{"video_id":"54MHQPcfjfE","title":"Shoot. I got the wrong phone. - Google Pixel 9a Unboxing","channel":"ShortCircuit","show":"ShortCircuit","published_at":"2025-05-04T14:58:16Z","duration_s":687,"segments":[{"start_s":0.16,"end_s":5.6,"text":"Just three days ago, I finally hit my breaking point with the iPhone and I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":3.84,"end_s":9.599,"text":"went, \"Look, I just need an Android that has decent camera, clean software, and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.16,"end_s":13.36,"text":"reasonable performance. I picked up the Nothing Phone 3a. If only I'd known that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":11.679,"end_s":18.8,"text":"I was going to come in this morning and be greeted by the Pixel 9a, an option","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":16.16,"end_s":24.56,"text":"that nails all of those requirements and comes with 7 years of security updates.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":22.16,"end_s":31.039,"text":"Now, uh, let's start with the pink one, shall we? Oh, sorry. Excuse me. PE pivo","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":28.72,"end_s":35.68,"text":"rose piv. The main highlights compared to the Pixel 8a are, of course, the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.28,"end_s":41.6,"text":"slightly larger, brighter display, the higher capacity, faster charging","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":37.6,"end_s":44.0,"text":"battery, and the move from IP67 to IP68","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.6,"end_s":48.48,"text":"water and dust resistance. Being a member of the Pixel 9 family, you also","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":45.84,"end_s":53.84,"text":"move to the Tensor G4 processor, which should amount to improved performance,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":50.879,"end_s":58.96,"text":"albeit not as much as the 9 and 9 Pro, given that it has only 8 gigs of memory","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":55.76,"end_s":61.28,"text":"versus 12. But with all of that said,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":58.96,"end_s":67.04,"text":"the thing that really stands out to me, even after dailying the Nothing Phone 3A","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.0,"end_s":69.92,"text":"for just a few days, is the near","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":67.04,"end_s":72.96,"text":"complete lack of a camera bump. Not only does it stand out compared to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":71.04,"end_s":77.92,"text":"monstrosities like this, but even compared to the Pixel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":74.92,"end_s":81.24,"text":"8a, the privilege of being able to put","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.92,"end_s":84.0,"text":"my phone down on a table and have it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":81.24,"end_s":89.04,"text":"functionally not even move no matter where I tap on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.56,"end_s":90.56,"text":"it. That's really appealing. Man, this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":89.04,"end_s":97.88,"text":"one has been hilarious. Like, I legitimately have trouble getting it into my pocket sometimes. Watch this.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":94.119,"end_s":100.32,"text":"Okay. Okay. Well, the the one time it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":97.88,"end_s":104.72,"text":"works. Maybe my technique has just gotten better. Whatever. The point is it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":102.56,"end_s":108.24,"text":"definitely gets stuck sometimes. In terms of accessories, Google has taken","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.399,"end_s":114.32,"text":"the you'll get nothing and you'll like it approach. You get a SIM removal tool","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.159,"end_s":117.52,"text":"and a USB 2 USBC to C cable. What is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.32,"end_s":119.759,"text":"this? 3 ft. Okay. With packaging that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":117.52,"end_s":125.88,"text":"disintegrates the second you touch it. But is eco-friendly. So, shout out that.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.96,"end_s":131.76,"text":"Actually, it's all cardboard. Nice. Yep, a three-foot cable. It at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":129.52,"end_s":136.56,"text":"least feels decent. The good news is you probably won't need that cable very","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":132.959,"end_s":139.2,"text":"often. Google claims an unprecedented 30","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":136.56,"end_s":143.599,"text":"plus hours of battery life on the 9a with up to 100 hours in their extreme","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":141.76,"end_s":147.92,"text":"battery saver mode. While we weren't able to reproduce those numbers exactly,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.92,"end_s":153.36,"text":"what we did find was that in our standard battery life test, it beat the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":150.319,"end_s":157.28,"text":"Pixel 9 by about 20% and it beat the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":153.36,"end_s":159.28,"text":"Pixel 8a by about 40%. So, it's clear","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":157.28,"end_s":163.68,"text":"that Google has been hard at work on the efficiency of both their hardware and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":161.68,"end_s":168.72,"text":"their software. Speaking of software, Google promises 7 years of security","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":166.56,"end_s":172.72,"text":"updates for the 9a, which is a major value ad for the tens of dollars