With tariffs threatening to drive up the costs of most things, the new entry-level phones from Apple and Google present a timely opportunity to save some bucks.

http://archive.today/2025.04.10-213539/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/technology/personaltech/iphone-16e-pixel-9a-cheaper-phone-models.html

With all the talk about tariffs driving up costs, the word “cheaper” should bring comfort to just about anyone. That’s why I’m delighted to share that the cheaper smartphone from Google has arrived, a few months after Apple released a somewhat cheaper entry-level iPhone — and that both products are very good.

Google this week released the Pixel 9a, the $500 sibling of its $800 flagship smartphone, the Pixel 9. It competes directly with the $600 iPhone 16e released in February, the cheaper version of Apple’s $800 iPhone 16.

Is it a wise idea to save some bucks, or better to spend more on the fancier phones? To find out, I strapped on a fanny pack and carried all four phones with me for the last week to run tests.