The Pixel 9a is all But Official, but has Google Messed Up this Time?

The upcoming launch of the Pixel 9a marks another significant milestone in Google’s history as a hardware manufacturer, following the successful debut of the Pixel 3a those many years ago. Google’s A-series phones have more or less given buyers a more affordable route into the Pixel hardware and software ecosystem, while bringing over certain features from more expensive models.

READ: Hands-on Video Shows the Pixel 9a in the Flesh

This sometimes includes certain hardware components – for example, the Pixel 8a finally incorporated smoother and brighter displays, and even a design reminiscent of the Pixel 8; this was more or less the same case with the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7a, which shared so many similarities that almost made Google’s phone lineup at the time a bit confusing.

Going back to the Pixel 9a however, Google has strangely omitted a key hardware feature that up until now has been a signature design of its Pixel handsets, at least as far back as the Pixel 6. More specifically, I’m talking about the camera bar, which is notably absent from the Pixel 9a – in its place is a more simple lens cutout, which depending on who you’re talking to looks rather awkward.

Just as Apple and Samsung set apart their phones with certain design elements, Google has come to claim the camera bar as a visual element that’s inherent to the Pixel series…

Now before you click away (while probably dismissing me as petty), hear me out – the absence of the camera bar on the 9a goes against the Pixel brand’s hardware identity. Just as Apple and Samsung set apart their phones with certain design elements, Google has come to claim the camera bar as a visual element that’s inherent to the Pixel series, giving it its own quirky charm.

Some have argued that this gives the Pixel 9a a flatter and more uniform rear panel, although if you look closely at phones such as the Pixel 6a and 7a, their camera bars don’t protrude as much as on the flagship models, giving them a mostly flat look and feel as well. This is even felt more should one use a case on the models in question.

It can also be remembered that Google even made a big fuss out of the camera bar design on its smartphones, going so far as to publish a special deep-dive into the amount of design work and engineering that went into devices like the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, and even the Pixel Fold. Google’s Industrial Designer Sangsoo Park states:

“If you look back at Pixel 5 all the sensors were all grouped into this little square — so when we knew the camera would be greatly improved, we wanted to do something different. We didn’t want the phone to be bigger, and wanted to really maintain everything being contained and streamlined, but also celebrated in a way.”

On one hand, Google might just be trying out a way to differentiate is midrange Pixel models from the mainline series, similar to what it did with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold which also featured a different camera hardware design. Who knows, perhaps Google might formally come up with an explanation as to why the Pixel 9a looks radically different from the Pixel 9 flagships; we can also consider the fact that the Pixel 10 – at least based on leaks – looks so familiar to last year’s models, which might mean that Google is still sticking to the Pixel’s general design, at least for the time being.

READ: Google Gives an Insight into How it Designed the Pixel’s Camera Bar

In any case, the Pixel 9a has so far managed to stir up discussion online, and its true worth will undoubtedly rest on its overall performance in terms of everyday usage, software features, and photography. At the end of the day though, I still think that its camera could have looked better.

The post The Pixel 9a is all But Official, but has Google Messed Up this Time? appeared first on Phandroid.