If you’re in the market for a Google Pixel phone, you’ve got more choice than ever before. Google released four different flavors of Pixel 9 last month, including three Pro-tier models, and we can’t forget that the mid-range Pixel 8a is only a few short months into its lifespan — and is a fantastic low-cost option for those of you without flagship money burning a hole in your Google Wallet.
The question is, which is the best camera phone for your money? Sure the $499 price tag means that you’re paying $300 less compared to the $799 Pixel 9, but is it actually worth it?
Both the Pixel 8a and Pixel 9 come with a pair of rear-facing cameras and lack the telephoto lenses exclusive to the Pixel 9 Pro family. But the Pixel 8a is based on the Pixel 8, which is now a year old, and means the Pixel 9 does have a bunch of upgrades. This includes hardware, like the Tensor G4 and 48MP ultrawide angle lens, but also software. AI and computational photography matter a lot, and the Pixel 9 will have had a bunch more stuff thrown in thanks to it being newer.
So to figure out just how much things have (or haven’t) changed, I put these phone cameras to the test. I took over 200 photos with both phones, testing different situations and camera modes, before comparing the results. Here’s my verdict.
Daytime
It’s immediately apparent that the coloring on the Pixel 8a is a lot more washed out and less vivid than on the Pixel 9. Weather seems to have played a big impact into how noticeable the difference is, but with the sun out it’s much clearer as to what’s going on. Not only are the warm colors on the Pixel 9 a lot more lifelike, the extra warmth makes for a better photo than the Pixel 8a.
On top of that, the Pixel 9 is a lot clearer, letting you pick out smaller details more easily. Zoom in further and you can see there’s a lot more differentiation in the fur. The Pixel 8a has better contrast between the dog and the background plant life — though that isn’t enough to clinch a victory.
Winner: Pixel 9
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Ultrawide
Photos like this show just how different the Pixel 8a’s 12MP ultrawide lens is compared to the upgraded 48MP shooter on the Pixel 9. While resolution isn’t everything, it’s obvious that the Pixel 9 has much better definition compared to its A-series rival.
The Pixel 8a does appear to have a slightly larger field of view in this instance, but it’s also more obvious that there’s been some distortion correction along the edges — which isn’t a particularly good look.
Winner: Pixel 9
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Dynamic Range
The Pixel 9 manages to produce a lot more natural-looking photos, compared to the very sepia-looking photo of the Pixel 8a. Parking lot elevators aren’t the most inviting places, but the Pixel 8a makes the shot look a lot dingier than it actually was. The shot is also darker all round, which blurs the lines between the areas of shadow and light. The Pixel 9’s brighter image definitely helps to better highlight the difference between both extremes in this case.
Winner: Pixel 9
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Color reproduction
To be perfectly honest, there’s very little to differentiate the colors on the Pixel 9 and the Pixel 8a. If you’d told me these photos both came from the same phone a second apart I would believe you — and it’s a solid effort by both Pixels.
The Pixel 8a is a little darker in places, especially on the signs to the left, but not so much that it changes the outcome of this face off.
Winner: Draw
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Selfie
On paper the Pixel 8a might have a better front-facing camera, thanks to its 13MP shooter that you’d think would outperform the 10.5MP camera on the Pixel 9. The resulting shots seem to capture more of the surroundings as well, despite the field of view officially only being 1.5-degrees larger than the new flagship.
The only other defining features are the relative warmth and coolness of both phones, with the Pixel 8a again sticking to cooler hues. But overall the quality of the photos is so close that choosing between them is going to be a matter of personal taste — and how much you want to see your own arm in view.
Winner: Draw
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Portrait
Thankfully, Portrait shots are a lot more clear cut. Not only does the Pixel 9 seemingly pick up more detail, the bokeh effect is a lot more pronounced than on the Pixel 8a. In fact, the blurring on the Pixel 8a is only a step above what the Pixel 9’s main camera does by itself, and the untrained eye may not even realize that the effect was supposed to be deliberate.
