iPhone SE 4 vs. Google Pixel 9a: Which budget phone will win?

An iPhone SE 4 vs. Google Pixel 9a comparison may feel like we’re jumping the gun since neither phone is supposed to arrive before early next year. Still, you can understand why the launches of both rumored phones would generate some anticipation, as the next iPhone SE and Pixel A series models could help redefine what we expect from midrange phones.

Recent Pixels have already done to that to some extent, as Google’s annual upgrades have introduced new AI features to a wider audience that may not want to pay up for Pixel flagships. The current Pixel 8a is a great example of this, relying on Google’s Tensor G3 chipset to support many of the same AI capabilities Google introduced with the Pixel 8 series in 2023. Add that to the excellent cameras Google includes on its A Series devices, and you can understand why the Pixel 8a is considered the best cheap phone under $500. We’re expecting the Pixel 9a to build on that momentum when it arrives in 2025.

You wouldn’t make that claim about the current iPhone SE, which has gone two years without an update, and is really starting to show its age. But that could change next year, with the iPhone SE 4 tipped to replace the iPhone SE 2022. A new design, camera improvements and even Apple Intelligence support could all be in the cards for Apple’s cheapest iPhone, making it a more formidable competitor to Google’s Pixel A Series phone.

We’ve heard a few iPhone SE 4 rumors and comparatively fewer Pixel 9a rumblings. But we still have enough to take an early look at how an iPhone SE 4 vs. Google Pixel 9a comparison might shake out.

iPhone SE 4 vs. Google Pixel 9a release date and price

Some people had expected the iPhone SE 4 to arrive this year, keeping up the two-year upgrade cycle that Apple introduced by launching the iPhone SE 2022 two years after its predecessor. That didn’t happen, and now conventional wisdom has the iPhone SE 4 coming out next year, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman citing a potential release date in early 2025. We take that to mean March, since Apple traditionally releases models around that time.

After some sporadic launch dates around the peak years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google seems to have settled into a pattern for A Series phone releases, where the new phones appears around the Google I/O conference in May, either as an announcement or a phone blown release. The Pixel 8a, for example, was announced just ahead of this year’s Google I/O event.

That could change with the Pixel 9a. An early rumor suggests Google might launch the phone in March, as it looks to move up the schedule of A Series releases. That such a move would coincide with the iPhone SE’s rumored launch window may be an intentional move.

As for price, we wouldn’t expect concrete rumors to surface until next year. The iPhone SE currently costs $70 less than the $499 Pixel 8a, but an early rumor suggested the iPhone SE 4 might see a price hike that matches the current Pixel price. As for Google, it kept the Pixel 8a at $499, but it’s raised prices on other phones like the Pixel 9. It’s unclear if that cost increase might work its way down to the 9a.

iPhone SE 4 vs. Google Pixel 9a design and display

The iPhone SE 4 is almost certain to debut with a new look. The current SE still uses an iPhone 8-style design with a large bezel below the 4.7-inch LCD panel to house the Touch ID sensor. To say that look is dated is putting it mildly.

Instead, rumors have Apple turning to the iPhone 14 for design inspiration for the iPhone SE 4. That means an edge-to-edge display with less prominent bezels all around, and the Touch ID sensor making way for Face ID as the way to unlock the phone. Under this rumor, the iPhone SE 4 would use a notched display, as Apple would keep the Dynamic Island feature exclusive to its flagship phones.

Leaked renders hint at a new look for the Pixel 9a, too, even if it wouldn’t be as radical as the rumored iPhone SE overhaul. Renders for the upcoming phone show that the camera bar Google’s been using since its Pixel 6 releases has disappeared, with just a pair of horizontally aligned lens in a more compact oval array. It’s a look that seems to mimic the more compact camera setup Google used for its Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Android Headlines reports that the Pixel 9a will be 2mm taller and 1mm wider than the Pixel 8a. It’s unclear if that will mean any material change to the size of the phone’s display, or if Google will once again use a 6.1-inch OLED panel. The iPhone SE 4’s screen size will almost certainly change should it switch to the new design, with most rumors assuming a 6.1-inch screen size.

One other display rumor has Apple ditching LCD panels once and for all, and using an OLED screen for the iPhone SE 4. That would follow the lead of the Pixel A Series phones, which also feature OLED panels. However, the Pixel 9a should still have an edge on the iPhone SE 4 when it comes to display refresh rate, as Google is likely to stick with a 120Hz rate for its midrange phone. Apple isn’t expected to extend fast-refreshing displays beyond its iPhone Pro models until the iPhone 17 comes out next fall.

