The iPhone 16e is making the leaked Pixel 9a look pretty appealing – Android Police
For the past couple of years, I’ve been questioning whether it makes sense for Google to keep making midrange Pixel a phones; the premium Pixel 8 had already been available for $499 weeks before the lesser Pixel 8a launched at the same price. But things are different this year.This week, it leaked again that the Pixel 9a is avoiding a price hike, making it the third Pixel a-series phone in a row to land at a $499 price point. A $499 Pixel looks more appealing today than it did 12 months ago, for a few reasons. Not least of which: Apple’s new iPhone 16e costs $100 more.Welcome to Compiler, your weekly digest of Google’s goings-on. I spend my days as Google Editor reading and writing about what Google’s up to across Android, Pixel, Gemini, and more, and talk about it all right here in this column. Here’s what’s been on my mind this week.We’d heard before that the Pixel 9a will cost $499 when it launches sometime this spring; the first leak pointing to that price came in January. A second leak asserting the same, just weeks before the 9a’s rumored March 19 pre-order date, makes it feel even more concrete.In 2025, a Pixel 9a for $499 should be a better deal than the Pixel 8a was at the same price last year. The standard Pixel 9 got a $100 price hike to $799 after both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 7 retailed for $699; the Pixel 9a should enjoy some of the same upgrades as the Pixel 9, without any of the increased cost.The Pixel 9a will reportedly have the same Tensor G4 chipset as the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, and a similar flat-edged design. The 9a’s design is arguably a little nicer: the budget phone will barely have a camera bump, in stark contrast to the chunky camera pill on the back of the 9 and 9 Pro. It’ll also reportedly come with a 5,100 mAh battery, which should last a good deal longer than the Pixel 9’s 4,700 mAh cell. All that for $300 less than the Pixel 9 sounds like a pretty good deal.It certainly doesn’t hurt that the iPhone 16e hit store shelves last month with an MSRP a full $100 higher than what we’re expecting for the Pixel 9a. The $600 16e makes quite a few cuts versus the $800 iPhone 16 to hit it’s lower price point: the 16e only comes with a single rear camera; it doesn’t have the 16’s Dynamic Island display cutout or related software features; there’s no Camera Control button; and it doesn’t come with built-in support for Apple’s trademark MagSafe magnetic accessories.An overpriced experience
The Pixel 9a’s chassis will be made of plastic, judging by a hands-on video from earlier this week, and its bezels are pretty chunky by 2025 standards. The 16e looks like it’s got Google’s upcoming midranger beat on build quality. But otherwise, unless the Pixel 9a’s rumored 48-megapixel camera primary camera takes surprisingly bad photos, the difference between the $800 Pixel 9 and a $500 9a looks pretty negligible next to Apple’s $200 in cuts. It’s looking like the most notable downgrade from Pixel 9 to Pixel 9a will be memory: the 9a will reportedly come with eight gigs where the Pixel 9 has 12.Of course, for most people shopping for a midrange smartphone, the main determining factor between the $600 iPhone 16e and the $500 Pixel 9a won’t be price, or relative value versus each company’s respective flagship offering. If someone’s set on buying a $600 iPhone, a $500 Pixel with a bigger battery and more cameras probably won’t change their mind. Still, if all the rumors we’re hearing are true, the Pixel 9a is shaping up to be a very appealing option — and the $100 savings versus Apple’s equivalent phone is the icing on the cake.An overpriced experience
The Pixel Watch 3’s loss of pulse detection is coming to the US. Google announced this week that a Pixel Watch 3 feature that automatically detects when its wearer’s heart has stopped and calls emergency services is finally approved by the FDA. The feature has been available in other markets for some time, and should be rolling out in the US later this month.Expect it in the US around late MarchYou might not have to say Hey Google anymore soon. An APK teardown by AssembleDebug found references to an alternative wake phrase. The code doesn’t contain specific information, but we’re assuming the wake phrase will be the Hey Gemini we’ve seen teased previously.Hey Gemini might be coming soonGoogle’s published pricing for for its Veo 2 AI video generator, and it’s not cheap: it’ll cost 50 cents per second, which shakes out to $30 a minute or $1,800 per hour. Competitor OpenAI’s Sora video generator is available as part of the ChatGPT Pro subscription, which costs $200 per month.$30/minute of Veo 2We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.Your comment has not been savedI’m still using an iPhone 11 Pro, please don’t judge me.And the Pixel 7, and the Pixel FoldBroccoli was healthy for all of us…Plus Pixel 9 Pro problems paint a predictable pictureGoogle will appeal against the changesFTC: Fake Testimonial CullerSaving money streaming is harder
