Summary: The Google Pixel 9a camera got reviewed by DXOMARK, and the results are… interesting. The phone did not exactly shine, and was placed on the 33rd place in DXOMARK’s rankings. DXOMARK highlighted a number of issues with this camera.
DXOMARK managed to get their hands on the Pixel 9a to review the phone’s camera. The Pixel 9a did not exactly shine in DXOMARK’s camera test. Truth be told, this is a budget phone, so that is to be expected. Google did surprise us in the past, though, so people tend to have high camera expectations from the company, even when it comes to budget phones.
The Google Pixel 9a camera did not exactly shine in DXOMARK’s review
The Pixel 9a ended up being ranked as 33th best camera by DXOMARK. The site did not reveal all camera smartphones out there, not even all flagship ones, so keep that in mind. The Pixel 9a managed to score 143 overall camera points.
The phone shares 33th place with the Huawei P50 Pro. What’s interesting is that DXOMARK placed the Galaxy S24 Ultra to 32nd place, while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is 35th. This list is not exactly what you’d expect it to be. The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is still no1 on the list, followed by the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and HONOR Magic6 Pro.
With that being said, the Pixel 9a scored 150 points in the photo category and 137 points for its video capabilities. DXOMARK highlighted high noise levels in both photo and video, and also rather poor bokeh, at least compared to other camera sections.
DXOMARK listed some major ‘Pros’ & ‘Cons’
Under the ‘Pros’ section, DXOMARK listed accurate exposure and good highlight retention. Fairly neutral white balance and nice colors in most test conditions were also hailed. The last ‘Pro’ listed is good for rendering of fine detail in daylight and indoor shoots, as well as macro mode.
For ‘Cons’, DXOMARK listed lack of detail in very low light scenes. Occasional dynamic range instabilities across consecutive shots issue was also listed. DXOMARK also said that noise reduction instabilities across consecutive shots are also a problem. The same goes for depth estimation artifacts in bokeh shots.
The Pixel 9a actually has a smaller main camera sensor than its predecessor, the Pixel 8a. Google’s choices for this phone are a bit weird, especially when it comes to the camera. You can check out our Pixel 9a review here.
