Here's why the Pixel 9a is missing some of the Pixel 9's best AI features

Modern AI models are getting more capable every day, and that we’re able to run some of them on hardware as portable as our phones feels like a small miracle. Their power comes at a cost, through, and that frequently means some hefty memory demands — that’s exactly why Google’s push to transition everyone from Assistant to Gemini will only spare users whose phones have the very least RAM. Today Google announced its latest affordable flagship, the Pixel 9a, and it turns out even this handset is making some sacrifices when it comes to AI and memory constraints.

Just like the mainline Pixel 9 series, the Pixel 9a runs Google’s own Tensor G4 chip. But while the Pixel 9 is equipped with 12GB of RAM, and the Pixel 9 Pro pushes that even higher to 16GB, the Pixel 9a is limited to just 8GB. And while that’s the same as we got with the Pixel 8a, Google’s growing focus on Gemini means that old practices just aren’t going to cut it moving forward.

While existing Pixel 9 phones run an on-device Gemini model that Google’s dubbed Nano XS (extra small), Ars Technica reports that the Pixel 9a’s 8GB of RAM forced Google to swap that out for Nano 1.0 XXS (extra extra small). Though we weren’t aware of that designation at the time, this is apparently also the same model that allowed Google to bring on-device Gemini to the Pixel 8 with its own 8GB RAM limitation.

Understandably, a compromise like this doesn’t happen without making some sacrifices. One of those impacts availability, as unlike Pixel 9 phones which are able to keep their Nano XS model loaded in memory, the Pixel 9a will have to swap Nano XXS in and out as it’s needed. But the more substantial consequence is likely its text-only interface, meaning that tools relying on audio or video input like Call Notes or Pixel Screenshots are simply not available.

Ars points out that Google has still managed to preserve some advanced functionality for the Pixel 9a because of the way certain tools tap into Gemini — like how Pixel Recorder summaries will be available on the Pixel 9a because text-to-speech works independently here, and lets Gemini process your recording only after it’s been turned into text.

For as impressive as it is here to see what Google’s still managing to accomplish with this memory constraint, it’s maybe equally as frustrating to learn about what we’re missing — and Google hasn’t shared an exhaustive list yet, so there may still be some unwelcome surprises. That’s not great, but maybe this awkward mess will help convince Google to finally bump RAM up to a viable level for next year’s Pixel 10a.