Amazon Slashes Google Pixel 9 Price In Major New Sale – Forbes
ByJanhoi McGregor
, Senior Contributor.
The Google Pixel 9 (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
This story was updated on March 13th with new a new Google Store Pixel 9 deal.
Not to be outdone by Samsung’s huge Galaxy phone sale, Amazon has slashed the price of the Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 8a.
The deal knocks $150 off the base Pixel 9, bringing the price down to $649—a 19% discount. The Pixel 8a gets an even bigger 20% price cut, dropping the final price down to $399. The Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL are still at full price on Amazon and at the Google store.
Amazon has some of the best smartphone deals around if you’re not interested in bundle offers, or if you don’t have a phone to trade in. For example, it has undercut Samsung and Apple in previous sales, producing some of the lowest pricing I’ve seen for Galaxy handsets and iPhones.
This is, however, balanced by the company’s poor trade-in pricing. In a December Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra sale, Amazon offered $5 for the 2017 Galaxy S8 Plus, compared to Samsung’s $300 valuation. Or $135 for the 2021 Galaxy S21 Ultra against Samsung’s $650 price.
The new Pixel 9 Amazon sale doesn’t even have a trade-in option, hence the size of the bargain. If you do have a phone to swap then it might be a good idea to wait for Google’s next sale. It won’t be long because the company has run a promotion almost every month over the last year.
Don’t ever feel rushed to take advantage of a smartphone deal because they are discounted repeatedly in the modern age. Samsung, Google, Motorola, retailers and, to a lesser extent, Apple (via surprisingly competitive trade-in pricing) are locked in an increasingly aggressive price war as people hold on to their phones for longer.
Despite the size of the deal, this Pixel 9 and Pixel 8a price will surface again. The Pixel 8a could be even cheaper after the Pixel 9a lands this month. You may get a better price outside of Amazon if you combine a decent phone to trade in with a discount.
Google’s trade-in pricing doesn’t match Samsung’s insanely high valuations, but a recent sale showed that Amazon’s price can be beaten. Google’s January promotion also discounted the base Pixel 9 to $649, but included enhanced trade-in pricing. If you had a Pixel 6 Pro ($360) or Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max ($330) you could’ve picked up the Google phone for under $350.
If you do decide to buy the Pixel 8a, it is worth pointing out that the Pixel 9a may not be a major generational leap from its predecessor. You may not miss out on much.
Google’s phones stand out because of their software. The company’s crown jewel features, such as seven years of software support, some of the best still photography on the market, AI image editing tools and quarterly feature drops are available on the Pixel 8a. In any case, it is worth waiting for the Pixel 9a launch before deciding because Pixel 8a prices will only go down from here.
March 13th update: As predicted, Google has again discounted the Pixel 9 series, right before the Pixel 9a launch. This deal is reserved for U.K. shoppers and repeats similar price cuts we have seen in recent sales.
The standout deal is for the Pixel 8a, which is now selling for only £349 ($451.85). A good price for a phone that apes the high-end experience well. As I explained above, there isn’t much difference between Google’s premium and so-called budget phones because the software is star of show, and that is largely the same across all of its current generation devices.
The size of the Pixel 8a discount is almost certainly related to the reality that it will be replaced by the Pixel 9a later this month. Google will want to shift as many units as possible while it’s still the flagship “A” device.
It doesn’t look like trade-in prices have been enhanced for this sale. Trade in valuations are poor in the U.K. and Europe compared to the U.S., while Google’s pricing pales in comparison to Samsung. For example, Google will only pay £133 ($172.20) for the Pixel 6 Pro, or £162 ($209.74) for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. You will get more on the secondary market for both, so try that first if you plan to trade-in. Or, wait for a better sale.
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