The Google Pixel 9a is our top pick for the best midrange phone on the market right now. It’s a great value at $499, but when it’s $150 off like it is for Amazon Prime Day, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better smartphone in this price range. You can pick it up for only $349 during the sale, or step up to either the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro, which both are on sale for the first time.
The Pixel 9a may lack the cutting-edge sizzle of ultra-premium phones that cost triple what you’ll pay here. But in return, you get strong performance, a sleek design, a robust battery that lasts over 28 hours and camera quality that rivals that of competitors costing $1,000 or more.
Get the best mid-range phone for $349 during October Prime Day.
$349 at Amazon
The phone has a simple design with an aluminum frame and a recycled polycarbonate back. It has an IP68 rating for solid protection against dust and water. On the front, you have a spacious 6.3-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen’s brightness can reach an impressive 2,700 nits, matching the standard Pixel 9. Its resolution is a crisp 1080 x 2424 (422 PPI).
In Engadget’s tests, the Pixel 9a’s camera “preserved more details and produced a generally better-looking image” than the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s. (If you aren’t familiar, that’s a $1,300 phone.) The Pixel 9a does lack a dedicated telephoto lens. But Google has included the Super Res Zoom AI upscaling feature to help compensate for the loss.
Amazon’s deal includes all four colors available for the phone: obsidian, porcelain, peony and iris. There’s no guarantee stock will last through all of October Prime Day, so you may want to consider pouncing soon if this deal is for you. Also on sale are the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro, which you can pick up for $$649 and $799, respectively.
