The new Google Pixel 9a is a competent companion on the pathway to the world of AI

Google today debuts its latest mid-tier smartphone, the Pixel 9a. Following a well-established strategy of releasing ‘a’-branded models eight months or so after the release of top tier phones. Autumn 2024 saw the arrival of the current flagship Pixel 9 series, so naturally enough we now have the Pixel 9a to replace the Pixel 8a.

Enough of big tech logistics. At this stage and price point, a new phone drop is just as much about colours and finishes as it is about specification and raw power. Those in the market for Google’s ‘a’ branded phones are not early adopters, nor do they care hugely about having the ‘very best’ in terms of imaging or AI tech. Suffice to say, they trust Google enough to ensure that the feature set and ethos of the flagship trickles down sufficiently to make the 9a an excellent all-rounder.

That certainly seems to be the case. Google is still pushing hard on its Gemini AI, a multi-billion-dollar investment in a technology that is still searching for a killer app that transcends the novelty of a smarter search and easy photo editing. The Pixel 9a can tap into all the latest upgrades of the Gemini model, including the new Gemini Live service that uses video to take in scene data and process it accordingly.

Features like this are increasingly blending into the mainstream and become a part and parcel of how we interact with search. Gemini Live’s ability to parse and converse in natural-sounding language is one of the technology’s strongest points, yet these AI-driven interactions still feel like an obfuscating layer that’s draped over physical reality. Can it ever really be trusted?

Infinitely more tangible are the Pixel 9a’s physical characteristics. Solidly built, with a tried and tested camera module that includes both 48 MP main and 13 MP ultrawide cameras, along with new Macro Focus and Astrophotography modes, the 9a will make an excellent photographic companion. Battery life has also been improved, with that crucial crutch of day-length longevity that should dispel any charge anxiety. There's 8GB of RAM and a choice between 128GB and 256GB of storage.

Posterity will have to decide on the merits or otherwise of Google’s suite of photo-editing tools. They range from the relatively benign (cropping, re-framing, even expanding the edge of the image) to the all-in AI-driven slopscape opened up by Pixel Studio, where you can conjure up fantastical imagery out of a sketch or a prompt. Additional lures include a three-month sub to Google One cloud storage and ad-free YouTube premium, along with a six-month subscription to Fitbit Premium content.

Our perennial gripe about modern smartphones – that the tactile delight of their all-metal and glass construction and fine, jewel-like buttons, curves and edges are all subsumed beneath the essential requirement of a robust case. The ‘camera bump’ on the 9a is smoother and less prominent than on its pricier siblings, and there’s also greater emphasis on recycled plastic and aluminium which make up nearly a quarter of the phone’s entire mass.

Durability of another kind is ensured through a guaranteed seven years of what Google calls ‘Pixel Drops’ – software and security updates that’ll keep this phone current well into the 2030s (providing you don’t do a Pixel drop of your own). Finally, those all-important new colour ways, Iris, Peony, Porcelain and Obsidian, go some way towards stripping away the tech bro aesthetic of modern devices in favour of something softer and less in your face.

All in all, Pixel 9a is yet another tread on the slippery stair to Google’s conquest of everything. If that’s a journey you’re inescapably yoked to, then the 9a is a welcome companion, an unpretentious, affordable device that deserves a place on everyone’s shortlist.

Google Pixel 9a, from £499, Store.Google.com