The Google Pixel 9a is missing a crucial life-saving feature

Launched earlier this week, the Pixel 9a packs Pixel 9’s magic in a condensed, more affordable form. With a lower price, though, the Pixel 9a loses some perks of the more premium Pixel 9 phones, including some defining Gemini AI features.

Despite running the same Tensor G4 chipset as the Pixel 9 and the 9 Pro, the Pixel 9a loses on a life-saving feature: satellite-based SOS functionality. Google confirmed the lack to Android Authority, validating you won’t be able to call or text in cases you get stranded without network — as you would be able to with the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and the 9 Pro Fold phones. Google offers these services on premium Pixel phones in the U.S., Canada, UK, and parts of Europe.

Why Pixel 9a lacks satellite SOS connectivity

The reason behind Google skipping satellite connectivity from the Pixel 9a is an older modem. Unlike the Pixel 9 series, which uses the newer and more advanced Samsung Exynos 5400 modem, the 9a uses the previous generation Exynos 5300. The newer modem is what enables 5G non-terrestrial networking (NTN) that is used to connect with low-orbit communication satellites when cellular network is absent.

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Meanwhile, the older Exynos 5300 modem is what we have seen on previous phones such as the Pixel 7 and 8 series. Notably, these phones also suffered with poor cellular reception, irrespective of carriers or location, as well as heating issues due to the modem. It’s unclear if Google has worked around the issued while deploying it in the Pixel 9a. While Google sent an update addressing the issue on Pixel 8 and Pixel 7 phones in April last year, they resurfaced in June for certain users. We hope that’s not the case with the Pixel 9a but will know better when we have the device for testing.

While Google’s modem situation may appear similar to the iPhone 16e — another stripped down version of a premium, the $600 iPhone comes with satellite connectivity with Apple’s in-house C1 modem. More interestingly, even while the modem doesn’t support mmWave 5G spectrum, it doesn’t fall far behind the iPhone 16 in network speeds in most testing scenarios.