more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":170.879,"end_s":176.959,"text":"that you might pay compared to other mid-range Android devices. And there's a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":175.36,"end_s":182.4,"text":"lot more to like. While they're not going to win any awards for design","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":179.4,"end_s":184.319,"text":"creativity, it's an awfully cute phone,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":182.4,"end_s":188.879,"text":"especially in this pink color. On the right, you'll find a lock button as well","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":186.48,"end_s":192.239,"text":"as volume rocker, neither of which have any opposing buttons that you could","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":190.8,"end_s":196.8,"text":"accidentally mash while you're trying to press them. I consider that a plus. At","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":194.72,"end_s":201.92,"text":"the top, you've got a mic for noise cancelling. At the bottom, we get a USB","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.959,"end_s":206.319,"text":"3.2 port. Boy, did I ever miss that when I was dailying the iPhone 16 Plus and I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":204.08,"end_s":210.799,"text":"needed to ingest photos. Uh SIM tray as well as a speaker grill. And finally, at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.239,"end_s":215.04,"text":"the back, we get a 48 megapixel wide camera as well as a 13 megapixel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.879,"end_s":220.959,"text":"ultrawide camera to go with our camera flash. On the front, our selfie camera","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":217.68,"end_s":223.04,"text":"is also 13 megapixels capable of 4K 30","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":220.959,"end_s":227.76,"text":"video recording. And as always, you can expect the camera experience to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":225.4,"end_s":231.36,"text":"pixelicious. Or at least I hope you can. I haven't actually tried it yet, and I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":229.599,"end_s":235.36,"text":"will try it in a second as soon as we give you this message from our sponsor,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":232.92,"end_s":239.76,"text":"Dbrand. It's a pretty simple one today. They sent over their grip case for the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":237.04,"end_s":245.599,"text":"Pixel 9a as well as their glow circuit skin which was created in collaboration","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":241.76,"end_s":248.56,"text":"with that's right folks yours truly. It","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":245.599,"end_s":252.959,"text":"features a unique extra grippy textured finish thanks to its kind of 3D printed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":251.12,"end_s":257.359,"text":"manufacturing process. You can check that out in the dedicated video that we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":254.64,"end_s":261.519,"text":"did over on LT and was created in collaboration with actual electronics","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":259.359,"end_s":266.16,"text":"engineers. So, it's a somewhat plausible circuit layout rather than just being","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":263.68,"end_s":272.639,"text":"random artists impressions. Perhaps the best part, it glows in the dark. Do you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":268.96,"end_s":274.479,"text":"want to hit the lights? Dang. Cool.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":272.639,"end_s":279.04,"text":"Sorry, I didn't know this. Seriously, how cool is that? Like always, their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":276.56,"end_s":284.56,"text":"grip case features their extra clicky buttons as well as outstanding drop","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":282.04,"end_s":288.32,"text":"protection. So, get yours today at uh what is it going to be? Shortlinus.com.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":286.88,"end_s":292.24,"text":"All right, let's try out this camera. I'm really excited about this cuz if I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":290.08,"end_s":297.12,"text":"could have a phone that had a decent enough camera but no huge camera bump,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.04,"end_s":302.56,"text":"I'd be very interested in that. Okay, definitely some post-processing going on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":299.12,"end_s":305.919,"text":"here as you would expect from an AI","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":302.56,"end_s":308.479,"text":"enabled device. That is really not the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":305.919,"end_s":313.039,"text":"best I've seen. I mean, it's probably going to be better than the 3a Pro just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":310.72,"end_s":317.919,"text":"by merit of not oversharpening the crap out of everything.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":314.6,"end_s":320.08,"text":"But I got to give the Pixel the edge.