GooglePixel 9a with Gemini - Unlocked Android Smartphone with Incredible Camera and AI Photo Editing, All-Day Battery, and Powerful Security - Iris - 128 GBECOLOGOECOLOGO

After about a 10 month break with a Samsung Galaxy S24, I am back to the Pixel and happy with this 9a. I am a fan of "small" phones and this one is certainly about as large as I would like but it does have good ergonomics. My wife and I have used Pixel devices since the 3 but last fall I decided to try Samsung again and picked up a flagship S24. I really liked the size and that phone did have a very premium, sturdy feel but I like to use my phones without a case as much as possible and the Samsung was like holding a wet bar of soap. This Pixel 9a is not a lot better but it is certainly an improvement. I was really drawn to the S24 because of the range of customization and personalization with that UI which was really fun and cool but it loses its luster pretty quickly. I was also expecting a major performance increase but honestly, my S24 was pretty buggy and even sluggish at times and I am only a casual user (no gaming, multitasking, etc). But the thing that finally did it for me was the camera. The Pixel cameras are the main reason we stick with them. They just can't be beat. The S24 camera is OK for certain photography but when it comes to shooting people and pets, it was absolutely horrendous compared to Pixel. I have a young family and that is my main use of the camera, capturing family photos and videos. The pictures you get without ANY editing out of Pixel phones is jawdropping and has been that way for years. Another reason I left my Pixel 7a was the screen brightness and battery life. I could barely see my screen outside and the battery life was not great. So far, this 9a has completely solved that problem. This phone gets super bright outside once you turn off adaptive brightness, which is a setting I never use on any phone; I always rock max brightness and manually control it in dark situations. Adaptive brightness on this 9a keeps the screen VERY dim even outside in the sun for some reason so just turn it off, no big deal. The battery life so far is very impressive, we will see how that looks a year from now and I believe this is a glued in battery which means difficult to impossible battery replacement. Not a big deal for me because I usually just get a new phone every 2 or so years.It is strange but I really like the thicker screen bezels on this phone. My S24 had basically non-existent bezels and it made swiping from off the screen difficult and I would accidentally touch things on the screen constantly just holding my phone. I know people really hate on bezels but I am so glad they are here on this 9a!Another controversial part is the camera layout which I think LOOKS AMAZING!! I don't know if people are just sheep and fanboys about the "visor" on the 9 and 9 Pro but who wants a giant island sticking out of the back of their phone like that?!? I mean it looks OK and is necessary I am sure to fit all the fancier camera stuff, but this low profile back on the 9a looks AMAZING to me. And I can lay my phone down on my desk and it actually lays flat!What is not to like so far? The fingerprint sensor is definitely better than the one on my old 7a but NOWHERE CLOSE to the S24 I came from. Samsung's sensor works EVERY time even when my finger is very wet. Maybe it is actually too good and a security issue I don't know but the 9a's sensor is certainly not as good. It is much slower and just flat out won't recognize 4 or 5 times in a row and make me enter my PIN instead. I am not using a screen protector, my screen is perfectly clean as well as my thumb, I have readded my print multiple times getting as many different areas of it as possible and still, same results. I will say it is better than my old 7a which I literally had to deactivate and only use PIN it was so unreliable.My score:Display: 9 out of 10Battery: 10 out of 10 (so far)Customization: 6 out of 10Ergonomics: 9 out of 10Brightness: 10 out of 10Software: 9 out of 10Processor: 9 out of 10Fingerprint Sensor: 5 out of 10Features: 9 out of 10Value: 15 out of 10 - The fact that this phone costs $499 not on sale makes no sense at all. It is so close to the specs of the 9 and even the 9 Pro it is insane. I would bet if you put the 9a and the 9 Pro next to each other, most non phone-nerds would have difficulty figuring out which one was twice the price and why. This is the best value in smartphones 100%

I decided to try this phone after researching "best moderately priced phones" and finding it rated higher than a lot of the companies I expected to see. It has taken a little while to adjust to a new Pixel after years of owning Motorola phones, but now I love this phone. The photos are so much better than with previous phones, the images on the phone screen are top rate, and the functions (once learned) work as expected. It is a great size for slipping into purse and pocket, charges a little faster than Google reports, and holds a charge two days for me, but I'm not a heavy phone user (calls, texts, searches and photos. I don't use the phone for games). And the price is right! I don't need top of the line, but I want really good and solid. I chose this phone because Google offers longer support than the "leading" phone makers and I plan to keep it a long time. Sound quality is great, it feels good in hand, and it looks good. The only downside I have found is lack of many high durability cases for it although one company on Amazon offers one that I'm using. It and the phone have survived one drop in fine style. I will update if that information changes. If you are unsure about a Pixel, do yourself a favor and try it. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I accidentally got a wee bit of all-purpose cleaner in my 2.5 year old pixel 6's port. I was just cleaning the outer case, per usual. I have no idea how this happened. The lower half of the screen became unresponsive. Gawd! I am giving Pixel another chance. At a $500 price point, well, why not. Mobile phones for me are like the screen savers that were "all that" in the early 90.s. I just need to be able to text, talk, browse, etc. This phone works well. Readily transferred all of my data from the Pix 6 to this 9a with the C to C USB cord. ( if you have read the reviews - a fast charger wall block is not included. :0 ) The coolest feature with this phone, for me, is the photo (AI?) editing. It's called " reimagine." It's a blast. Pull up one of your photos and add whatever you would like. I.E. I added a dinosaur to the photo of my farm lane. Pretty cool. Not always perfect....as i have a photo of my husband on the back porch; easy to add a raccoon. (we have tons of them. ) ....But i tried to add a beautiful woman on his lap, or even next to him and it was a no-go. Probably for the exact reason that i was trying. LOL! This "free" feature is just the beginning of crazy futuristic stuff. Basically , it's and adobe photoshop layer. But still free-fun! I also put some Canada geese in our swimming pool, yielded a different flock every time. I texted my husband the photo and he was flipping out. (We have some non-migrators on our property.) So far-so good.