That same Android Headlines report claims the Pixel 9a will come in Obsidian, Porcelain, Peony and Iris — those later two colors would be different from the Pixel 8a’s color options. We’ve yet to hear any iPhone SE 4 color rumors.

iPhone SE 4 vs. Google Pixel 9a cameras

Cameras are big part of any comparison involving iPhones and Pixels, but at this point in the rumor cycle, we haven’t heard much about Google’s potential Pixel 9a plans. The Pixel 8a made few changes from its predecessor, not that the lack of improved hardware kept that device out of our list of best camera phones. The Pixel 9 did introduce a 48MP ultrawide sensor, so it’s possible that such a change could trickle down to the next A Series device.

Potential iPhone SE 4 camera changes are in much sharper focus at this point. While Apple is unlikely to add a second rear camera to its entry-level phone, one rumor does suggest that the lone rear camera could adopt the 48MP sensor Apple introduced to the iPhone 14 Pro and extended to the iPhone 15 in the last few years. If true, you’d imagine that the iPhone SE 4 would be able to approximate a 2x optical zoom by cropping in on full resolution shots.

The big question surrounding the iPhone SE 4 will be whether this model supports night photography — a feature missing from previous SE offerings. We’d assume the answer is yes, especially in light of the AI-powered features we’ll be discussing shortly.

iPhone SE 4 vs. Google Pixel 9a performance and battery life

If Apple sticks with its patten of past iPhone SE releases, the iPhone SE 4 will feature the same silicon used in the entry-level flagship released the previous fall. That would put the upcoming phone in line to use the A18 system-on-chip found in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.

That has big implications for the iPhone SE 4, some of which we’ll talk about in the next section. On the performance front, the iPhone 16 regularly out-muscles the best Android phones in Geekbench 6 tests of overall performance, though it trails Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered devices in graphics tests. Nevertheless, you’d expect the iPhone SE 4 to enjoy a big performance edge over the other midrange devices in its price range, given that those phones tend to feature less powerful silicon.

The Pixel 9a figures to follow the same approach that Apple takes with its midrange device, as Google typically uses the silicon it introduced in the flagship Pixels a few months earlier. For the Pixel 9a, that means a new Tensor G4 chip. While that likely won’t bridge the performance gap with the iPhone SE 4 and its A18 silicon, it would enable the Pixel 9a to match the AI capabilities found in Google’s current flagships.

Both the A18 and Tensor G4 chipsets boast excellent power management features, allowing phones powered by those new chips to outlast their predecessors in battery testing. That’s been particularly important for Google’s Pixel phones, which struggle to keep pace with rival handsets; however, the Pixel 9 devices all beat the average performance for smartphones on our battery test, so we’re expecting big things for the Pixel 9a when it arrives.

Similarly, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus both lasted longer than their predecessors — the iPhone 16 Plus even appears on our best phone battery life list. All of that bodes well for the iPhone SE 4’s ability to last a while on a charge.

There’s one other potential hardware change worth mentioning, as a rumor claims the iPhone SE will feature the first modem that Apple’s built in house. (Currently, Qualcomm supplies the modems for Apple’s handsets.) It seems unlikely that Apple would use its lowest cost phone to introduce such a key component, but we’ll see if that rumor has any legs.

iPhone SE 4 vs. Google Pixel 9a AI features

Because the iPhone SE 4 is set to use an A18 chipset, it would have the on-device power to support Apple Intelligence features. Bloomberg’s Gurman has reported that Apple Intelligence should be included with Apple’s new phone.

As of this writing, Apple Intelligence hasn’t made its official debut on the iPhone 16 and the two iPhone 15 Pro models that can support it. Instead, the initial features remain in public beta, with new writing tools, a Photo clean up feature, a redesigned Mail inbox and a more advanced Siri assistant all coming as part of the iOS 18.1 update. We’d expect those features to make it to the iPhone SE 4, along with any additional Apple Intelligence capabilities that Apple rolls out in subsequent updates.

Even so, the iPhone SE 4 may still find itself behind the Pixel 9a on the AI front. AI-powered features have been Google’s calling card for the last several years, even on its midrange phones. And just like past A Series models have picked up the capabilities of the phones that preceded them, we’d expect the Pixel 9a to offer a lot of the features you currently find on the Pixel 9 models.

That includes photo editing tools like Add Me, where you can insert another person into a group shot by seamlessly merging two photos, and Pixel Studio for creating images from text prompts. Other Pixel 9 additions likely to be part of the Pixel 9a toolkit include the ability to search the content of your screenshots, lists created in Google Keep via prompts and access to the Google Gemini chatbot (though free Gemini Advanced access will likely remain limited to the Pixel 9 Pro models).

iPhone SE 4 vs. Google Pixel 9a outlook

We’ve got a few months ahead of us before the rumored early 2025 launches of the iPhone SE 4 and Pixel 9a, so there’s plenty of time for more rumors about those upcoming phones to emerge. Even so, it looks like AI capabilities will join camera performance as the crucial areas where these two phones can truly distinguish themselves.

Both the iPhone SE 4 and Pixel 9a figure to be getting new looks when they arrive next year. But it’s the new capabilities that will truly determine which midrange phone tops the other.

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