Google Pixel 9a

Of the so-called 'big three' phone manufacturers (the most popular brands in the UK and US), Google was the last to launch a mid-range handset in 2025.

- Anyron Copeman

But after mixed reviews of Samsung's Galaxy A56 and Apple's iPhone 16e, the Pixel 9a might be the best of the lot. While its controversial new design is getting a lot of attention, it shouldn't take away from everything this £500 phone has to offer. On paper, you're getting a premium display, flagship-level performance and a capable rear camera, not to mention the signature Pixel software experience and a full seven years of update support.

But specs rarely tell the full story. To understand just how good the Pixel 9a is, you need to use it for an extended period of time. So that's just what I've done over the past week.

DESIGN

The Pixel 9a's rear design is its most defining feature. Google has made the unexpected decision to include a camera bump that looks nothing like the other Pixel 9 phones or its predecessor, the Pixel 8a.

In fact, to call it a camera bump at all feels like an exaggeration. The Pixel 9a's rear cameras sit almost flush with the back of the phone, barely protruding at all. That offers a benefit I often talk about in reviews: you can easily use it face up on a table without it wobbling around.

However, there's no question that the 9a lacks the personality of the other Pixel 9 phones, which all have large camera islands instead. Last year's Pixel 8a was even more bold, opting for the camera bar that had become a defining feature of previous Pixel phones.

By contrast, the Pixel 9a has a boring, nondescript camera blob on the back that's about as generic as it gets. While past Pixels were instantly recognisable, few people would be able to identify the 9a if you removed the Google logo from the back.