New Pixel phone breaks cover as Google set for big | Tech News

Google is the maker of Android, the smartphone operating system that challenges the Apple iPhone globally, and though the devices of Korean tech giant Samsung tend to sell the most units, Google also produces its own Pixel range of Android phones.

The Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro released in 2024 are excellent, and showed how far Google has come as a smartphone manufacturer since the original Pixel from 2016. The Pixel 9 line up boasts great build quality, excellent displays, top tier cameras ans a plethora of handy tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI), but at prices that start from £799 and go well above £1,000, these gadgets are too expensive for some buyers.

That’s why Google also makes an A-Series of mid-range, more affordable Pixel phones. Express.co.uk reviewed 2024’s Pixel 8a favourably, calling it “the easiest phone in the world to recommend”, thanks to its similarities to pricier Pixels but at a more affordable cost of £499. The phone can often be found for about £349 in sales since then, too.

As we roll through the first months of 2025, leaks and rumours are surfacing about that phone’s successor, presumably to be called the Google Pixel 9a. Famed tech leaker Evan Blass has taken to X to post alleged images of the upcoming new Google phone, and there are a few changes to note.

Blass’s X account is set to private, so you may not be able to see the images if you visit his profile.

Blass posted four images, including the one above, that could well be official marketing shots given his track record. They show the Pixel 9a from several angles, though none of the display, instead focussing on a purple device as well as a black, white and pink version.

The sides of the phone are flat, which is in line with the design change the Pixel 9 series made away from the curved edges of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a. This is a trend in modern phones, with most iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones also opted for flat edges in recent years.

Around the back, the supposed Pixel 9a has a plainer look that ditches the ‘camera bar’ design Google has used on its phones since 2021’s Pixel 6. That design sees a rectangular strip across the back of Pixel phones, with either two or three cameras spread across it. On the images Blass says are of the 9a, Google has opted to house two camera lenses in a small pill shape but not have a bar design, instead leaving the rest of the back of the phone plain besides a small circular flash.

In one image, you can see a very shallow camera bump, so the shooters are totally flush with the phone, while buttons on the right edge are the same colours as the different hues.

Further on in the thread of photos on X, images show a ‘G’ logo on the back of the phone, as well as the display with pretty chunky bezels, something to be expected on a cheaper smartphone. One image shows the purple model splashed in water droplets, presumably confirming the new phone is water resistant. The Pixel 8a had an IP67 dust and water resistance, so it seems the 9a will follow suit in some form.

The Pixel 9a could break cover in the coming weeks, earlier than May 2024 when we saw the Pixel 8a. Google’s annual I/O conference is confirmed for May 20-21 this year, and in last year’s show the tech firm barely mentioned Android at all, or its Pixel phones. If the Pixel 9a comes out before I/O, it’ll reinforce the fact the conference is now fully focussing on Gemini, Google’s AI, rather than being a showcase for new Google hardware and Android software features like in previous years.