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.919,"end_s":324.08,"text":"Look at that. You can still make out the creases in the fabric here, whereas","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":321.52,"end_s":328.639,"text":"they're blown out on the uh 3a Pro from nothing. That is a perfectly acceptable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":326.32,"end_s":331.759,"text":"selfie camera. I mean, I wish the guy taking the picture didn't look like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":329.759,"end_s":334.8,"text":"that. But hold on a second. How's my ultra wide? I mean, that's the one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":332.8,"end_s":337.919,"text":"that's only 13 megapixels, right? Like, are we going to have enough resolution","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":336.08,"end_s":341.84,"text":"here, boys? Coming back to AI for a minute. While the 9a is packed with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":339.84,"end_s":346.4,"text":"Google's AI features. It has their Gemini Assistant. It has their Pixel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":343.919,"end_s":350.08,"text":"Studio so you can create and edit memes and share them and stuff. It's got call","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":348.56,"end_s":355.12,"text":"assist so you can apparently hear calls more clearly and it'll wait on hold for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":351.84,"end_s":358.24,"text":"you. Because it only has 8 gigs of RAM,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":355.12,"end_s":361.68,"text":"it can't run the same large models as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":358.24,"end_s":364.08,"text":"its bigger non brethren. So, for one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":361.68,"end_s":368.24,"text":"thing, Gemini is apparently like a a smaller version that doesn't run in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":366.16,"end_s":371.6,"text":"background all the time. So, some things might be a little bit less responsive.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":370.08,"end_s":376.72,"text":"It also doesn't support pixel screenshots, which is kind of like Windows recall but for Android. And it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":375.44,"end_s":381.039,"text":"doesn't support their call notes feature. Honestly though, am I the only","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":378.88,"end_s":385.68,"text":"one who heard all of that and went that sounds great? Am I missing something","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":382.96,"end_s":390.0,"text":"here? I mean, it's not good that this is the first A series phone where they've","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":388.0,"end_s":395.12,"text":"dropped features compared to the regular non A. But are those not the ones that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":392.479,"end_s":399.919,"text":"we would have turned off anyway? Why don't we talk about the screen? Unlike","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":397.199,"end_s":405.28,"text":"the 8A, which was limited to 1400 nits HDR and about 2,000 nits peak brightness","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":403.12,"end_s":412.08,"text":"under, you know, sunny conditions, the 9A boasts 1,800 nits peak brightness in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":408.319,"end_s":413.84,"text":"HDR and 2700 nits, which by the way, in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.08,"end_s":418.479,"text":"our testing, we were able to get pretty darn close to. Let's check out some HDR","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":416.479,"end_s":422.88,"text":"video, shall we? Wow, does that ever look good. Now, these days,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":420.8,"end_s":426.56,"text":"manufacturers have a tendency to fudge the numbers a little bit around peak","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.319,"end_s":430.8,"text":"brightness and HDR brightness. So, we don't really bat an eye if things are a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":428.08,"end_s":435.039,"text":"little bit off. But with that said, we sure are impressed when they nail it.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":432.96,"end_s":439.919,"text":"And Google nailed it here. We got within about a 100 nits of their claims across","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":437.52,"end_s":444.24,"text":"the board. This thing looks outstanding to the point where the performance seems","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":441.919,"end_s":449.759,"text":"to be basically on par with the regular Pixel 9. It even features a 60 to 120 Hz","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":447.68,"end_s":456.4,"text":"variable refresh rate for its OLED panel. I really like this thing so far.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":453.44,"end_s":460.08,"text":"How are the speakers, though? That's something I always want to know.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":458.72,"end_s":462.4,"text":"Typically Google's been pretty good at this,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":462.599,"end_s":469.039,"text":"so good stereo separation considering","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":466.4,"end_s":474.8,"text":"how small that earpiece speaker is. I'm really impressed by that. That is a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":471.68,"end_s":477.44,"text":"great sound stage on a tiny little 6.3","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":474.8,"end_s":484.4,"text":"in phone. Well, not that the phone itself is exactly 6.3 in. That is a bit","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":480.24,"end_s":486.479,"text":"of a bezel. You know, that's a tisle.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":484.4,"end_s":490.24,"text":"But the speaker quality is actually really solid. Like, can I just take one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":488.319,"end_s":492.879,"text":"of these after the video? Does anyone know? I'm just going to take one and I'm","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":491.599,"end_s":498.879,"text":"going to try it for a bit. They're your phone. So, well, not really. They belong to Linus Media Group Incorporated. I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":496.96,"end_s":502.96,"text":"never checked out the video recording. That's something that traditionally has","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":500.479,"end_s":506.879,"text":"just been plain better on the iPhone. My god. Uh, I really hope that there's some","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":505.44,"end_s":514.159,"text":"processing that's going to happen after the fact to make this not terrible.