Tech
Google Pixel 9a announced: Specs, price, release date, preorder details
Just over six months after Google launched the new Pixel 9 generation of Android smartphones, a new model has joined the lineup.
On Wednesday, Google announced the Pixel 9a.
What is the Pixel 9a and where does it place among the other Pixel 9 devices? Let's break down everything you need to know about Google's latest Pixel phone.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Pixel 9a price
The Pixel 9a fits in as the most affordable of the Pixel 9 devices, which sets it up as an entry-level phone below the base Pixel 9 model.
The Pixel 9a retails at $499, which makes it $300 less than the Pixel 9, the previous lowest costing current generation Pixel device.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Pixel 9a specs: Everything you need to know
Don't let the price difference between the Pixel 9a and the Pixel 9 fool you. Google has packed the Pixel 9a with plenty of power.
In fact, the Pixel 9a is powered by the same Google Tensor G4 processor that you'll find inside the Pixel 9. This is the same processor that was created specifically for Google's intensive AI capabilities, so you'll find all of the Pixel 9's AI features in the Pixel 9a, including Magic Edit and Gemini AI Assistant.
The Pixel 9a has a 6.3-inch scratch-resistant Actua display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 cover glass.
When it comes to memory, the Pixel 9a has 8GB of RAM and provides two different storage options, 128 GB or 256 GB.
Storage size isn't the only option you'll have to choose from when buying a Pixel 9a. The Pixel 9a comes in 4 different colors: Iris, Peony, Porcelain, and Obsidian.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
With over 30 hours of battery life and 7 years of guaranteed Pixel updates, the Pixel 9a is built to last.
When it comes to the rear cameras, the Pixel 9a has a 48 MP main camera and 13 MP ultrawide camera. But, there's even more that sets Pixel 9a's cameras apart from the rest.
So long, camera bump
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
One of the most interesting features of the Google Pixel 9a isn't what it has, but what it doesn't.
The Pixel 9a has a flat back design, meaning no camera bump.
The Pixel 9a is the only Pixel phone to sport a flat back profile. In fact, the Pixel 9a doesn't have the now-classic Pixel camera bar either. Instead, the back of the device is flat with the cameras found within a rounded water droplet-like design on the upper left hand side of the Pixel 9a.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Without the camera bump, the Pixel 9a is unique not only among other Pixel phones but other smartphones as well.
Pixel 9a release date, preorder info
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Interested in a Google Pixel 9a? Pre-orders, originally set to start on Wednesday, March 19, are now expected to open sometime in the coming weeks, according to Google. The exact on-shelf date, originally planned for March 26, is now set for an April release.
UPDATE: Mar. 19, 2025, 12:10 p.m. EDT This story has been updated to reflect delayed preorder and release dates.
Despite seemingly being in every movie out right now, Pedro Pascal isn't in Zach Cregger's horror film Weapons. However, he almost was! Pascal would have played grieving father Archer (Josh Brolin), but scheduling conflicts forced him to bow out. However, Weapons still features a surprising similarity to a major Pascal project: The Last of Us.
The film centers on the disappearance of 17 children, all from the same third grade class at Maybrook Elementary. One night, at 2:17 a.m., they all left their homes and ran off into the darkness, leaving the Maybrook community shaken.
In one scene, Maybrook Elementary principal Marcus (Benedict Wong) takes a much-needed break from his job and sits down for a TV meal with his husband Terry (Clayton Farris). They're watching a nature documentary about the Cordyceps fungus. More specifically, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis or zombie-ant fungus, a parasitic fungus which takes over the brains of ants and forces them to move to locations where the fungus can grow. (It then sprouts from the dead ant — spooky!)
Real-life Cordyceps inspired The Last of Us' terrifying fungal infection. However, in Weapons, it also clues us into how the film's main antagonist operates, serving as a chilling reminder of what's to come. Spoilers ahead, so if you haven't seen the movie, you should make like Weapons' children and run far, far away.
Why is Weapons so obsessed with Cordyceps and parasites?
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
The Cordyceps documentary scene isn't the only time Weapons mentions a frightening parasite. In one of the film's many nightmare sequences, teacher Justine (Julia Garner) walks into her classroom and sees all of the lost children back at their desks. On the whiteboard behind her, there's a list of parasites.
Later, when Weapons turns its focus on Alex (Cary Christopher), the one child from the class who didn't disappear, we hear Justine teaching the class about parasites, asking for examples like tapeworms. Between those classroom scenes and the Cordyceps documentary, it's clear Weapons has a parasite fixation. Why?
These parasite mentions subtly clue us into the methods of Weapons' main villain: witch Gladys (Amy Madigan). She performs rituals to bring people under her spell, using a magical tree, her own blood, and her victims' personal belongings to get the job done.
Her first victims in the movie are Alex's parents (Whitmer Thomas and Callie Schuttera), whom she ensnares in the hopes that siphoning their life force will cure her of her terminal illness. But when Alex's parents aren't enough, she pivots to the 17 children.
Gladys' treatment of Alex's parents and the children is textbook parasitism. She drains from them in order to cure herself, but in doing so, she keeps them trapped and unresponsive.
Like the real-life Cordyceps fungus, Gladys also hijacks her victims' bodies and minds and makes them do her bidding. She forces Alex's mother to cut a lock of Justine's hair for a ritual, and she turns Marcus, Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), and James (Austin Abrams) into murder machines to take out her opponents. Their herky-jerky movements are reminiscent of those of ants overtaken by Cordyceps: They're not in control, Gladys is.
All these background mentions of parasites throughout Weapons peel back the truth of Gladys. She's not just a witch, she's a leech — and she'd drain the entire town of Maybrook, even children, in order to survive.
Weapons is now in theaters.
