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Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority You might be surprised to know this, but I hold on to my personal Android phones for as long as I can. I’ve had my Pixel 7 Pro since late 2022. Prior to that, I had the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro since late 2018. Both devices were great camera phones, which was good news as photography is one of my top priorities. However, I’ve grown to realize that there’s one major feature I can’t do without on all my future smartphones, and that’s a zoom camera. In fact, every time I have to review a phone without a zoom camera, I can’t wait to switch back to my personal Pixel or the vivo X200 Pro I’m currently using as my secondary device.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority This year, I had the pleasure of meeting my Android Authority colleagues for the first time at MWC. After a long day at the convention center, Hadlee and I did what any self-respecting nerds do: we hit up some local retro game stores. Granted, with two kids and a mortgage, I was just window shopping. But while Hadlee was off spending his adult money on the best games of yesteryear at World Viceous, I decided to chat with the owner about his thoughts on emulation. There weren’t any Retroid or Anbernic handhelds tucked between obscure Japanese Famicom games and binders of used Nintendo DS cartridges, but I wanted to get his take on the rise of these modern emulation handhelds.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority This year, I had the pleasure of meeting my Android Authority colleagues for the first time at MWC. After a long day at the convention center, Hadlee and I did what any self-respecting nerds do: we hit up some local retro game stores. Granted, with two kids and a mortgage, I was just window shopping. But while Hadlee was off spending his adult money on the best games of yesteryear at World Viceous, I decided to chat with the owner about his thoughts on emulation. There weren’t any Retroid or Anbernic handhelds tucked between obscure Japanese Famicom games and binders of used Nintendo DS cartridges, but I wanted to get his take on the rise of these modern emulation handhelds.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority This year, I had the pleasure of meeting my Android Authority colleagues for the first time at MWC. After a long day at the convention center, Hadlee and I did what any self-respecting nerds do: we hit up some local retro game stores. Granted, with two kids and a mortgage, I was just window shopping. But while Hadlee was off spending his adult money on the best games of yesteryear at World Viceous, I decided to chat with the owner about his thoughts on emulation. There weren’t any Retroid or Anbernic handhelds tucked between obscure Japanese Famicom games and binders of used Nintendo DS cartridges, but I wanted to get his take on the rise of these modern emulation handhelds.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority This year, I had the pleasure of meeting my Android Authority colleagues for the first time at MWC. After a long day at the convention center, Hadlee and I did what any self-respecting nerds do: we hit up some local retro game stores. Granted, with two kids and a mortgage, I was just window shopping. But while Hadlee was off spending his adult money on the best games of yesteryear at World Viceous, I decided to chat with the owner about his thoughts on emulation. There weren’t any Retroid or Anbernic handhelds tucked between obscure Japanese Famicom games and binders of used Nintendo DS cartridges, but I wanted to get his take on the rise of these modern emulation handhelds.

When the first renders of the Pixel 9a leaked, I had a very negative gut reaction to the phone’s design. It looked cheap, it lacked personality, and I thought Google had ruined one of its Pixel line’s most iconic design features — the camera bump. Going for a nondescript flat camera module seemed to reduce the Pixel 9a to a generic-looking budget Android phone, not a unique one filled with Google’s personality and its camera and AI wizardry. I wasn’t too excited about testing the phone, but when it dropped at my doorstep and I unboxed that eco-friendly cardboard, I was a little stunned. Maybe it’s the flashy — really flashy — “Peony” fuchsia-pink color, maybe it’s the aluminum frame with flat edges, but the Pixel 9a looks anything but cheap. And now that I know why exactly Google went for this design, I am much more inclined to look at it positively.

When the first renders of the Pixel 9a leaked, I had a very negative gut reaction to the phone’s design. It looked cheap, it lacked personality, and I thought Google had ruined one of its Pixel line’s most iconic design features — the camera bump. Going for a nondescript flat camera module seemed to reduce the Pixel 9a to a generic-looking budget Android phone, not a unique one filled with Google’s personality and its camera and AI wizardry. I wasn’t too excited about testing the phone, but when it dropped at my doorstep and I unboxed that eco-friendly cardboard, I was a little stunned. Maybe it’s the flashy — really flashy — “Peony” fuchsia-pink color, maybe it’s the aluminum frame with flat edges, but the Pixel 9a looks anything but cheap. And now that I know why exactly Google went for this design, I am much more inclined to look at it positively.

When the first renders of the Pixel 9a leaked, I had a very negative gut reaction to the phone’s design. It looked cheap, it lacked personality, and I thought Google had ruined one of its Pixel line’s most iconic design features — the camera bump. Going for a nondescript flat camera module seemed to reduce the Pixel 9a to a generic-looking budget Android phone, not a unique one filled with Google’s personality and its camera and AI wizardry. I wasn’t too excited about testing the phone, but when it dropped at my doorstep and I unboxed that eco-friendly cardboard, I was a little stunned. Maybe it’s the flashy — really flashy — “Peony” fuchsia-pink color, maybe it’s the aluminum frame with flat edges, but the Pixel 9a looks anything but cheap. And now that I know why exactly Google went for this design, I am much more inclined to look at it positively.

When the first renders of the Pixel 9a leaked, I had a very negative gut reaction to the phone’s design. It looked cheap, it lacked personality, and I thought Google had ruined one of its Pixel line’s most iconic design features — the camera bump. Going for a nondescript flat camera module seemed to reduce the Pixel 9a to a generic-looking budget Android phone, not a unique one filled with Google’s personality and its camera and AI wizardry. I wasn’t too excited about testing the phone, but when it dropped at my doorstep and I unboxed that eco-friendly cardboard, I was a little stunned. Maybe it’s the flashy — really flashy — “Peony” fuchsia-pink color, maybe it’s the aluminum frame with flat edges, but the Pixel 9a looks anything but cheap. And now that I know why exactly Google went for this design, I am much more inclined to look at it positively.

When the first renders of the Pixel 9a leaked, I had a very negative gut reaction to the phone’s design. It looked cheap, it lacked personality, and I thought Google had ruined one of its Pixel line’s most iconic design features — the camera bump. Going for a nondescript flat camera module seemed to reduce the Pixel 9a to a generic-looking budget Android phone, not a unique one filled with Google’s personality and its camera and AI wizardry. I wasn’t too excited about testing the phone, but when it dropped at my doorstep and I unboxed that eco-friendly cardboard, I was a little stunned. Maybe it’s the flashy — really flashy — “Peony” fuchsia-pink color, maybe it’s the aluminum frame with flat edges, but the Pixel 9a looks anything but cheap. And now that I know why exactly Google went for this design, I am much more inclined to look at it positively.