dots in the screen), which is the same as the more expensive Pixel 9. It also has the brightest display on an A-series ever – 35 per cent brighter than Pixel 8a released a year ago. Noticeably, Pixel 9a has a pretty thick bezel – the space going around the edge of the display – and a front-facing punch hole camera for selfies.

I’m switching from a Samsung Galaxy phone, which means it takes me a good few hours to get used to the Pixel’s different gesture-based navigation system (with no controllable icons at the bottom). But it adds an extra little bit of space to the display – although not being able to move the Google search bar from the bottom to the top is annoying. MailOnline tests out the new handset, described as a more accessible alternative to Google’s flagship Pixel 9 (£799) The Google Pixel 9 (pictured) was released last year.

Note the distinctive rectangular camera bar across the back housing the cameras Google Pixel 9a: Key specs Display : 6.3-inch Weight : 185.9g Battery life : 30+ hours Cameras : 48MP main, 13MP ultrawide and 13MP selfie Chip : Google Tensor G4 Operating system : Android 15 Colours : Pink, purple, white and black Cost : £499/$499 Advertisement CAMERAS Noticeably, the biggest change compared with the Pixel 9 – which was released last August – is the absence of the distinctive rectangular camera bar.

Instead, Pixel 9a has a glass pill-shaped camera module that is almost flat – which is great because it sits flush with whatever surface I'm resting it on. Removal of the camera bar is reportedly to give Pixel 9a its own distinctive ‘minimalist design’ but it may also be related to cutting costs. Regardless, it houses a dual rear camera system – a 48MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera – as well as the 13MP selfie camera on the front.

The sharpness and colour accuracy of my photos are seriously good, even in low light – surprising from such a (relatively) cheap handset – but for me the best thing about the camera experience is the AI software. AI TOOLS Pixel 9a is it has the same AI chip as the Pixel 9, Google Tensor 4, which means it's equipped for Google's AI photo editing tools such as Magic Eraser and Magic Editor. I'm generally not a fan of Google's AI-powered image-editing – I think it undermines photography as a concept and can contribute to misinformation online.

However, Magic Editor – which makes more drastic changes to photos compared with Magic Eraser – is undeniably powerful technology. Magic Editor, an AI-powered photo editing tool, makes complex edits like repositioning subjects and removing unwanted elements. It makes more drastic changes compared with Magic Eraser.

This unedited image taken with Pixel 9a shows a historic street in Kent With a few taps of the screen I can make all the buildings disappear replaced with wall, using data from the left-hand side of the original image Magic Eraser and Magic Editor Magic Eraser and Magic Editor are two of Google's image-editing tools but they are slightly different. Magic Eraser works best for quick fixes on smaller portions of a photo, removing removing unwanted objects or distractions. Magic Editor is a more comprehensive tool that makes more complex edits, generative AI to reimagine photos, allowing you to move, resize, erase, and even change the appearance of objects and backgrounds.

Source: Google Advertisement With a few taps of the screen I can make all the buildings disappear, to be replaced by an AI-imagining of the surrounding environment. And with Magic Eraser, my son has a great time watching me circle photobombers from our trip to the beach and seeing them vanish in a few seconds. Pixel 9a also has a feature called Add Me, which combines two group photos into one, so everyone makes it into the photo – even the photographer.

As this is a Google phone, the tech giant's Gemini AI helper has a prominent place – accessible when I hold down the power button on the righthand side and verbally ask questions. Gemini – which is already my chatbot of choice over ChatGPT – has a convincing, non-robotic AI voice with a southern English accent. But the Gemini experience on the Pixel 9a is different and less powerful than the one on the Pixel 9, due to the former's RAM limitations.

BATTERY By far my favourite thing about the Pixel 9a is the beefy battery – 5,100 milliampere-hour (mAh) which is an above-average amount of electrical capacity. Pixel 9a is available in four colours - pink, purple, white and black, or if you speak Google’s language, ‘peony’, ‘iris’, ‘porcelain’ and ‘obsidian’ In the box: I inadvertently opt for peony, which is a striking pink - enough to make me look like MailOnline’s biggest Barbie fan This means it has more than 30 hours of running time with normal use, meaning I can go three days without having to plug it in. For someone who's switching from an old Samsung which quickly bled power just from being on, this was a massive novelty.

Like any other lithium iron smartphone battery, Pixel 9a’s battery will degrade over time, although Google is introducing a software feature that should prolong its overall lifespan. Read More Top analysis warns iPhones will skyrocket to eye-watering price due to Trump tariffs Known as ‘battery health assistance’, it will adjust the battery's maximum voltage in stages to ‘manage battery performance to help maintain battery health as your battery ages’. This will result in ‘small decreases in your battery’s runtime as your battery ages’ as well as a ‘slight change in battery charging performance’.

MY VERDICT It's difficult to think what Google could have done better with Pixel 9a, which packs pretty much everything you'd want from a budget device into a neat package. Although I'm cautious about AI generally, Pixel 9a has some fun and engaging generative tools that give Apple Intelligence a run for its money. Pixel 9a's mighty battery delays the most tedious part of owning a smartphone (charging it), it uses recycled materials, has and a top AI chip, plus the whole phone looks fabulous.

But it also makes me feel like we're entering an era where we don't have to pay the best part of a grand for a really good smartphone. Of course, £499 is a lot of money, but it's economical in comparison with Apple's iPhone 16 and Samsung's Galaxy S25 (both starting from £799), although it’s not quite as cheap as the Phone 3a Pro from British firm Nothing, which is £449. Whether you're an Samsung lover or an iPhone diehard, Pixel 9a makes a good case to make the switch to Google phones – budget or otherwise.

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