The new Pixel 9A is here and it is shooting for the mid-range telephone crown. But with this latest release, I believe that Google is focusing on a new potential customer: existing iPhone users.
Let’s look at the proof.
In many ways, the Pixel 9a is closest to an iPhone that Android runs. Curved edges, a relatively compact design and double rear cameras are very reminiscent of the regular iPhone 16. If you took the Google logo from the back, many people could not tell them apart.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Although Android 15 is very different from iOS 18, the software experience of Google and Apple has been tuned much more in recent years. Provided that you have not been invested heavily in the Apple eco system, you should not encounter many problems when switching from Android to iPhone.
The best part? The Pixel 9a starts with the launch at only £ 499/$ 499. Not only is that £ 200/$ 200 cheaper than the regular iPhone 16, it is also £ 100/$ 100 less than the iPhone 16th, which has enormously inferior specifications.
Of course, you will have to give up iMessage and Facetime, but there are numerous great alternatives in 2025. If the Pixel 9A occurs as the specifications suggest, it will be a simple recommendation … including for many current iPhone users.
In many ways, the Pixel 9a is closest to an iPhone that Android runs
And, in a purely practical sense, the Pixel 9a has enough different.
The relatively compact design will appeal to many people in an era of huge telephones. Maintaining the impressive display of the Pixel 8a and the leading cameras is not a bad thing, while Google has tackled one of the most important weaknesses of that phone’s lifetime of the battery.
Android 15 is full of AI functions on the software side, including Google Gemini. Pixel -telephones are also the first in line for future updates, which will take place for a full seven years.
It is a compelling package that probably seduces many people from other Android phones. But it also makes switching an iPhone easier than ever before.
ASH dullEone those telephones rates for a living, I think the Pixel 9a is an overwhelming update. In comparison with Pixel 8A last year, the only real improvements are a switch to the latest Tensor G4 chipset and a larger 5100 mAh battery.
The phone has also lost a lot of his personality. Instead of the Pixel 8A’s Vizor-style rear camera module in the Pixel 9 series of the Pixel 9 series, the double cameras of the 9A (48MP Main, 13Mp Ultrawide) seem to be almost the same with the back of the phone.
And the rest of the design is about as generic as it becomes. The 6.3-inch Full HD+ (1080 x 2424) Poled display is completely flat, sitting in a slender bezel and rounded corners. It is a proven formula that we recently saw on countless telephones.
So, for telephone enthusiasts like me, there is very little to be enthusiastic about. If you are looking for a unique or innovative phone, this is not. If that is a priority for you, the Nothing Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro are much better mid-range options.