Google has just released the Pixel 9a, giving some people who are shopping for the Pixel 9 another phone in the series that best fits their budget. It comes in four beautiful matte colors — Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris and Peony — and runs on the Tensor G4 processor, ensuring your phone receives the most optimal performance. It has a flatter camera frame than the premium models, trimming its weight and giving it an eye-catching design. It costs between $499 and $599, depending on whether you buy the 128GB model or the 256GB model, respectively. No matter what model you get, it runs on 8GB of RAM and brings you optimal performance with Google’s Tensor G4 processor.

If you’re in the market for a new phone and are looking to get the Pixel 9a, you might be wondering if it has wireless charging capabilities. Most smartphones on the market are able to fill their batteries through wireless charging. Is the Pixel 9a any different simply because it’s a budget Pixel phone? The answer will have you decide if it’s worth the money.

The Pixel 9a has wireless charging, but it’s not as powerful as its premium counterparts. It only draws 7.5 watts of wireless charging power, which is similar to that of the Pixel 8a, despite it having a bigger 5,100mAh battery than the Pixel 9’s 4,700mAh.

Its slow wireless charging speed is determined by the fact that it can only be charged with Qi standard wireless chargers, so you may see your phone may not get wirelessly charged at the same pace as the Pixel 9, which supports 15W of wireless charging. The 30-plus hours of battery life may also be a factor in its slow wireless charging speed.

If wireless charging is not an option for you, you can always choose to plug the Pixel 9a into a wired charger. It supports 23W of wired charging, provided you use Google’s 45W USB-C wall charger. It’s not much of an improvement from the 18W of wired charging the Pixel 8a had, but it’ll still charge your phone faster than a wireless charger.

Google’s proprietary 45W USB-C wall charger is sold separately, but you can still use other wall chargers from other brands as long as it has a USB-C port.