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":509.039,"end_s":516.56,"text":"Nope. It's awful. It is just It's just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":514.159,"end_s":521.44,"text":"awful. The chips are awful. They're the wrong shape and they're just awful. Yes,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":519.279,"end_s":528.32,"text":"this is a more expensive phone. This is a 16 Plus. Oh my god. Like, in a pinch,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":526.24,"end_s":532.8,"text":"I could shoot an LTT video on this thing. In a pinch, I would just have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":530.8,"end_s":537.36,"text":"pain from this thing, you know? Like, ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow. Like, I mean,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":535.44,"end_s":542.24,"text":"those are completely different tiers. Yes, they are.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":540.24,"end_s":546.399,"text":"Like, this is horrible. I really hope that there's some processing that's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":543.68,"end_s":551.2,"text":"going to The mic is great, though. That's nice. That's nice to see. Like,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":549.279,"end_s":557.68,"text":"man, the amount of noise in this piece of crap by comparison. I mean, yeah, I can.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":555.279,"end_s":562.56,"text":"I bet the nine's not any different. Man, I would go 9A just to not have this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":560.0,"end_s":566.72,"text":"horrible camera bump. Okay. Yeah. expect markedly better","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":564.8,"end_s":570.24,"text":"performance in low light situations on the regular 9 versus the 9A. I mean, it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":568.8,"end_s":574.16,"text":"makes sense. Look how much bigger that flipping lens is. Just it's a thing you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":572.72,"end_s":578.64,"text":"should know. I still think I would choose this cuz this is a pretty tough","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":576.56,"end_s":583.44,"text":"scenario. It's very dark in here. Ah, yes. Instead of Wi-Fi 7, we're stuck","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":580.72,"end_s":587.279,"text":"with Wi-Fi 6E. Personally, I don't think that's a huge deal on a mobile device","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":585.04,"end_s":590.64,"text":"like this, but your mileage may vary. We also, you know, speaking of things that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":589.04,"end_s":595.839,"text":"I'm just not going to get over, okay, like giant camera bumps, camera holes.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":593.519,"end_s":600.399,"text":"There's a hole in your display, which has actually been bothering me quite a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":598.0,"end_s":605.6,"text":"bit on the iPhone 16 Plus while I was using it. Dude, I watch movies on my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":602.56,"end_s":607.92,"text":"phone. Having a hole in my movie, like,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":605.6,"end_s":610.88,"text":"I want to watch the whole movie, not the hole in the movie. There's a few more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":609.68,"end_s":615.279,"text":"housekeeping items. It supports Bluetooth 5.3. The front glass is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":612.8,"end_s":619.92,"text":"Gorilla Glass 3.0. The back is a composite material that is matte","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":617.68,"end_s":624.24,"text":"apparently and I can confirm it is indeed quite matte. Seems less slippery","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":622.32,"end_s":627.36,"text":"than the Nothing 3a Pro, which I'm only comparing this to because well, it's in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":626.24,"end_s":632.56,"text":"a similar price point and I've been using it for the last few days. That was kind of convenient, wasn't it? Except","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":630.56,"end_s":636.24,"text":"that I spent hours switching over to it, and now I'm going to spend hours","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":634.24,"end_s":639.279,"text":"switching over to this. Or maybe not, because maybe the transfer wizard will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":638.0,"end_s":642.8,"text":"work this time and I'll just go from my iPhone cuz I'm only I have like 3 days","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":641.36,"end_s":648.12,"text":"worth of SMS messages that aren't synced. Uh, what else can I say about it? Oh, yes. It supports wireless","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":646.48,"end_s":652.32,"text":"charging, which the Nothing Phone does not. Let's go. Not that I care that much","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":650.959,"end_s":657.6,"text":"about that. I don't really use it. And on the subject of things I don't really care about, the gaming performance is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":655.44,"end_s":661.04,"text":"fine. It's about on par with the regular Pixel 9. I never game on my phone, but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":659.36,"end_s":666.88,"text":"if you do, then you will find this to be quite suitably adequate for adequate","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":664.32,"end_s":670.48,"text":"gaming. So, it's 500 bucks for the 128 gig version, but you can also get it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":668.32,"end_s":675.839,"text":"with 256, which you might need because, as usual with modern phones that are not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":673.76,"end_s":679.92,"text":"even high-end in this case, but whatever. Uh, you don't get expandable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":678.16,"end_s":684.24,"text":"storage. It doesn't have a headphone jack. I mean, it detects if you're in a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":681.68,"end_s":688.0,"text":"car crash, though, so I guess that's cool. Subscribe to ShortCircuit.