Pixel 9a leaks with a noticeable design change

Google is one company that’s like to update the design of its products with almost every new generation and the changes don’t merely center around smaller bezels or reduced thickness. With the Pixel 9 which was released not too long ago, we saw a little design shake-up, and if you thought the Pixel 9a was going to carry forward the design of the base flagship model, that’s not entirely true, as is evident by renders leaked online.

Trusted leaker OnLeaks and AndroidHeadlines have teamed up to bring us renders of the Pixel 9a, the upper midrange phone that will presumably succeed the Pixel 8a as one of the best affordable phones. As leaked pictures of a pre-production unit suggested, the new phone will ditch the camera bar of its predecessor.

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In the renders shared online, the Pixel 9a’s design looks like a cross between the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Gone is the camera bar that spanned the upper width of the Pixel 8a. It has been replaced by a Google search bar-shaped camera island that doesn’t protrude and instead sits flush with the back of the phone. The LED flash has been placed outside of the bar.

Other design aspects remain mostly unchanged, with the phone still sporting rounded corners and there’s still a camera cutout in the display.

The phone is still a long way off now, with logic dictating that it will be announced in May 2025 during Google’s I/O conference. Specs aren’t known at this point, but it’s likely to stick with the same 6.1-inch screen as the Pixel 8a.

Like other recent a-series phones, the Pixel 9a will probably have the same Tensor G4 as Google’s more premium phones under the hood. It’s also possible that it will have a bigger battery than the Pixel 8a’s 4,492mAh cell.

The Pixel 9a will allegedly be Google’s last handset with a Samsung-made chip, as the G5 is rumored to be a fully custom chip that would be manufactured by TSMC, which also makes chips for Apple and Qualcomm, instead of Samsung.