Google’s Pixel 9A offers same chip but stripped-down AI due to memory limits

Google’s Pixel 9A brings the same Tensor G4 chip as its premium siblings but includes significant limitations to its AI capabilities due to hardware constraints. The midrange device comes with a stripped-down version of Google’s Gemini AI that only processes text, highlighting how memory constraints increasingly determine AI feature availability in smartphones, even when devices share the same processor.

The big picture: The Pixel 9A features a text-only version of Gemini AI due to its more limited 8GB of RAM, compared to the 12GB in the Pixel 9 and 16GB in the Pro models.

• The device runs an even smaller on-device AI model called Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS, which operates only when needed rather than running continuously in the background.
• This marks a shift in how smartphone features are differentiated, with AI capabilities now being restricted by memory constraints rather than processor differences.

Key limitations: Several AI features available on higher-end Pixel devices are missing from the 9A.

• The AI-powered Pixel Screenshots app, which makes screenshots searchable, is unavailable on the 9A.
• Call Notes, which generates AI summaries of phone calls, is also absent from the device.
• The phone can still provide AI summaries of audio from the Recorder app, as this feature relies on transcriptions rather than more memory-intensive processes.

Historical context: Google initially restricted Gemini AI to only its premium Pixel 8 Pro models before eventually bringing it to midrange devices.

• Last year, Google added Gemini to the Pixel 8 only after user complaints, using the same Gemini Nano XXS model now found in the 9A.
• This pattern suggests Google may be establishing a tiered approach to AI features across its product line, potentially creating new differentiation points between budget and premium devices.