To its credit, the Pixel 8a is a little clearer around the edges compared to the Pixel 9, with the newer phone blurring the edges of my hoodie into the background. This doesn’t mean the Pixel 8a has cut me out better, because you can still see a strip of unblurred background around my shoulders. Which is something you can’t unsee.
Winner: Pixel 9
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Zoom
Neither the Pixel 8a or the Pixel 9 have telephoto lenses, so every zoomed shot you take is 100% digital. Is that a bad thing? It’s debatable, but it means both phones are on fairly even footing when it comes to photos taken far away. For this round I shot at 2x magnification, which has a quick shortcut in the Pixel camera app, as well as the maximum of 8x.
At 2x I took shots of this lion statue in a nearby park. Even at this low magnification it’s clear that the Pixel 9 has produced a better shot. Not only is it a warmer image, capturing some of the blueness of the sky between the mess of gray clouds, the details on the statue itself are a lot clearer. You can even pick out some of the details of the pigeons on top, which the Pixel 8a fails at.
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Increase the magnification to 8x and it’s the same story magnified several times over. Here the Pixel 9 offers a much clearer shot of the town hall and church — around half a mile away. While the quality isn’t spectacular, you can still pick out details like individual bricks and the occasional roof tile.
Meanwhile. the Pixel 8a just merges everyone together in an unholy mess of red and gray brickwork that’s about as crisp as a french fry at the bottom of a swimming pool.
Winner: Pixel 9
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Panorama
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Interestingly, the Pixel 8a comes across a lot warmer in the panoramic shots, and significantly brighter than the Pixel 9. The close-up quality isn’t quite as impressive as on the Pixel 9, especially on the tower’s brickwork. But considering you can actually see things a lot more easily, it’s a clear winner on this front. Perhaps Google needs to revisit the continuous Panoramic shooting style on future Pixel phones, rather than the Pixel 9’s new “swing and pause” technique.
Winner: Pixel 8a
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Macro
Macro photography on both Pixel 9 and Pixel 8a is very close. The close-up photos offer great colors and detail, while also making the flower standout from the background. The Pixel 9 manages to excel on the details of the flower itself, especially in the center around the pistil. But the Pixel 8a makes the petals and leaves stand out a little better against the background without compromising the quality too much.
Winner: Draw
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Low Light
When it comes to shooting at night in near pitch blackness, both the Pixel 8a and Pixel 9 do a great job of drawing in whatever background light there is to brighten up the final image. But the Pixel 9 manages to do it while maintaining the clarity of the church ahead. While not as well defined as a photo in daylight would be, it’s leagues ahead of the Pixel 8a’s attempt — which is a blurry and muddled mess.
The graves in the foreground are a perfect example of just how much crisper the Pixel 9 is. The middle gravestone has a very clear cross cutout at its top, but on the Pixel 8a it comes out as a blurry gray circle. Whether we’re talking details on the ground, on the masonry or in the trees, there’s absolutely no contest here.
Winner: Pixel 9
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Verdict
While the Pixel 9 doesn’t excel in every single category, there’s no denying the fact that overall it still manages to outshoot the Pixel 8a. Not that the mid-range phone doesn’t put up a fight. Which is kind of impressive considering we only noticed minor improvements to the camera in our Google Pixel 8a review. The real question is whether the Pixel 9 is actually worth that extra $300.
When combined with the extra benefits of upgrading to the latest flagship, it certainly seems so. The Pixel 9 may not have wiped the floor with the Pixel 8a, but it did shoot a lot of photos that were noticeably better quality. Still, that doesn’t mean the Pixel 8a is a bad choice for its price point and you will get some solid photos out of it — there’s a reason it’s on our list of the best camera phones, after all.
If you have money to spend and want the best possible photos, go for the Pixel 9. But if you need to stay on a budget, while still getting great camera performance for your money, then the Pixel 8a is still a strong option.