What you need to know
- Google announced the launch date for its budget Pixel 9a stating that it will be available on-shelf starting April 10.
- Google stalled the 9a in-store launch and preorders after a component quality issue surfaced.
- The company hasn't yet announced a pre-order date for this device, but you can get notified for when it does.
The Google Pixel 9a launched on Mar. 19, and we were taken by surprise when the tech giant didn't give us information on preorders or in-store launch dates. Now, ten days later, the company announced that the budget phones will be out in stores starting April 10.
Google usually makes all its devices available for pre-orders on launch day, but for the Pixel 9a, we were told that it would show up in stores "sometime in April" without a concrete date. There's a good reason why Google wanted to hold back preorders; it said the first Pixel 9a units had a "component quality issue" and that it wanted to make sure that the phone was functioning as it was supposed to before being released to the masses.
In a community post, the company detailed its rollout plan, starting with users in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., who will get to buy the Pixel 9a as early as April 10, while folks in European countries will be able to get the device on April 14. As for Australia, India, Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia — they will see the budget phone in store on April 16. Google also states that the Pixel 9a will be "coming soon" to Japan; however, a specific date hasn't been confirmed yet.
The tech giant added that the "Pixel 9a will be available at the Google Store and through our retail partners beginning in April, and you can sign up today to get notified as soon as it's available."
Debuting at $499 in two new colorways: Iris and Peony, the Pixel 9a comes with the fastest Tensor G4 chip, gets up to 30 plus hours of battery life, and can do almost everything that the standard Pixel 9 phone can.
Right off the bat, the Pixel 9a sports an all-new look, ditching its usual pill-shaped camera bump and housing the rear cameras within the phone. For its display, the Pixel 9a gets a slightly bigger 6.3-inch pOLED screen. Like the other Pixel 9 devices, this budget phone also gets Android 15 out of the box and seven years of OS and security updates. The phone comes with all the latest AI features, including Gemini Live, Best Take, Add Me, Magic Editor, and more.
Lastly, Google didn't mention when users can start pre-ordering the Pixel 9a, but anyone interested can hit the "get notified" button on the Google Store to be the first to know when the phone will be available online.
Battery & brightness boost
The Google Pixel 9a shed its camera bar to keep a (relatively) slim profile, taking inspiration from the Pixel Watch for its cameras. But if you look past the redesign, this is the same mid-tier hardware and Tensor-backed AI tricks that you've come to expect from Google.
