Even though it’s only January, we already know pretty much everything there is to know about Google’s next big mid-range handset, and that’s actually been the case for around a month and a half now.
Time to save these two dates!
March 19 and March 26. That’s apparently when the Google Pixel 9a is set to go on pre-order and begin to ship respectively to its earliest adopters, at least according to the typically reliable folks over at Android Headlines. If this rumored schedule feels… odd, that’s probably because the Pixel 8a was released in May rather than March of 2024. And because the Pixel 7a also saw daylight in May the year before that.
Leaked in all its glory a few times in the past, the Pixel 9a finally has a release date attached to its name.
The Pixel 6a was unveiled in, you guessed it, May 2022 before going on sale a couple of months later, while the year before, the Pixel 5a only hit stores in August following an official announcement in… August. To sum this little history lesson up, Google is evidently looking to go against tradition this year, separating the Pixel 9a unveiling from its next I/O developer conference, which is likely to take place (as usual) in May.That makes me wonder if we should expect the high-end Pixel 10 family to go official in July or even June 2025, which currently seems unlikely considering that there have been almost no substantial leaks on those particular products. Besides, the August 2024 introduction of the Pixel 9 series already went down unexpectedly early after the Pixel 8 lineup was unveiled in October 2023, so another schedule revision this year feels… hard to pull off.
If Android Headlines is right and the Pixel 9a kicks off its pre-orders on March 19, I presume that’s also when Google plans to announce the phone ahead of its actual March 26 release. None of this is technically set in stone just yet, mind you, but a number of sources have alluded in the past to a mid-March launch, lending further weight and credibility to the latest and most precise availability report to date.
New design, new battery, same old price
6.3-inch OLED display with 2424 x 1080 pixel resolution and 120Hz refresh rate technology;Google Tensor G4 processor;Titan M2 security chip;8GB RAM;128 and 256GB storage options;48 + 13MP dual rear-facing camera system;13MP single front-facing camera;5,100mAh battery;23W wired and 7.5W wireless charging support;Android 15;Seven years of OS and security updates;154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9mm dimensions;186 grams weight;IP68 water and dust resistance;Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, and Peony colors;$499 US starting price.
Okay, perhaps calling the Pixel 9a design “new” is a bit of an exaggeration. After all, the phone doesn’t appear to look in any way different from its predecessor when viewed from the front, while the back panel features a much more discreet camera module.
The Pixel 8a’s distinctive camera bar is apparently gone baby gone. | Image Credit — PhoneArena
Still, that’s arguably enough to make the Pixel 9a feel like an entirely new breed (for better and for worse) of mobile device compared to the undeniably flashier 8a. Whether you love or hate that change, you’ll definitely be delighted to hear that the 9a is set to (somehow) squeeze a considerably bigger battery than the 8a into a not-very-chunky body.
The screen real estate will apparently also be expanded… a little, while the move from a 64 to a 48MP primary rear-facing snapper sounds like a downgrade, but is actually likely to prove a serious upgrade in real-life photography performance.
Keeping everything in mind, it’s certainly good news that Google reportedly plans to price the Pixel 9a at the same $499 level as the 8a in an entry-level configuration, but inexplicably, the 256GB storage variant is expected to be slightly costlier, jumping from $559 to $599. Oh, and there will also be a $50 Verizon surcharge for a mmWave-capable model because that’s how Verizon rolls.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian’s passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for ‘adequate’ over ‘overpriced’.
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