The Google Pixel 9a was launched about a week ago, delivering 2025’s low-cost Pixel option. It brings a new design with a lot of the same great software features that you can get with the mainline Pixel 9 devices. Plus, you supposedly don’t even need to compromise too much on performance, with the same Tensor G4 chip working magic.
Unfortunately, that “supposedly” is doing a lot of heavy lifting. if you wanted to get your hands on the smartphone quickly, it looks like that’s not going to happen. The device’s release is being delayed due to overheating and performance throttling issues with some Pixel 9a units, according to a leaker.
A “High Profile Phone” Is Being Withdrawn From Reviewers Due to Overheating
One major advantage of the Google Pixel 9a to those who want a smartphone that costs less is that they expect to get a mostly equivalent amount of performance to the Google Pixel 9 and its compatriots (besides having less RAM). The Pixel 9a launched about a week ago, bringing a new design and a lot of improved specs compared to the Pixel 8a from last year.
However, the device has yet to open for pre-orders, which is odd, considering most phones do so the moment they’re announced. If you’ve really been hungry for the phone, you’re probably wondering what’s going on, and there seems to be an answer for that if we can take the word of a tech leaker.
According to Tech Auntyji on X, a “very high profile phone” has been withdrawn from several reviewers due to overheating issues. While you might want to say Google is “innocent until proven guilty” due to the vagueness here, it’s the only phone that has been withdrawn recently, plus the leaker’s next tweet says “Don’t Google it”. It seems pretty obvious to me which phone is being referred to.
Pre-Orders Should Hopefully Open in April
The same tweet from Tech Auntyji muses that the Pixel 9a should be ready to go in April, following bug fixes. Whether that means it will be freshly opened for pre-orders or sent straight to shelves isn’t clear yet, but it at least gives a date for interested buyers to work with.
Google made a statement earlier, stating that a “component quality issue” was affecting “a small number” of Google Pixel 9a smartphones. The problem could be a lot more widespread than they’re letting us in on, but we obviously don’t expect them to acknowledge that if it were the case.
An Early Google Pixel 9a Video Showed Intense Throttling During a Benchmark
In case you might think that overheating in this case could be overblown, a video from Sahil Karoul, a tech YouTuber who was able to get his hands on the device particularly early, showed how bad it could get.
The creator made a video where he ran a benchmark on the device. Monitoring temperatures at the same time, the test was able to demonstrate that the Pixel 9a throttled to as low as 61% of its maximum performance. While that’s not bad if it is a gradual decline, the performance graph shows how quickly performance dips, and not even in a steady fashion.
