Google Pixel 9a vs iPhone 15 Pro

Google Pixel 9a

Google

8.6

Best $500 phone you can buy

iPhone 15 Pro

Apple

8.6

Smaller, lighter Pro — same A17 + USB-C 3.0, no 5x periscope

Google Pixel 9a

What Reviewers Agree On

5,100 mAh battery is the largest in any Pixel ever and delivers 'crazy' battery life — 12h+ in lab tests, comfortable two-day use under light usage, 7-8h screen-on time common in reviews.
$499 retail (often $349-$399 on sale) makes it Wirecutter and Linus Tech Tips' top pick for 'best $500 phone you can buy' — and at $300 sale prices it's an outright steal.
7 years of Android OS and security updates through 2032 — same flagship-tier policy Google gives the Pixel 9 Pro XL on a $500 phone.
Same Tensor G4 chip as the flagship Pixel 9 — runs all Gemini AI features, Magic Editor, Circle to Search, and Pixel-exclusive software with no day-to-day performance gap.
48MP main camera with Pixel image processing punches well above the price tier — daytime photos rival flagship phones and have the 'classic Pixel HDR look.'

Pros & Cons

Google Pixel 9a

Pros

5,100 mAh battery is the largest in any Pixel ever and delivers 'crazy' battery life — 12h+ in lab tests, comfortable two-day use under light usage, 7-8h screen-on time common in reviews.
$499 retail (often $349-$399 on sale) makes it Wirecutter and Linus Tech Tips' top pick for 'best $500 phone you can buy' — and at $300 sale prices it's an outright steal.
7 years of Android OS and security updates through 2032 — same flagship-tier policy Google gives the Pixel 9 Pro XL on a $500 phone.
Same Tensor G4 chip as the flagship Pixel 9 — runs all Gemini AI features, Magic Editor, Circle to Search, and Pixel-exclusive software with no day-to-day performance gap.

Detailed Comparison

Cameras

Google Pixel 9a

48MP main camera (f/1.7, OIS, smaller sensor than Pixel 9 but bigger than Pixel 8a's 64MP) + 13MP ultrawide. Pixel image processing produces 'classic Pixel HDR look' that reviewers consistently rate the best camera in the under-$500 price bracket. Macro mode, Add Me, Night Sight, and Magic Editor all included; video capped at 4K 60fps rear / 4K 30fps front and ultrawide.

48MP main camera 'is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best camera on a phone in its price category' per The News Minute long-term review.
Main sensor is smaller than Pixel 9 — 'a substantially smaller sensor than the one on the Pixel 9, but this compromise is what has allowed Google to make the camera bump so tiny' per Tech Chap.
Macro mode now built into the main camera as a Pixel 8a upgrade — newly added at the 9a price tier.
Add Me feature included from flagship Pixel 9 — combines two photos into a group shot via AI overlay.

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Deal Breakers

Only 8GB RAM (vs 12GB on Pixel 9, 16GB on Pixel 9 Pro) — Pixel Screenshots app, callotes, and some Gemini Nano features unavailable on the 9a as a result.
23W wired charging is slow — full charge takes ~1h 41m, vs 50W+ on midrange Xiaomi/OnePlus competitors; 7.5W Qi wireless is also slow and non-Qi2.
Plastic back + Gorilla Glass 3 screen — older glass spec, P-OLED display has some 'mura' or grain visibility per SuperSaf, and the back is plastic vs glass on the Pixel 9.
Optical under-display fingerprint sensor is slower and less reliable than ultrasonic — reviewers consistently flag it as the build's weakest UX point.
Android 16 stable update launched with screen-brightness bugs, lock-button lag, and auto-rotate failures — most fixed in subsequent updates but a rough first month.

iPhone 15 Pro

What Reviewers Agree On

Grade-5 titanium frame drops weight to 187g (~19g lighter than 14 Pro) — most-praised in-hand feel of any small flagship
Same A17 Pro 3nm chip with hardware ray tracing, 8GB RAM, NVMe — same performance as the $200-more Pro Max
Same USB-C 3.0 (10Gbps), Action Button, ProMotion 120Hz, 2000-nit peak as the Pro Max — Pro features in a compact body
Same Apple Intelligence support on iOS 18+ — future-proofs through iOS 23+ in 2030s
Genuinely pocketable 6.1-inch flagship — increasingly rare in a 6.7"+ Pro-Max-dominant market
WIRED 8/10 — 'iPhone 15 Pro is the small Pro that finally tempts large-Pro owners'

