Google had to make sacrifices to get Gemini installed on the Pixel 9a. The RAM memory is inadequate for the Gemini Nano model.
On Tuesday, Google officially announced the Pixel 9a. The budget version has been one of the most popular Pixels for years because you get much of the flagship model at a cheaper price point. With every announcement Google makes this year, Gemini is never far away. The A model is embedded in the latest Pixel phone, although there’s a small caveat to that.
The Pixel 9 models come with a built-in version of Gemini Nano, which, unlike its cloud counterpart, runs locally on the device. However, this requires a lot of RAM memory, and the Pixel 9a has much less of it than its more expensive siblings. In fact, 8 GB of RAM turns out to be too little to run Gemini Nano. It requires at least 12 GB of RAM, Google itself confirms to Ars Technica.
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Gemini Nano XXS
To fulfill the Gemini promise, Google had to make sacrifices. A smaller version of Gemini Nano was developed specifically for the Pixel 9a. Gemini Nano is already an ‘extra small’ version of Gemini, so the model running on the Pixel 9a is an XXS variant. Google even calls the model as such: Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS. We’re curious how long it will take before version 2.0 appears.
This XXS variant also works slightly differently than the Gemini Nano model on the Pixel 9 phones. To avoid constantly accessing the RAM memory, Gemini on the Pixel 9a only activates when called upon instead of running in the background. This may cause some functions that use local on-device AI, which are already limited, to work slowly or not at all on the Pixel 9a.
Some of these functions include, for example, Pixel Screenshots, Google’s version of Windows Recall, and an AI tool that summarizes your phone calls, as these features are too demanding for the Pixel 9a. Gemini Nano XXS also lacks multimodal capabilities. This creates a slightly larger distinction between the Pixel 9a and the Pixel 9 models, although on-device AI doesn’t seem like a reason to pay more for a smartphone yet. Many Gemini functions are also available via the cloud if you have a subscription.
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A donkey and a stone
Since last year, Google has been making a mess of clearly communicating what is an ‘AI phone’ and what isn’t. Gemini Nano launched almost simultaneously with the Pixel 8 series, but Google caused confusion by first saying the model wouldn’t work on those phones and then later changing its mind.
From the Pixel 9 series onwards, Google tried to be clearer and label every new Pixel series as ‘AI smartphones’. For the Pixel 9a, this turns out to be only partially true. A donkey doesn’t hit the same stone twice, but Google does.