The release of the Pixel 8a was around May 2024, and it was in May for the Pixel 7a as well. As per many leaks, the Pixel 9a is a departure from the old release cycle of new Pixel A series phones in May.
Instead, Google is allegedly planning to launch the new Pixel 9a a lot earlier, probably to compete with similar-priced offerings faster and drop the price in the festive sales later.
Assuming the leak comes true, this is the earliest they’ve ever updated their budget series of phones. Things are still murky with the Pixel A series since there are multiple conflicting reports.
Some say that the Pixel 8a is the last Pixel in the lineup and that Google will simply drop the price of the previous year’s base models to fill in the gaps. This now appears very unlikely since many leaked images of the 9a exist.
Other reports say the 9a could be the last one or that they’ll move the Pixel A lineup to a two-year release cycle instead of an annual one. We don’t know which report is true, and the older roadmap leaks appear to not match the current ones.
The Pixel 8 series came out in October, but the new Pixel 9 series debuted very early- in August 2024. Unfortunately, this meant that they wouldn’t get Android 15 out of the box. The Pixel 8 and 9 both ship with 14 out of the box. Since the main series launched multiple months early, we can assume the cheaper Pixel A models will launch a lot earlier, too. The CAD renders were also out a lot earlier than before.
As per an exclusive post from Android Headlines, you can pre-order the Pixel 9a beginning mid-March 2025. It will ship before the end of March and hit retail stores around the same time.
The Pixel 9a’s color choices are supposedly Porcelain, Obsidian, Peony, and Iris.
The same source says that the Pixel 9a release schedule is the new norm. The Pixel 10a will come out in March 2026. However, Google has way too many scheduling changes to declare anything consistently. The Pixel 4a, 5a, and 6a all had very inconsistent release schedules. We’re hoping Google is serious about the launch timeframes this time around with the 9a and onwards.
Internationally, the phones are a decent value option with carrier deals. However, they’re not great standalone products since the previous mainstream series is generally discounted, and they’re much better overall smartphones. As long as Google fails to address thermals on the budget lineup, they will struggle to get easy recommendations.