Pixel 9a lacks Pixel Screenshots, Call Notes due to RAM

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Like the Pixel 8, the Pixel 9a supports features such as the "Summarize" function in the Recorder app. However, with Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS, this feature only comes into play once the existing speech-to-text solution generates a transcript. For context, the Pixel 9 series, which offers 12 to 16GB of RAM, runs "Gemini Nano XS" (extra small). Due to the Pixel 9a's 8GB of RAM, it lacks certain features found in its higher-end counterpart

According to Google (via Ars Technica), the Pixel 9a operates with "Gemini Nano 1.0 XXS" (extra extra small), a version of the software that doesn't run continuously in the background. Instead, it loads into RAM only when necessary and is limited to handling text input. This limitation in multimodal capabilities means the Pixel 9a cannot process images (for Pixel Screenshots) or audio (for Call Notes in the Phone by Google app).

Pixel Screenshots normally processes images to generate summaries and make them searchable. While those are the core features of the app, the ability to manually add notes to screenshots, sort them into collections, and set reminders—especially from the convenient bottom-left corner screenshot preview—can be incredibly useful. Similarly, many users would benefit from call recording functionality in the dialer app.

On the brighter side, the Pixel 9a does include Pixel Studio, which is advertised on the product listing. As previously announced by Google, this image generator is powered by an on-device diffusion model running on the Tensor G4 chip and supported by the Imagen 3 text-to-image model in the cloud. Additionally, the Pixel 9a includes the "Add Me" feature in the Pixel Camera, utilizing the Tensor G4 chip and its TPU for enhanced performance.