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The Pixel 9a launched earlier this year as a midrange Android phone that balanced performance and price. So, it was only a matter of time before things dramatically shifted toward the latter, as holiday deals made the already affordable Google phone even more so.
Case in point: the Pixel 9a for $349 is the best phone deal this Amazon Prime Day, and I stand by it.
Also: Best Amazon Prime Day deals 2025: Our 75+ favorite sales this October
I put it best in my review: The Google Pixel 9a skips the flashy features, but nails the essentials — a reliable formula for lasting appeal. If you’re on the market for a new phone, especially one that’s somehow both affordable and will likely hold up well over the coming years, I’d put the Pixel 9a above competing models from Samsung, OnePlus, and Motorola.
I’d even put it ahead of Apple’s iPhone 16e, which costs $250 more (versus the current sale price) and offers an inferior feature set. For the Prime Day price of $349, the Pixel 9a comes with a sizeable 6.3-inch OLED display that refreshes at 120Hz and gets plenty bright, a dual camera system, and 8GB of RAM and Google’s Tensor G4 chipset to handle most AI workloads.
Review: Why I recommend the Google Pixel 9a over competing models from Samsung and OnePlus
While the design is arguably stale, the phone does come in a playful lineup of colors, from safer picks like Obsidian (Black) and Porcelain (Beige) to fun ones like Iris (Blue) and Peony (Pink). I handled all of them at release time, and you really can’t go wrong with any colorway. Even though the Pixel 9a is considerably smaller than the Pro Max and Ultra handsets out there, it’s impressively enduring with a 5,100mAh battery.
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But at such a bargain price, there are bound to be some caveats, right? Fortunately, the Pixel 9a’s aren’t the biggest deal-breakers. For example, the 23W charging can take a good two hours to fully charge the device; it doesn’t have the same Qi2 magnetic capabilities as the more modern Pixel 10 series devices; and you’ll have to settle for some thick bezels surrounding the display.
Still, if you can bear those drawbacks, you really won’t find a better phone deal this holiday season. Amazon is currently discounting $150 from the Google Pixel 9a–>, bringing it down to just $349 for the 128GB variant. That’s the lowest price on the phone we’ve seen to date.
Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.
How I rated this deal
This deal qualifies as a 4/5 by ZDNET’s scoring criteria, as it’s a significant discount that puts the product at its lowest price yet. Will we see a better deal in the coming month? Possibly, but Amazon will likely offer price adjustments if you decide to buy the phone ahead of time and worry about promotional changes later.
While many sales events feature deals for a specific length of time, deals are on a limited-time basis, making them subject to expiring at any time. ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best offers to help you maximize your savings so you can feel as confident in your purchases as we are in our recommendations.
Our ZDNET team of experts constantly monitors the deals we feature to keep our stories up-to-date. If you missed out on this deal, don’t worry — we’re continually sourcing new savings opportunities at ZDNET.com.
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