I switched from a OnePlus 8 Pro to a Google Pixel 9a. While that’s a downgrade in specs, it was something that I had to do if I wanted to stay up to date with security updates and new features. After a few months, I do miss my OnePlus, but I’m overall happy with my Pixel 9a. It does everything I want it to do, and I’ve been discovering new things about it each day.

One of my favorite things that I found are Gestures. This is actually something that’s a little buried in the settings, so I forgive people for missing it. When I found out about it, I immediately turned on the Gesture that toggles on my flashlight by tapping the back of my phone. When it works, it’s great because it means I can turn on my flashlight without having to mess with my screen. This has been nice for my recent camping trips. The only issue is that it doesn’t always work the way that I want it to, and it’s very frustrating.

Brand

Google

SoC

Tensor G4, Titan M2

Display

6.3-inch 1080 x 2424 pixel resolution pOLED, (422.2ppi), 60-120Hz variable refresh rate, 1,800 nits (HDR), 2,700 nits (peak brightness)

RAM

8GB

Storage

128GB/256GB

Battery

5,100mAh

The Gestures aren’t as good as they should be

I expected more from this

Google Pixel Gestures feel like a real game-changer, but there’s still some more work to be done. The main problem that I have is that I, like many others, use a phone case, and the gestures just don’t seem to register that I’m hitting my phone. I have a thin silicone case on my Pixel, and even then, when I tap my phone, it takes a few tries for it to actually turn the flashlight on. If I take the case off, it works exactly as intended. The problem is that most people are using a case with their phone, and I would guess that many more are using something a bit thicker than mine is. If my basic case has trouble registering a tap, I can’t even imagine how difficult it is for people with thicker cases. I don’t like having to hit some precise spot on my phone when it should be as simple as tapping on the back.

What should be one of the crowning achievements of the Google Pixel ends up being a letdown because of this. I really want to like these Gestures, and I do when they work. I just wish there was a better way to get it to register my taps instead of just hitting the back of my phone until it works. It’s always disappointing to see a feature that seems so great, like HDMI-CEC, only for it to not be ready for prime time. I don’t want to take off my phone case, so I don’t really have many solutions here other than hoping it works the way I want it to on the first try. It’s not like toggling on my flashlight takes a lot of time as it is, but I still like that I can do it with a few taps instead of dragging down from the top of my screen.

Another problem is that even when the Gestures do work, there isn’t a lot of variation to them. The flashlight is easily my favorite of what’s available, but it would be nice to have more versatility.

Gestures could do so much more

We need some more options

Gestures on the surface are an excellent step forward for smartphones, but there’s not a lot that they do that is useful. It’s telling that turning on a flashlight is the most useful thing I can find, but I also struggle to come up with things that it could do otherwise. At the time of this writing, the Quick Tap function can take a screenshot, access my digital assistant, play or pause media, see recent apps, show notifications, turn on the flashlight, or open a specific app. I don’t have much interest in any of that aside from the flashlight.

A Gesture I do like is double-pressing the power button to open my Google Wallet, but it also has the same problem as the flashlight, where this is easy to do already. It’s cool and all to save a few seconds, but I feel like it’s not as cool as it could be. Apparently it’s a good thing that I’m not the one designing this feature because I’m coming up blank on things that I would do instead. The main thing would obviously be making it so that I tap my phone, and it works with a case. I’m not entirely sure how that’s possible, but it really defeats the purpose of having such a cool feature when a lot of people are just locked out of it by protecting their phone — no matter how thin their case is.

I’m just glad to see companies pushing things forward and trying new things. Phones have felt quite stagnant to me for years, and it’s part of why I held on to my OnePlus 8 Pro for so long in the first place. That’s by far the longest I’ve ever used a phone, and I could’ve used it for quite a while to come if I didn’t replace it. I wouldn’t mind my Pixel 9a lasting as long as well, provided there are still some cool features in the pipeline.