Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Occasionally, Google will do something that leaves me scratching my head. It’s jumped from cutting-edge flagships like the Pixel 4 to the mid-range Pixel 5 and back again, adopted odd features like the temperature sensor, and created and axed more exclusive features than anyone could imagine. Sometimes, there’s been a method to the madness, but usually, it just feels like Google trying things out to see what sticks.
And now, it’s skipped the Pixel Screenshots app on the Pixel 9a. At first, the omission bothered me, but since using the phone, I’ve realized I don’t mind. Here’s why I’m okay with the fact that Google’s mid-ranger skips one of its newest AI features.
There’s a very simple reason the Pixel 9a doesn’t support Screenshots
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Alright, before I get into why I think the Pixel 9a is okay without Pixel Screenshots, let’s talk about why it skipped the feature in the first place. After all, Google told us that its mid-ranger has the same version of the Tensor G4 chip that the flagship Pixel 9 series has, so we can rule that out right away. Instead, the real reason that the Pixel 9a doesn’t support Pixel Screenshots is that it doesn’t have enough RAM. Yes, that’s right, 8GB of RAM is no longer enough for a mid-range device in 2025.
More specifically, the step down in RAM means that the Pixel 9a runs a different version of Gemini Nano than the rest of its siblings. Instead of the standard Nano XS you’ll find on the Pixel 9 and all three Pro models, the Pixel 9a relies on Gemini Nano XXS, the ultra-compact version Google first introduced on the Pixel 8 and 8a in the previous generation. The main difference is that Nano XXS only loads up as needed, rather than running constantly in the larger bank of RAM, meaning that it saves space but also packs less punch. Oh, and that limitation also means that Gemini Nano XXS can only accept text input, which makes it tough (impossible) to process screenshots.
So, because Google didn’t pack its mid-ranger with enough RAM, the Pixel 9a misses out. It can’t process images or audio sources, so you’ll have to do without Call Notes in the Phone app, too. On the bright side, the Pixel 9a can process files generated in the Recorder app, but only once Google’s other speech-to-text model generates a transcript. Basically, text is good to go, but you’ll have to find clever workarounds for everything else.
I’m just fine managing my screenshots the old-fashioned way
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Now, with all that out of the way, the reason I don’t care in the first place is that I wasn’t using Pixel Screenshots anyway. I thought it was a neat idea when Google first showed it off at the Pixel 9 launch, and it looked pretty impressive with a premade library of screenshots already organized into collections, but I never reached quite the same level in my own library. I’d snap a screenshot here and there to remind me of something, but never enough that I’d need a collection to manage them.
And, unfortunately for Google, that means it’s easier for me to use one of its much older tools instead of learning my way through Pixel Screenshots. Yes, that’s right — I use Google Photos instead. Whether it meant to or not, Google has made the organization within Photos a bit too good, where it already pulls together my screenshots and organizes them by articles and social media posts, along with splitting them up by date. So, when I need to draw a date from something or set a reminder, my muscle memory pulls me to Google Photos every time.
If Pixel Screenshots were more like Essential Space, I’d use it way more.
Of course, if Google’s Pixel Screenshots worked more like Nothing’s Essential Space, I might be telling a different story. I don’t rely on the Essential Key as much as Nothing would hope, but the automatic generation of to-do lists and reminders makes the app much more useful than Google’s manual collections. You can let Pixel Screenshots send you reminders for music and movies in other apps when it thinks they might be relevant, but it’s not quite the same as having Essential Space recognize concert dates and add them to your calendar or remind you when tickets go on sale.
Honestly, until Pixel Screenshots is as quick and intuitive as some of its competitors, I probably won’t see myself using it on my Pixel 9 Pro, either — so why worry about it on an otherwise excellent mid-range option?