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"Just three days ago, I finally hit my breaking point with the iPhone and I went, \"Look, I just need an Android that has decent camera, clean software, and reasonable performance. I picked up the Nothing Phone 3a. If only I'd known that I was going to come in this morning and be greeted by the Pixel 9a, an option that nails all of those requirements and comes with 7 years of security updates. Now, uh, let's start with the pink one, shall we? Oh, sorry. Excuse me. PE pivo rose piv. The main highlights compared to the Pixel 8a are, of course, the slightly larger, brighter display, the higher capacity, faster charging battery, and the move from IP67 to IP68 water and dust resistance. Being a member of the Pixel 9 family, you also move to the Tensor G4 processor, which should amount to improved performance, albeit not as much as the 9 and 9 Pro, given that it has only 8 gigs of memory versus 12. But with all of that said, the thing that really stands out to me, even after dailying the Nothing Phone 3A for just a few days, is the near complete lack of a camera bump. Not only does it stand out compared to monstrosities like this, but even compared to the Pixel 8a, the privilege of being able to put my phone down on a table and have it functionally not even move no matter where I tap on it. That's really appealing. Man, this one has been hilarious. Like, I legitimately have trouble getting it into my pocket sometimes. Watch this. Okay. Okay. Well, the the one time it works. Maybe my technique has just gotten better. Whatever. The point is it definitely gets stuck sometimes. In terms of accessories, Google has taken the you'll get nothing and you'll like it approach. You get a SIM removal tool and a USB 2 USBC to C cable. What is this? 3 ft. Okay. With packaging that disintegrates the second you touch it. But is eco-friendly. So, shout out that. Actually, it's all cardboard. Nice. Yep, a three-foot cable. It at least feels decent. The good news is you probably won't need that cable very often. Google claims an unprecedented 30 plus hours of battery life on the 9a with up to 100 hours in their extreme battery saver mode. While we weren't able to reproduce those numbers exactly, what we did find was that in our standard battery life test, it beat the Pixel 9 by about 20% and it beat the Pixel 8a by about 40%. So, it's clear that Google has been hard at work on the efficiency of both their hardware and their software. Speaking of software, Google promises 7 years of security updates for the 9a, which is a major value ad for the tens of dollars more that you might pay compared to other mid-range Android devices. And there's a lot more to like. While they're not going to win any awards for design creativity, it's an awfully cute phone, especially in this pink color. On the right, you'll find a lock button as well as volume rocker, neither of which have any opposing buttons that you could accidentally mash while you're trying to press them. I consider that a plus. At the top, you've got a mic for noise cancelling. At the bottom, we get a USB 3.2 port. Boy, did I ever miss that when I was dailying the iPhone 16 Plus and I needed to ingest photos. Uh SIM tray as well as a speaker grill. And finally, at the back, we get a 48 megapixel wide camera as well as a 13 megapixel ultrawide camera to go with our camera flash. On the front, our selfie camera is also 13 megapixels capable of 4K 30 video recording. And as always, you can expect the camera experience to be pixelicious. Or at least I hope you can. I haven't actually tried it yet, and I will try it in a second as soon as we give you this message from our sponsor, Dbrand. It's a pretty simple one today. They sent over their grip case for the Pixel 9a as well as their glow circuit skin which was created in collaboration with that's right folks yours truly. It features a unique extra grippy textured finish thanks to its kind of 3D printed manufacturing process. You can check that out in the dedicated video that we did over on LT and was created in collaboration with actual electronics engineers. So, it's a somewhat plausible circuit layout rather than just being random artists impressions. Perhaps the best part, it glows in the dark. Do you want to hit the lights? Dang. Cool. Sorry, I didn't know this. Seriously, how cool is that? Like always, their grip case features their extra clicky buttons as well as outstanding drop protection. So, get yours today at uh what is it going to be? Shortlinus.com. All right, let's try out this camera. I'm really excited about this cuz if I could have a phone that had a decent enough camera but no huge camera bump, I'd be very interested in that. Okay, definitely some post-processing going on here as you would expect from an AI enabled device. That is really not the best I've seen. I mean, it's probably going to be better than the 3a Pro just by merit of not oversharpening the crap out of everything. But I got to give the Pixel the edge. Look at that. You can still make out the creases in the fabric here, whereas they're blown out on the uh 3a Pro from nothing. That is a perfectly acceptable selfie camera. I mean, I wish the guy taking the picture didn't look like that. But hold on a