Google’s newest budget phone is finally ready for release. After an inexplicable delay due to a “component quality issue,” the company has confirmed the Pixel 9a release date: April 10 in the US, Canada, and the UK.
The rest of the world will follow shortly after, with launches in Europe on April 14 and select Asian-Pacific regions on April 16. We’ve known about the Pixel 9a for at least a week now—with official confirmation giving us a price and a good look at the design.
The Pixel 9a might look like a flagship at first glance, sharing the same sleek design language and housing Google’s Tensor G4 chip. But look closer, and it’s clear that a few of Google’s headline features didn’t make the trip down to this more affordable device.
That’s especially true when it comes to AI.
Despite sporting the same chip as the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro, the 9a has a tighter memory ceiling at just 8GB of RAM. That limitation means the phone can’t run the full version of Gemini Nano, Google’s powerful on-device AI model. Instead, it comes with a lightweight, text-only variant.
In practical terms, that means you won’t be using the 9a for AI-powered voice summarization or multimodal features like image-based Q&A and contextual suggestions, which are available on Google’s flagship devices.
This is likely an intentional move by Google, aimed at balancing affordability with performance. But it also means buyers hoping for a full suite of on-device AI tools will need to temper their expectations.
That’s not the only trade-off. The Pixel 9a also skips satellite communication support and features an older cellular modem, which could affect signal efficiency and battery life in fringe areas.
Still, for $499 in the US (with a $100 bump for double the storage), the 9a offers a competitive entry point into the Pixel ecosystem. Pricing varies slightly by region, with a price tag of $679 CAD in Canada, £499 in the UK, and €549 in most of Europe.
Interestingly, Japan—a regular participant in Google’s device launches—still lacks a confirmed Pixel 9a release date, though Google insists it’s coming “soon.”
If you’ve already signed up for availability notifications through the Google Store, you’ll be among the first to know when preorders go live. And if you’re after a clean Android experience with a side of pared-down AI, the 9a could still hit the sweet spot.
Just don’t expect the same Gemini-powered goodies its flagship siblings enjoy.
