Google Pixel 9a

Google rumored to launch Pixel 9a in March 2025

Ben Schoon | Oct 3 2024 - 8:45 am PT

Following an early Pixel 9 series launch in August, it’s now being reported that the mid-range Pixel 9a could launch as soon as March 2025, the earliest release date in the lineup’s history.

Google’s release schedules have been shifting in some major ways as of late. The Pixel 9 series was released in August, over two months before the usual October expectation, and before Android 15 even made its debut. And, beyond that, there’s some evidence that Android 16 might launch much earlier than usual as well.

The early schedule seems to also be in place for the Pixel 9a.

According to Android Headlines, who cites “multiple sources,” the Pixel 9a will be “available for pre-order” in mid-March 2025, the earliest Pixel release date yet by a considerable margin.

That two-month change in schedule would align exactly with the rest of the Pixel 9a series, and would explain why we’re already seeing so many leaks, and even prototypes out in the wild.

The same report also cites “earlier” CAD-based renders of the Pixel 9a as evidence for the altered schedule, but similar leaks of Pixel 8a hit the web almost exactly the same time last year, just a week later.

Google’s mid-range Pixel series has been the most volatile in terms of a release schedule. The initial Pixel 3a release took place at Google I/O in May 2019, but the excellent follow-up in Pixel 4a ended up delayed into August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Pixel 5a followed that timeline a year later. In 2022, the Pixel 6a launched in July, and Pixel 7a finally moved back up to I/O with a launch at I/O 2023. The Pixel 8a kept the pattern going, with an announcement the week before I/O on May 7.

The report also claims that Google intends to keep this schedule in place going forward, with Pixel 10a in 2026 also launching in March. There’s also mention of Pixel 10 launching in August, a date which has not been mentioned (despite the report reading as though it’s referencing existing rumors). An August release would make sense given the pattern established by the Pixel 9’s release, but with so many schedule changes from Google, it’s hard to know the company’s plans.