INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The move to a pOLED display saved a few millimeters, giving the designers a bit more internal volume
In the past, Google has always pushed toward thinner and thinner Pixels, but it retained the same 8.9 mm thickness for the Pixel 9a
Rather than shave off a millimeter, Google equipped the Pixel 9a with a 5,100 mAh battery, which is the largest ever in a Pixel, even
beating out the larger and more expensive Pixel 9 Pro XL by a touch.
The Pixel 9a (left) drops the camera bar from the Pixel
8a (right).
Credit:
Ryan Whitwam
The Pixel 9a (left) drops the camera bar from the Pixel 8a (right).
Credit:
Ryan Whitwam
The camera module on the back is almost flush with the body of the phone, rising barely a millimeter from
The phone feels more balanced and less top-heavy than phones that have three or four cameras mounted to chunky aluminum surrounds
The buttons on the right edge are the only other disruptions to the phone's clean lines
They, too, are aluminum, with nice, tactile feedback and no detectable wobble
Aside from a few tiny foibles, the build quality and overall feel of this phone are better than we'd expect for $499.The 6.3-inch OLED is
slightly larger than last year's, and it retains the chunkier bezels of Google's A-series phones
While the flagship Pixels are all screen from the front, there's a sizable gap between the edge of the OLED and the aluminum frame
Still, the Pixel 9a does not look or feel oversized.
The camera bump just barely rises above the surrounding plastic.
The camera bump just barely rises above the surrounding plastic.
Credit:
Ryan Whitwam
The OLED is sharp enough at 1080p and has an impressively high peak brightness, making it legible outdoors
However, the low-brightness clarity falls short of what you get with more expensive phones like the Pixel 9 Pro or Galaxy S25
The screen supports a 120 Hz refresh rate, but that's disabled by default
This panel does not use LTPO technology, which makes higher refresh rates more battery-intensive
There's a fingerprint scanner under the OLED, but it has not been upgraded to ultrasonic along with the flagship Pixels