No matter if you're an adult or kid, there have been so many great Lego sets to pick up this year. August, in particular, has seen some excellent new drops, including new botanicals sets, cute Halloween decorations (if you want to enjoy spooky season a little early this year), and some incredible new Star Wars sets. Marvel fans have plenty of exciting new options to look through, too.
Most of August's new releases center around Spider-Man. From an amazing looking Iron Spider-Man Bust to a brick-built recreation of the Spider-Man and Doc Ock Subway train scene from Spider-Man 2, fans of Marvel's web-slinger have plenty of new sets to consider. Outside of Spider-Man, there's also a cool Avengers: Age of Ultron Quinjet set that would make a cool display once finished, but there's more where that came from.
Check out the latest Marvel Lego releases this month:
Iron Spider-Man Bust Set
Credit: Lego
For those looking to build a model to display, this Iron Spider-Man Bust Lego set deserves a place on your collectible shelf. Recommended for ages 18 and up, it comes with 379 pieces that come together to create the top half of Spidey in his Iron Spider Suit. Parts of the bust are also posable, including the arms of the Iron Spider suit and his head, which is a nice way to personalize the display. You even get a cute little Iron Spider-Man minifigure to place alongside a name plaque.
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Spider-Man vs. Oscorp Set
Credit: Lego
The Spider-Man vs. Oscorp Lego set is an action-packed build that's perfect for younger fans, as it's recommended for ages 10 and up. It comes with 808 pieces that make up three buildings: Miles Morales' apartment, the Oscorp building, and Venom's apartment. It even comes with a variety of minifigures to bring the scene to life, including Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Miles Morales, Eddie Brock, Ghost-Spider, Norman Osborn, Kraven the Hunter, and Green Goblin.
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Avengers: Endgame Thor vs. Chitauri Set
Credit: Lego
The Avengers: Endgame Thor vs. Chitauri Lego set is perfect for even younger Marvel fans, particularly for those aged eight and up. Comprised of 373 pieces, you can build the Iron Patriot mech, complete with four stud shooters, alongside a Chitauri gorilla. It also comes with seven minifigures to bring the battle to life: Iron Patriot MK2, Rocket and a large stud shooter, Thor with Stormbreaker (and a little environment base for him to be placed on), and four Chitauri, with two sporting golden stud shooters.
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Captain America vs. Thanos Set
Credit: Lego
The Captain America vs. Thanos Lego set is much smaller than the previously mentioned builds, coming in at just 107 pieces. It's perfect for Marvel fans starting from age four and up. With this tiny but mighty set, you'll piece together Captain America's Quinjet, which features two shooters and a cockpit that opens, alongside Thanos in an Infinity Gauntlet-styled spaceship, which also features movable 'fingers' and a missile launcher. It also comes with two minifigures of Captain America and Thanos with their respective shield and helmet, of course.
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Iron Man and War Machine vs. Hammer Drones Set
Credit: Lego
The Iron Man and War Machine vs. Hammer Drones Lego set is a great fit for ages seven and up and comes with 204 pieces in total. These fit together to create Hammer Drones, the green model with a spring shooter on its shoulder and the blue model boasting push shooters on each shoulder. This set also comes with minifigures of Iron Man and War Machine so you can complete the battle from Iron Man 2.
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Peter Parker’s Apartment Set
Credit: Lego
This is another Lego set that's great for Spider-Man fans, and is recommended for ages eight and up. With 394 pieces, you'll put together Peter Parker's apartment, which features two levels. The first floor is a kitchen while the second has a study and bedroom, the latter of which comes with a variety of accessories including a flip-up bed, desk, computer, camera, and microscope. This set also comes with a fun variety of minifigures: Hobgoblin, Spider-Man, Anti-Venom, and Mary Jane.
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Avengers: Age of Ultron Quinjet Set
Credit: Lego
The Avengers: Age of Ultron Quinjet Lego set makes such a cool display. Recommended for slightly older fans at 12 and up, it comes with 1,131 pieces that create the aircraft, which features a cockpit that opens, two stud shooters in front, and storage for weapons. It also comes with five minifigures, including Black Widow (complete with her motorcycle), Iron Man, Quicksilver, Ultimate Ultron, and Hawkeye, who also has his bow and arrow.
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Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock Subway Train Scene Set
Credit: Lego
For fans of Spider-Man 2, this Lego set recreates the iconic subway train scene between Spidey and Doc Ock. It's recommended for ages nine and up and comes with 393 pieces to build the train. It also comes with four minifigures that help complete the scene: J. Jonah Jameson, Aunt May, Spider-Man, and Doc Ock. The Spider-Man figure has interchangeable heads that allow him to be masked or unmasked, while the Doc Ock figure has four jointed tentacles. Two of them have ‘laser beam’ elements and the other two can be clipped onto the train.
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Windows users should think about reinforcing their antivirus software. And while Microsoft Defender should provide a line of defense against ransomware, a new report claims that hackers have found a way to get around the ransomware tool to infect PCs with ransomware.
A GuidePoint Security report (via BleepingComputer) found that hackers are using Akira ransomware to exploit a legitimate PC driver to load a second, malicious driver that shuts off Windows Defender, allowing for all sorts of monkey business.
The good driver that's being exploited here is called "rwdrv.sys,' which is used for tuning software for Intel CPUs. Hackers abuse it to install "hlpdrv.sys," another driver that they then use to get around Defender — and start doing whatever it is they want to do.
GuidePoint reported seeing this type of attack starting in the middle of July. It doesn't seem like the loophole has been patched yet, but the more people know about it, the less likely it is for the exploit to work against them, at least in theory.
In the meantime, allow our colleagues at PCMag to recommend some fine third-party antivirus software to you for your Windows PC. For more information on the latest Akira ransomware attacks — including possible defenses — head to GuidePoint Security.
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