This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it.Learn more 2025 has been a solid year for new smartphones.The usual suspects made good impressions with the exceptionally fully-featured Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra starting the year off with a bang, through to the impressively orange iPhone 17 Pro, the OnePlus 15 with its astonishing three day battery life and the marvelously thin folding Honor Magic V5.But when I sat down to decide what my favourite phone of the year was, I was surprised to find my mind drawn to a much plainer, cheaper device.
Here at Express.co.uk, we often get comments under the reviews of the most expensive smartphones, incredulous that these devices cost north of £1,000, and I can totally see that these high-end pocket computers are too much moolah for most.It’s made me appreciate the cheaper devices that still impress, which is why my favourite phone of the year is the Google Pixel 9a.At £499, it offers a close to identical experience as the £999 Pixel 10 Pro, and I have used it extensively with my main SIM card slotted inside.It’s also regularly on sale, with the phone currently just £349 from several retailers including Argos.Google Pixel 9aThe Google Pixel 9a can frequently be found on sale in the UK for less than its £499 RRP.It’s a phone that is truly more than the sum of its parts.
The Pixel 9a does not have the best screen, the best cameras, the best battery life or the best design of any phone out there.But it could be the best phone for most people because all those things on it are excellent, and when you add the superb software on top of that, it’s close to the complete package for hundreds less than the phones that are pushed in adverts by Google itself, or its rivals.Like many of us, I struggle with phone addiction.Being glued to my phone all day without even realising it sucks.
I waste time when I should be working, socialising, reading - you know, living.In being a distinctly mid-range phone in price, looks and function, the Pixel 9a isn’t a device I want to keep picking up to get drawn into time-suck apps like Instagram.In fact, Instagram isn’t on my phone any more, as for some psychological reason it is easier for me to run the Pixel 9a with a few essential apps, which feels harder to do on more capable phones that my brain thinks need to be loaded with every app under the sun to justify their expense.Mentally, if I have a £1,799 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 in my pocket, I want to use it all the time.It’d be a waste of money if I didn’t! I need to use that inner folding screen, obviously.
Time to binge YouTube instead of talking to my family.At £499, the Google Pixel 9a is a great deal.At its £349 sale price, it’s an amazing deal Tech news, reviews and latest gadgets plus selected offers and competitions Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you.This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding.
You can unsubscribe at any time.Read our Privacy PolicyGet More of Our News on GoogleSet Daily Express as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.Not so with the austere Pixel 9a.
Even in pink, it’s not much to look at.It is a functional tool because it looks and feels like one.On another note, the Pixel 9a has no camera bump.This is rare in the phone world, but I find it refreshing.
It does detract from recent Pixel phones’ distinctive ‘camera bar’ look, but it adds to the plainness that keeps me from my worst phone habits.The cameras themselves are great, though there is no telephoto lens.I do miss the zoom sometimes, but the main camera is so good for point-and-shoot photography that I don’t really care most of the time.
The rest of the positives of the phone keep me happy.And while phones such as the OnePlus 15 have made me see three-day battery life is possible on a phone, the Pixel 9a is very impressive in how it can last for two, in my usage.Google’s adaptive battery algorithm has worked wonders - I get much better battery life on the phone now than when I first used it as it has learned my use patterns and acts accordingly.Clever software kicks in elsewhere too: if you have a morning alarm set, the phone will charge slower when plugged in so it’s full when you wake up and not over-charging and harming the battery for hours overnight.But this cheaper Pixel has another trick, in that Google has opted to leave out some of its more advanced AI compared to the pricier Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 phones.This is a positive thing to me.
I don’t want tons of annoying AI like Google’s Magic Cue or automated priority notifications.I can think for myself, and I don’t like this new age of phone AI getting in the way of how I use my phone.Despite Google being one of the main offenders in this area, the Pixel 9a is blissfully free of many of the annoying new AI tools I don’t want.
Good!The Pixel 9a is a phone for normal people with normal needs and normal budgets.Really, that is all of us.Phone companies have convinced us we all need the most expensive iPhone, the priciest Pixel, the swankiest Galaxy.
If you have to pay £50 per month for two years to get a phone, it’s probably not a good deal.At £499, the Google Pixel 9a is a great deal.At its £349 sale price, it’s an amazing deal you might be able to buy outright to avoid a lengthy contract.Slap a case on the phone and take care of the battery and it might last for years.
