Pixel 9a arrival is likely imminent: reviews already surfacing

Google's next entry-level Pixel phone, the Pixel 9a, is rumored to be launching on March 19th, and this now seems very plausible as The Mobile Central has already posted a hands-on review of the phone to YouTube. The featured Pixel 9a is a Porcelain (white) example, with refreshingly clean styling and no noticeable camera bump - a far cry from the huge bumps on the current Pixel 8 Pro and Pro XL.

The 1080p OLED screen looks decent enough, but many will be surprised by the thickness of the screen bezels, which do look large, though this is accentuated by the relatively small size of the screen itself. The reviewer notes that the display feels very smooth in use, with no stuttering when navigating through the UI. The general smoothness is likely due in part to the display's 120Hz refresh rate. Other appealing features of the Pixel 9a are its clean Android install with no added bloatware, and the 7 years of update support - an exceptionally long timeframe for a phone in this sector.

The review also analyses image quality from the Pixel 9a's dual-module camera array. The sample images shown in the review video look typically well exposed for a Pixel phone, with Google's signature wide dynamic range that still manages to stay realistic. Despite lacking a dedicated periscope camera, the reviewer is impressed by Google's Super Res Zoom alternative, which uses a combination of on-sensor cropping and AI processing to digitally zoom in on a scene instead. Video recording quality is also praised, though only in daylight. Low light and night time video is said to suffer from relatively high noise levels, and consequently detail suffers.

Despite the phone's relatively small size, it still packs a large 5,100mAh battery, which the review claims is capable of impressively long battery life. Part of this extended longevity could also be due to the power efficiency of the Pixel 9a's chipset, though being an entry-level Pixel, the reviewer notes that this doesn't quite have quite enough outright speed to deal with intensive gaming.

As for the specs of the Pixel 9a - these have been widely reported to include a primary camera module with a 48MP sensor equipped with OIS, along with a 13MP ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field of view. The phone's selfie camera is reportedly 13MP, likely meaning it'd be a direct carry-over from the Pixel 8a. The screen is said to be a 6.28-inch, 2424 x 1080-pixel display with HDR10+ support and a 120Hz refresh rate. Pricing for the Pixel 9a is expected to be $499 for the 128GB version, while the 256GB model could cost $599.

So if you're in the market for a slightly smaller phone that's smooth to use, with great camera quality, battery life and software support, the Pixel 9a looks like a hit. We'll reserve full judgement until we conduct our own full review, but it'd be surprising if the Pixel 9a didn't make it onto our list of the best budget camera phones.

Story credit: The Mobile Central