Motorola Edge 2025 vs. Google Pixel 9a: Not a fair fight

Motorola's Edge series is supposed to be the company's flagship tier of phones, but it has been losing its edge (pun intended) over the past few generations, at least in North America. Motorola launched the Edge 2025 in May with upgrades given to the camera, battery, processor, and display. It even has a dedicated AI Key, similar to what we saw on the Motorola Razr Ultra. The single RAM and storage variant costs $550 in the U.S., which doesn't sound too bad at first, but there's also heavy competition to consider.

The Google Pixel 9a is currently one of the best cheap phones in this segment, and the Motorola Edge 2025 goes directly up against it. The Pixel offers great AI features, years of software updates, fantastic battery life, and a more compact form factor. Deciding between these two devices can be tricky if you're not familiar with their offerings, but this Motorola Edge 2025 vs. Pixel 9a comparison can help.

Motorola Edge 2025 vs. Google Pixel 9a: Design & display

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The Motorola Edge 2025 follows a similar design language to the rest of the Moto G series, which launched in 2025. This means you get a vegan leather back panel, a four-lens cutout in the camera island, and tapering edges for a slim feel. In the U.S., the Edge 2025 comes in just a single color called Deep Forest, and just one variant with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. If you ask me, the limited choice of colors and storage is an indication that Motorola isn't entirely confident about this phone.

The Edge 2025 feels great to hold and use thanks to the vegan leather back panel. It's also quite slim at under 8mm in thickness, and light at just 181g. Motorola has enhanced the ingress protection this time, raising it to an IP69 rating. This puts it on the same level as pricier phones like the OnePlus 13.

The brightness of the 6.7-inch pOLED display has been bumped up to 4,500 nits, and the resolution is still solid, giving it a pixel density of roughly 444 ppi. The scratch resistance has also improved, thanks to Corning Gorilla Glass 7i. The downside is that Motorola has reduced the refresh rate to 120Hz, down from 144Hz on the 2024 Edge. In practice, the lower refresh rate is not much of a deal-breaker as the display holds up well under sunlight and is very responsive for tasks like gaming.

The Pixel 9a comes in a multitude of colors and, like the Edge 2025, doesn't use glass for the back panel. This makes it less prone to damage in the event of a fall. Google has taken a different design approach, though, with flat sides and a minimal rear camera bump. The phone is also a lot more compact and pocketable thanks to the smaller display.

Speaking of which, you get a 6.3-inch pOLED panel with a similar pixel density as the Moto, and a 120Hz refresh rate. The scratch protection is only Gorilla Glass 3, which is inferior to what Motorola uses. The maximum brightness is also a lot lower at just 1,800 nits. While we didn't face any major issues using the 9a outdoors, Google still uses the flicker-heavy PWM dimming method for lowering the brightness, which can cause headaches if you're eyes are sensitive to it. There are also visibly thicker bezels around the display, which isn't very flattering to look at.

Motorola Edge 2025 vs. Google Pixel 9a: Hardware & specs

The Motorola Edge 2025 retails for $550 in the U.S. for the sole 256GB storage variant. You can get it unlocked or via your carrier, where the latter seems like the better route to buy it. The phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultra SoC, which is a slight improvement from the Snapdragon powering the 2024 Edge model, but it's not fast enough. During our review, we frequently encountered lag and stuttering when using apps or navigating the interface.

Even Minecraft on the Vibrant Visuals setting wouldn't run smoothly. The other main reason this feels overpriced in the U.S. is that Motorola sells the same phone under a different name (Edge 60/Fusion) in other countries like India for nearly half the cost (Rs. 23,000 or roughly $270).

Motorola has beefed up the cameras for sure if you compare the Edge 2025 vs. the 2024 Edge. We now have a 50MP ultrawide that also doubles as a macro camera, and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom. There's even a 50MP selfie camera with autofocus, which should capture more detailed images than the Pixel 9a. Motorola has managed to offer a slightly larger 5,200mAh battery in the Edge 2025 with an insanely quick 68W fast wired charging. There's even 15W wireless charging.

The Google Pixel 9a starts at $499 for 128GB of storage and $599 for 256GB. Comparing the same storage tiers of both phones, the Edge 2025 does come out a bit cheaper, but it's still not enough. The Pixel 9a has a more potent Tensor G4 SoC, which delivers better performance for AI tasks, apps, and gaming. When we tested it, the 9a ran flawlessly with no lag or stuttering issues.

The Pixel 9a also has a great set of cameras. Despite the lower resolution than the Edge 2025, Google's post-processing is far ahead of Motorola's capabilities. This isn't the best phone for zoom photography since it lacks a dedicated telephoto lens, but it's great for pretty much everything else.

Battery life is one of the strong suits of the Pixel 9a, thanks to the massive capacity. You should easily be able to get nearly two full days of usage out of this. Charging speeds are not the best when compared to the Motorola, sadly. The 9a has an ancient 23W fast charging over wire and measly 7.5W with a wireless charger.

Motorola Edge 2025 vs. Google Pixel 9a: Software

The Motorola Edge 2025 ships with Android 15, but will be getting just two OS upgrades and three years of security patches. That's a bit low even for a $550 phone since the Pixel 9a is supported for seven years. The Edge 2025 comes with some of the new Moto AI features that debuted with the Motorola Razr Ultra earlier this year. Some of the notable ones include Catch Me Up and AI Playlist. These features can be accessed via the dedicated AI key, and many of them are pretty useful.

The Pixel 9a does not have a dedicated AI button, but the AI features are far more impressive. It shipped with Android 15 but has since received Android 16, and it stands to get seven years of OS and security updates. The 9a supports some of the newer AI features like Add Me, Astrophotography, and Macro Focus. The phone runs a slightly watered-down version of Gemini, called Gemini Nano, for on-device AI tasks. It's still highly functional, but certain features like Pixel Screenshots or Call Notes will not work.

Motorola Edge 2025 vs. Google Pixel 9a: Which one should you buy?

If you live in a country like the U.S., where the Motorola Edge 2025 and Pixel 9a are similarly priced, you should put your money toward the Pixel. It's a more powerful phone that's more pocketable, has way longer software updates, superb battery life, and a unique design.

The Edge 2025 is simply too expensive in the U.S. for what it offers, and only makes sense if you get it at a heavy subsidy via your carrier, or during a sale. Even so, keep in mind that the processor is a bit weak for gaming, you're only getting two OS upgrades, and it looks just like any other Moto G series phone.

The Edge 2025 does have its appeal in countries like India, where it sells for nearly half the price. Suddenly, these shortcomings don't seem that bad, and one can make a case for it.