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.
SAVE $50: As of Aug. 6, buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch8 for $349.99 at Best Buy and get a free $50 e-gift card.
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A good smartwatch can be your constant companion when it comes to handling your day. It can track your fitness, handle notifications and texts, and even help you make calls, all while giving you a full spectrum of body-centric metrics. If you're already using an Android phone or want a reliable brand for your purchase, you should consider heading to Best Buy to grab a Samsung smartwatch and get a little extra.
As of Aug. 6, buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch8 for $349.99 at Best Buy and get a free $50 e-gift card.
The 2025 Galaxy Watch8 has a slew of features, including Google Gemini integration, something Samsung managed to get before Google could implement in its Pixel Watch lineup. It also has a wide variety of health and fitness options, including preset workout data, sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, and much more to help you make sure you can face the day at your best.
Beyond those things, the Galaxy Watch8 also lets you handle comms straight from your wrist so you can make calls, text, use some of your favorite apps, and organize your life. Your personal AI assistant is voice-activated as well, so it can help you get things done even when your hands are busy.
You'd think Android and YouTube would work together flawlessly, but early this week, that wasn't the case.
As reported and confirmed by 9to5Google, YouTube users on Android devices couldn't change the playback speed on videos. Changing the speed to anything other than 1x would simply not work, as the setting change wouldn't save, acting as if you hadn't done it at all. Obviously, that's not a great user experience, considering that Android and YouTube are both Google's responsibility. It seems a bit strange for Android users specifically to lose access to a core YouTube feature, but that's what happened.
Thankfully, it seems that as of Wednesday morning, the issue has been fixed, per a YouTube community note. The note states that any users still experiencing the issue should simply close and reopen the app. Hopefully, by doing that, you can fix the problem and get back to frame-by-frame analysis of movie trailers at 0.25x speed.
For once, it paid off to use a Google app on iOS instead.
On top of directing horror hits Get Out, Us, and Nope, Jordan Peele has produced several exciting genre projects, from Dev Patel's Monkey Man to Nia DaCosta's Candyman, which he also co-wrote. Next up on his production slate is the football horror film Him, directed by Justin Tipping.
Co-written by Skip Bronkie, Zack Akers, and Tipping, Him introduces promising young football star Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers). Not only does Withers have acting experience from projects like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Atlanta, he was also part of Florida State University's 2017 football team as a wide receiver. Hopefully his experience playing was nothing like Cameron's in Him, though, because the trailer makes it out to be a full-on nightmare.
After suffering a traumatic brain injury at the hands of an unhinged fan, Cameron thinks his football dream is dead. But when his hero, legendary quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), offers to train him at his personal compound, he's excited to accept.
However, Isaiah's training methods are far more violent than Cameron realized. (And football is already pretty violent!) We're talking smashing footballs into players' faces until they bleed as punishment.
But that's just the start of the horrors that await in Him, which demands that Cameron sacrifice everything to be the GOAT he so badly wants to be. Check out the unsettling trailer above.
Him also stars Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, and MMA fighter Maurice Greene, as well as hip-hop artists Guapdad 4000 and Tierra Whack.
Him hits theaters Sept. 19.
Buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch8 at Best Buy and get a free $50 e-gift card
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