second. How's my ultra wide? I mean, that's the one that's only 13 megapixels, right? Like, are we going to have enough resolution here, boys? Coming back to AI for a minute. While the 9a is packed with Google's AI features. It has their Gemini Assistant. It has their Pixel Studio so you can create and edit memes and share them and stuff. It's got call assist so you can apparently hear calls more clearly and it'll wait on hold for you. Because it only has 8 gigs of RAM, it can't run the same large models as its bigger non brethren. So, for one thing, Gemini is apparently like a a smaller version that doesn't run in the background all the time. So, some things might be a little bit less responsive. It also doesn't support pixel screenshots, which is kind of like Windows recall but for Android. And it doesn't support their call notes feature. Honestly though, am I the only one who heard all of that and went that sounds great? Am I missing something here? I mean, it's not good that this is the first A series phone where they've dropped features compared to the regular non A. But are those not the ones that we would have turned off anyway? Why don't we talk about the screen? Unlike the 8A, which was limited to 1400 nits HDR and about 2,000 nits peak brightness under, you know, sunny conditions, the 9A boasts 1,800 nits peak brightness in HDR and 2700 nits, which by the way, in our testing, we were able to get pretty darn close to. Let's check out some HDR video, shall we? Wow, does that ever look good. Now, these days, manufacturers have a tendency to fudge the numbers a little bit around peak brightness and HDR brightness. So, we don't really bat an eye if things are a little bit off. But with that said, we sure are impressed when they nail it. And Google nailed it here. We got within about a 100 nits of their claims across the board. This thing looks outstanding to the point where the performance seems to be basically on par with the regular Pixel 9. It even features a 60 to 120 Hz variable refresh rate for its OLED panel. I really like this thing so far. How are the speakers, though? That's something I always want to know. Typically Google's been pretty good at this, so good stereo separation considering how small that earpiece speaker is. I'm really impressed by that. That is a great sound stage on a tiny little 6.3 in phone. Well, not that the phone itself is exactly 6.3 in. That is a bit of a bezel. You know, that's a tisle. But the speaker quality is actually really solid. Like, can I just take one of these after the video? Does anyone know? I'm just going to take one and I'm going to try it for a bit. They're your phone. So, well, not really. They belong to Linus Media Group Incorporated. I never checked out the video recording. That's something that traditionally has just been plain better on the iPhone. My god. Uh, I really hope that there's some processing that's going to happen after the fact to make this not terrible. Nope. It's awful. It is just It's just awful. The chips are awful. They're the wrong shape and they're just awful. Yes, this is a more expensive phone. This is a 16 Plus. Oh my god. Like, in a pinch, I could shoot an LTT video on this thing. In a pinch, I would just have pain from this thing, you know? Like, ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow. Like, I mean, those are completely different tiers. Yes, they are. Like, this is horrible. I really hope that there's some processing that's going to The mic is great, though. That's nice. That's nice to see. Like, man, the amount of noise in this piece of crap by comparison. I mean, yeah, I can. I bet the nine's not any different. Man, I would go 9A just to not have this horrible camera bump. Okay. Yeah. expect markedly better performance in low light situations on the regular 9 versus the 9A. I mean, it makes sense. Look how much bigger that flipping lens is. Just it's a thing you should know. I still think I would choose this cuz this is a pretty tough scenario. It's very dark in here. Ah, yes. Instead of Wi-Fi 7, we're stuck with Wi-Fi 6E. Personally, I don't think that's a huge deal on a mobile device like this, but your mileage may vary. We also, you know, speaking of things that I'm just not going to get over, okay, like giant camera bumps, camera holes. There's a hole in your display, which has actually been bothering me quite a bit on the iPhone 16 Plus while I was using it. Dude, I watch movies on my phone. Having a hole in my movie, like, I want to watch the whole movie, not the hole in the movie. There's a few more housekeeping items. It supports Bluetooth 5.3. The front glass is Gorilla Glass 3.0. The back is a composite material that is matte apparently and I can confirm it is indeed quite matte. Seems less slippery than the Nothing 3a Pro, which I'm only comparing this to because well, it's in a similar price point and I've been using it for the last few days. That was kind of convenient, wasn't it? Except that I spent hours switching over to it, and now I'm going to spend hours switching over to this. Or maybe not, because maybe the transfer wizard will work this time and I'll just go from my iPhone cuz I'm only I have like 3 days worth of SMS messages that aren't synced. Uh, what else can I say about it? Oh, yes. It supports wireless charging, which the Nothing Phone does not. Let's go. Not that I care that much about that. I don't really use it. And on the subject of things I don't really care about, the gaming performance is fine. It's about on par with the regular Pixel 9. I never game on my phone, but if you do, then you will find this to be quite suitably adequate for adequate gaming. So, it's 500 bucks for the 128 gig version, but you can also get it with 256, which you might need because, as usual with modern phones that are not even high-end in this case, but whatever. Uh, you don't get expandable storage. It doesn't have a headphone jack. I mean, it detects if you're in a car crash, though, so I guess that's cool. Subscribe to ShortCircuit."}