The wait for Google’s latest mid-range smartphone is over. The new Google Pixel 9a went on sale today, Thursday April 10, boasting a new design without a camera bump and four colours to choose from including an eye-catching pink. Express.co.uk has had the £499 phone in hand for more than a week, and we’ve given it a resoundingly positive review.
If £499 still sounds like a lot, we’ve found a contract deal that costs a lot less upfront and in fact costs less than £499 over two years – including with 100GB of monthly 5G data.
The Pixel 9a runs on the same Tensor G4 chipset as the rest of the Pixel 9 series, so you’re getting the same processor that’s in the £999 Pixel 9 Pro. The 9a also has a 6.3-inch OLED screen, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, a decent sized 5,100mAh battery with wireless charging, dual rear cameras led by a 48MP lens, 4K video recording, and a slew of AI tools both in the camera and Photos app.
If this sounds tempting, we’ve found an affordable contract deal for the Pixel 9a from UK phone retailer Mobiles.co.uk, which is owned by familiar high street favourite Currys.
You can order the 128GB Pixel 9a for a one-off upfront payment of £79 and a £14.99 per month contract cost. This is a two year contract, and, as is the case on many UK phone contracts, the monthly cost will rise on April 1, 2026 to £16.49 and then to £17.99 on April 1, 2027.
This is a good way to get the Pixel 9a on an affordable tariff. If you order today, your monthly cost will be £14.99 for the first 11 months, rising to £16.49 for the following 12 and then one month of the £17.99 price, bringing your total spend to £380.76.
With the £79 upfront cost, your total spend over two years will be £459.76. That is cheaper than the £499 RRP of the phone on its own, but this deal gets you a 5G contract with 100GB monthly data and unlimited calls and texts.
This is with the iD Mobile network, which is also owned by Currys and uses Three’s national 4G and 5G network.
After the 24th month, you can continue to pay £17.99 per month, with the possibility of the cost rising again in April 2028, or you can cancel your contract and pick up a SIM deal to spend less per month on your phone service.
We’re not quite sure how Mobiles.co.uk can offer the new Pixel for an overall cost that’s less than the RRP of the phone, but we aren’t complaining!
This special price is the same as when the phone was available for pre-order earlier this week, so you aren’t paying any more than people who’ve already ordered.
By way of comparison, the cheapest Pixel 9a offer from EE costs £41.51 per month with a £30 upfront cost on a 24 month contract. That means you’ll pay £1,026.24 over the two years, and that doesn’t even take into account price rises, so it’ll be more. This also only gets you 25GB data, and costs more than double the cost of the device.
