Announced within the space of a month, the Google Pixel 9a and iPhone 16e are premium mid-range phones that come in under the $600 mark. If you're in the market for a high-quality but somewhat affordable device, these will likely be at the top of your list. So how do they compare?

The Google Pixel 9a is finally here as Google's cheapest smartphone. It's pretty nice since it packs most of the punch that the Pixel 9 series has, and it has the same SoC and pretty good cameras. It's increasingly looking like Google might have cut more corners than you'd think, though.