Deal Breakers

No 5x Tetraprism periscope — Apple gated it to Pro Max only, leaving the Pro stuck at 3x optical telephoto
$999 base is 128GB (vs Pro Max's $1,199 / 256GB) — feels stingy at the Pro price
Launch overheating: A17 Pro ran hot in early units, iOS 17.0.3 mitigated but didn't fully eliminate
Battery regressed slightly vs the 14 Pro in several real-world tests — owners coming from older iPhones may notice
Titanium frame discolors from hand oils, matte finish picks up fingerprints visibly — same complaint as Pro Max

Cons

Only 8GB RAM (vs 12GB on Pixel 9, 16GB on Pixel 9 Pro) — Pixel Screenshots app, callotes, and some Gemini Nano features unavailable on the 9a as a result.
23W wired charging is slow — full charge takes ~1h 41m, vs 50W+ on midrange Xiaomi/OnePlus competitors; 7.5W Qi wireless is also slow and non-Qi2.
Plastic back + Gorilla Glass 3 screen — older glass spec, P-OLED display has some 'mura' or grain visibility per SuperSaf, and the back is plastic vs glass on the Pixel 9.
Optical under-display fingerprint sensor is slower and less reliable than ultrasonic — reviewers consistently flag it as the build's weakest UX point.
Android 16 stable update launched with screen-brightness bugs, lock-button lag, and auto-rotate failures — most fixed in subsequent updates but a rough first month.

iPhone 15 Pro

Pros

Grade-5 titanium frame drops weight to 187g (~19g lighter than 14 Pro) — most-praised in-hand feel of any small flagship
Same A17 Pro 3nm chip with hardware ray tracing, 8GB RAM, NVMe — same performance as the $200-more Pro Max
Same USB-C 3.0 (10Gbps), Action Button, ProMotion 120Hz, 2000-nit peak as the Pro Max — Pro features in a compact body
Same Apple Intelligence support on iOS 18+ — future-proofs through iOS 23+ in 2030s
Genuinely pocketable 6.1-inch flagship — increasingly rare in a 6.7"+ Pro-Max-dominant market
WIRED 8/10 — 'iPhone 15 Pro is the small Pro that finally tempts large-Pro owners'

Cons

No 5x Tetraprism periscope — Apple gated it to Pro Max only, leaving the Pro stuck at 3x optical telephoto
$999 base is 128GB (vs Pro Max's $1,199 / 256GB) — feels stingy at the Pro price
Launch overheating: A17 Pro ran hot in early units, iOS 17.0.3 mitigated but didn't fully eliminate
Battery regressed slightly vs the 14 Pro in several real-world tests — owners coming from older iPhones may notice
Titanium frame discolors from hand oils, matte finish picks up fingerprints visibly — same complaint as Pro Max

iPhone 15 Pro

48MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 12MP 3x telephoto + 12MP TrueDepth front. The notable miss vs the Pro Max is no 5x Tetraprism periscope — the Pro is stuck at 3x optical, the first time Apple meaningfully gated zoom by phone size.

Cameras: 48MP main (f/1.78, sensor-shift OIS), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 12MP 3x telephoto (77mm, f/2.8), 12MP TrueDepth selfie.
NO 5x Tetraprism periscope — Apple kept it Pro Max exclusive. The 15 Pro caps at 3x optical telephoto with computational zoom to 15x.
48MP main + ProRAW + ProRes via USB-C 3.0 enable creator-grade workflows the smaller phone can now handle.
Daylight photo quality matches the Pro Max — sensor, processing and software are identical except the periscope.
vs Pixel 8 Pro at $999: Google's Tensor G3 wins on computational tricks (Magic Eraser, Magic Editor, Best Take); iPhone wins on natural color and video stabilization.