With inflation and talk of incoming tariffs pushing up the cost of technology, it’s a worrying time for tech buyers on a budget. So we’re happy to report that the follow-up to our top pick of the best cheap smartphones, the Google Pixel 8a, looks set to stick with its competitive pricing in 2025.
A new report from Android Headlines claims to have pricing information on the Google Pixel 9a, and it appears to be completely unchanged across multiple territories.
That means in the United States it remains at $499 for the 128GB version and $599 with double the storage as previously reported. It’s a similar story in Canada ($679/$809), while in the United Kingdom, it’s £499 or £599.
Most of Europe seems to have the same pricing across borders, with Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain having €549 and €649 price points for the respective models. In fact, of the European countries listed, only the Republic of Ireland breaks the €549/€649, with an extra €10 on both models — but, again, that’s the same price Irish users are currently charged for the Pixel 8a.
This is good news. While the U.K. endured a £50 increase from the Pixel 7a to the 8a, the U.S. saw prices unchanged, which made some worry that Google was simply delaying an inevitable bump for 2025. If these prices are confirmed as correct, that won’t be the case.
All signs point to a phone that’s going to absolutely justify the $499 cost of entry. We’re expecting the handset to be powered by the same Tensor G4 processor from the Pixel 9, backed by 8GB RAM and, on the cheaper version, 128GB of internal storage. A 5,100mAh battery should keep most users happy, too — a small upgrade from the 4,492mAh cell on the Pixel 8a, but a welcome one.
Design-wise, leaks of the phone have shown it doing away with the camera bar that’s been a calling card of Google phones since the Pixel 6. In its place is a small oval containing a dual-camera setup, expected to comprise a 48-megapixel main lens and a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens. That’s actually a surprise drop from the 64-megapixel sensor on the Pixel 8a, but it’s tipped to have a wider aperture, so results may end up being better.
Crucially, there’s still no telephoto lens. While that isn’t unusual for budget phones, the upcoming Nothing Phone 3a series is tipped to include one, which could give Google some stiff competition if Nothing doesn’t price itself out of the market in the process. We’ll find out on March 4 when it’s set to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The Pixel 9a shouldn’t be far behind. While we had to wait until May for its predecessor’s reveal at Google I/O, this time around Google is tipped to be launching it early, and it could be available for preorder in less than a month.