The Google Pixel 8a is currently our pick of the best cheap phones, and only one handset looks capable of displacing its superb price-to-performance ratio: its upcoming successor, the Pixel 9a.
But Google had to make compromises to get the Pixel 8a in at under $499, and one visibly obvious one is the size of the bezels impinging on-screen space. The phone has an 81.6% screen-to-body ratio, and for context, flagships tend to be over 90%. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, for example, is at 91.4% while the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hits 92.5%.
Those hoping for much movement on this with the Pixel 9a look set to be disappointed. 9to5Google has published a picture it states was posted by the prominent and reliable leaker Evan Blass.
We couldn’t see the image on his X account at the time of writing, but the site says it was accompanied by the simple caption “9a”, Though blurry, it clearly shows a bezel that looks somewhat old-fashioned in 2025.
But it does at least seem to be more symmetrical. On the Pixel 8a, the bottom ‘chin’ bezel was noticeably thicker than the uniform side and top ones, and here it seems to have been evened out. The blurriness of the image makes it hard to measure accurately, but I got 24 pixels for the bottom bezel and 27 for the top, which feels within the margin of error.
Judge for yourself. Here’s a photograph of the Pixel 8a’s front for comparison — though remember the Pixel 9a is expected to be slightly larger, coming in at 6.3 inches to the Pixel 8a’s 6.1.
There’s not much else to note about the rest of the picture. The front-facing camera maybe looks a touch larger, and you can see the antenna rails on the right-hand side. The screen itself showcases the familiar “Swirling petals” backdrop, and the Pixel Launcher looks to be the same as on the Pixel 9 — which is to be expected, given any big UI changes will come with the Pixel 10 in the fall.
A design change is expected on the back, however, with the Pixel 9a tipped to lose the iconic camera bar that’s been a fixture of Google’s phones since the Pixel 6. In its place, we’re expecting the cameras to be housed within a small oval on the left-hand side.
Thanks to a recent Pixel 9a specs leak, we’ve got a pretty good idea of the handset’s internals. The phone is set to use the same Tensor G4 chipset as seen in the Pixel 9, paired with 8GB RAM. Battery capacity is expected to grow to a 5,100mAh capacity and it’s also expected to get a new 48MP primary camera.
Despite these upgrades, the phone is expected to maintain the same $499 starting price, and Google will apparently be generous with freebies too, with buyers reportedly getting three months of YouTube Premium and Google One, along with six months of Fitbit Premium.
All of these predictions should be treated with a pinch of salt until they’re officially announced by Google, of course, but we shouldn’t have too long to wait if one more rumor is to be believed. In a break from the A series' usual May launch window, Google is reportedly set to open pre-orders for the Pixel 9a next month on March 19.
