Google is delaying the Pixel 9a to fix a mystery “component quality issue”

(Image credit: Google)

The Pixel 9a has just been announced by Google
Its launch date has been pushed back from March to April
Google blamed a vague “component quality issue”

If you’ve been eagerly looking forward to the Google Pixel 9a phone, we’ve got some bad news: Google has had to briefly delay its launch in order to investigate a “component quality issue” affecting the device.

We reached out to Google to see what had happened and a company representative told us: “We’re checking on a component quality issue that’s affecting a small number of Pixel 9a devices.” The company apparently did not go into any more detail than that, so it’s unclear what exactly the issue is that’s caused the hold-up.

After announcing the device today, Google originally wanted to launch the Pixel 9a in March, yet that date has now slipped to April. Interestingly, Google isn’t allowing pre-orders on its website despite saying the device will be available within the next few weeks.

Heavily leaked

The Google Pixel 9a — (Image credit: Google)

The Pixel 9a is Google’s latest mid-range phone, and it’s fair to say that it’s probably been one of the most heavily leaked phones of the last few years. The leaks and reveals were so rampant, in fact, that we knew more or less everything there was to know about it long before Google lifted the lid.

It’s highly unusual for Google to delay a product like this right at the last minute, and you would think that a severe problem such as this would have been discovered earlier in testing. Further, it is rare for Google hardware to be affected in this way, but evidently, some things can slip through the net.

Still, it’s better for Google to delay the Pixel 9a’s launch than to release it and find out the seriousness of its problem only when it reaches the public. Ultimately, a few weeks delay won’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.