The Google Pixel 9a is coming up fast, and faster than you might have thought according to new leaks about its release date.
Android Headlines, the source of some other recent leaks for the this phone, alleges that pre-orders for the Pixel 9a will be opening in mid-March of next year, with open sales coming by the end of the same month.
As it happens, this matches what we've seen happen with the Pixel 9 series. The Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold all launched back in August, rather than October as previous generations had.
AH claims that March releases will be the new norm for Pixel a-series phone launches, instead of the existing pattern of May launches taking place at Google I/O. It certainly explains why we're already getting major leaks for this phone before 2024's out. We can combine this with yet another rumor that says Android 16, the 2025 edition of Google's operating system, will be launching earlier as well.
And this won't be a single year of Google breaking its habits, either. This is apparently going to be the new norm for its phone launches, so we can expect the Pixel 10 series in August 2025, the Pixel 10a in March 2026, and so on.
A quicker launch with some big changes
Perhaps Google's alleged new timings are intended to get its products on the market ahead of rival companies' phone launches, or its hardware or software development has accelerated at a faster than expected rate. Either way, it's a major change that could have a big impact on what the best phones, best Android phones and best cheap phones are at normally quieter points of the smartphone year.
The Google Pixel 9a will not only apparently be coming earlier next year, it'll bring with it some noticeable changes. It'll likely have a taller and narrower body with a greatly reduced camera bump, a Tensor G4 chipset (but with an old modem) and four total color options.
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