I loved using the Pixel 9a in New York – apart from one fatal flaw
In 2025, a smartphone is a near-indispensable tool for travel. It’s what many of us rely on for boarding passes and train tickets, not to mention extensive GPS navigation and taking tonnes of photos once you arrive.
These scenarios (and many more) place a lot of demands on your phone, so you need a device that’s up to the task. Just before a trip to New York at the end of April, I reviewed Google’s Pixel 9a, a mid-range handset that really impressed me while mostly at home.
However, roaming the streets of Manhattan was a different kettle of fish altogether. It would’ve made more sense to switch to the reliable Pixel 9 Pro XL, which I’d had a positive experience with on another trip and used for a full three months, but I took the risk anyway.
And in most areas, the Pixel 9a didn’t let me down. During my time in NYC, five brilliant benefits of the phone came to the fore. However, it also revealed a major downside that would prevent me from recommending it for travel.
A fine design
When visiting a major city for the first time, I know I’ll be using Google Maps often. That was no different in New York, where I relied on it to navigate from place to place, find restaurants and make an itinerary.
As you can imagine, that involved me spending a lot of time holding the phone while on the street. When I wasn’t gazing up at the dizzying New York skyline, I was staring at my phone screen, which is where the Pixel 9a’s lightweight, compact build came into its own.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Even with a case applied, the Pixel 9a was comfortable to hold all day long
At 186g, it’s far from the lightest phone out there – it’s no 162g Galaxy S25! But compared to the Pixel 9 Pro XL (221g) and Galaxy S25 Ultra (218g), it’s a big step in the right direction as far as I’m concerned. Even with a case applied, the Pixel 9a was comfortable to hold all day long.
The compact design also worked in its favour. The 6.3-inch screen was plenty big enough to see everything, yet much more pocketable than huge handsets. Talking of the screen…
The Pixel 9a is impressively lightweight and compactChris Hall / Foundry
What a display
The Pixel 9a’s display might be smaller than most flagships, but its quality is still up there with some of the very best.
Its P-OLED screen looks just as good as any regular OLED to me, making it just as great for watching YouTube videos as browsing the web or navigation. Content looks clear and crisp, while the fast 120Hz refresh rate ensured that everything remained silky-smooth and fluid.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
However, what impressed me most in New York was the brightness. The 949-nit maximum came into its own on Brooklyn Bridge and in Central Park, where the bright sunlight could’ve affected visibility.
Instead, the Pixel 9a was easy to read and use in every environment that I needed it – you can’t always say that about a mid-range phone.
Heavyweight performance
A lot has been made of Google’s decision to use its own Tensor chipsets in Pixel phones, with the latest Tensor G4 inferior to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite in most benchmark tests.
However, as the Pixel 9 series showed, performance is still plenty strong enough for the vast majority of people. And remember, the Pixel 9a is a mid-range phone – compared to similarly-priced handsets, Google’s phone stacks up well.
I think my usage in New York was fairly typical for a traveller – Google Maps, Chrome, WhatsApp, YouTube and taking loads of photos. The performance of the Pixel 9a didn’t blow me away, but it didn’t let me down either. Crucially, there were no slowdowns or bugs that stopped me in my tracks, even when multitasking.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Unless you plan on serious mobile gaming or using other high-intensity apps while you’re away, the Pixel 9a has all the performance you need.
Great battery life, finally!
Battery life has long been considered a weakness of Pixel A phones.
Previously, the biggest capacity we’d seen was the Pixel 8a’s 4492mAh cell, which will last a full day of moderate usage, but not much more.
The Pixel 9a has the best battery life I’ve ever experienced on a Pixel phone
That simply wouldn’t cut it for a full, heavy-usage day in New York, where I knew I’d be away from a charger for 12+ hours. So, I was cautiously optimistic for the massive upgrade to a 5100mAh cell in the Pixel 9a, and it didn’t disappoint.
Even on those incredibly demanding days, where brightness was close to maximum, GPS and mobile data were permanently on and hundreds of photos were being taken, the Pixel 9a still had charge to spare by bedtime.
The Pixel 9a has no problem lasting a full day, even with lots of photographyAnyron Copeman / Foundry
I’d go as far as to say the Pixel 9a has the best battery life I’ve ever experienced on a Pixel phone. Considering its compact design and relatively affordable price tag, Google has aced battery life.
23W charging is much more disappointing, but I still found it able to get a full day’s battery in the time it took me to get ready in the morning.
Killer photography…
I’ve saved the best thing about the Pixel 9a to last, and it probably won’t come as a surprise: the cameras. And in particular, the 48Mp main rear lens.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
On paper, it’s a small downgrade from other Pixel 9 phones, but I doubt you’ll notice (I certainly didn’t). Photos are consistently vibrant and well-exposed, offering strong dynamic range and excellent low-light abilities.
As I said in my full review, it’s a close second to the Pixel 9 Pro XL when it comes to point-and-shoot photography. In other words, you can open the camera app, hit the shutter button without changing any settings, and consistently get great results. See a selection in the gallery below.
When you’re asking strangers to take photos of you at the Top of the Rock or in Central Park, that’s important. It also highlights another of the Pixel 9a’s strengths: realistic skin tones.
That’s also apparent on the 13Mp front-facing camera. I took my fair share of selfies in New York, and they nearly always came out looking great.
The 13Mp ultrawide is not quite as good, but it’s more than serviceable when capturing incredible views of the New York skyline. Unlike some phones, there isn’t a massive drop-off in quality when switching from main to ultrawide.
…except when you want to zoom
All three of the lenses on the Pixel 9a perform well, but it’s one Google has omitted that I really miss.
On the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL, you get a 48Mp periscope telephoto lens which offers 5x optical zoom and 30x digital zoom. That makes a massive difference when you’re far away from the subject you want to capture, as was often the case in New York.
But when I turned to the Pixel 9a, I had to make do with sub-par digital zoom. Google’s preset options only go up to 2x, which is about as far as I felt comfortable going. Anything further, and the quality quickly deteriorates, topping out at 10x.
A key example of this was when taking the Staten Island Ferry, which passes by the Statue of Liberty on its journey. I didn’t have time to go to Liberty Island itself, but still wanted a high-quality photo of the monument. Without a telephoto lens, that was basically impossible.
The sunset shot below is nice, but it could’ve been so much better.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
The ferry was one of many situations where I wished I had a telephoto lens in my pocket. I took over 1,000 photos during my week in New York, but would have taken many more if I had proper zoom capabilities.
Considering it’s such a fundamental part of the experience for me, I can’t recommend the Pixel 9a for travel, especially if you’re visiting a city like New York.
All three of the lenses on the Pixel 9a perform well, but it’s one Google has omitted that I really miss
If you don’t mind a bigger, heavier phone, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is still my top recommendation. However, there are plenty of great alternatives in our guide to the best phones you can buy that might suit you better.