Earlier this year, the company issued an urgent firmware update for the long-discontinued Pixel 4A to address battery overheating concerns. (The 5,100mAh battery in the Pixel 9A is the largest of any Google phone to date.) Google has also had to extended warranty coverage for display defects on the Pixel 8.

Google’s Pixel 9a doesn’t just look like a strong successor over last year’s model, it also appears to be the best phone that won’t break the bank.

Google's debuting the new $499 Pixel 9A phone, breaking from the company's history of releasing the lower-cost Pixel A phones closer to the company's I/O conference.