Pixel 9A
Alright, we’re back. And so is Google. They dropped the Pixel 9a and everyone has a take. Let’s get into it
The Google Pixel 9a dropped on March 26, and with the announcement came a lot of debates. These debates were focused on the main design difference between the other Pixels and this Pixel 9a, which is that the Pixel 9a doesn’t have a camera bump. This creates quite the different appearance, but I don’t hate it. It brings back some older iPhone vibes from when we didn’t need 19 cameras, but just the one 8-megapixel lens sufficed. But what I think makes this new design a clear winner is that it gets so much more battery life. Google filled the spot where the rest of the phone cut off and where only the bump protruded with extra phone, which means in general the phone is thicker, but it allows a much bigger battery. Google boasts a 30+ hour battery, which is probably very optimistic, and up to 100 hours when in extreme battery saving mode, which is absurd. And the last great thing about the removal of the camera bump is that it can lay flat on any surface, which is so nice. Personally, I really hate the wobbliness of phones on tables, especially Apple’s phones, where the side bump is all the way to the side (but that might change given recent iPhone leaks…).
Other than that one standout feature, the Pixel 9a is a really good phone. 6.3” display, slightly larger than that of the 8a, and has 2700 nit peak brightness now (35% brighter than last year), which is excellent and is only slightly less than that of Google’s flagship Pixel 9 Pro. It has faster charging than in previous years and gets 7 years of software support, which is wild. And back to the battery, it went from 4492mAh last year in the 8a to being 5100mAh this year, which is a very significant 13.5% increase.
I think this phone is excellent. I do not have the resources or the contacts (or any, for that matter), so I can’t be hands on with this phone (or any phone other than my iPhone 13), but the embargo they had on this phone for content creators was very odd. An embargo is an restriction that prevents media from releasing specific information to the public on a specific date. I believe that the Pixel 9a had a sort of rolling embargo, where some information was allowed to get out, but they couldn’t show anything but the homescreen for the software, which is very odd. But now the phone is out, and so we’ll see how the public reacts.