For years now, smartphone manufacturers have been pushing the cameras on their devices in order to chase camera improvements. Even though this kind of design makes the cameras better, it sometimes creates usability issues. With the Pixel 10a, Google took a new approach to completely removing the camera bump and building a phone that is completely flat on surfaces.
While this is a welcome change in the world of big camera glitches, Google hasn’t otherwise made any major design changes with its newest budget smartphone. The Pixel 9a looked mostly the same, with very little camera bump.
I have the plain black unit, but Google offers the phone in Lavender (a combination of bright blue and purple), Berry (coral), and Fog (a grey-green tone).
The 6.3-inch screen size is the same as last year’s device, but the screen is now brighter at 3,000 nits. Google is using the Actua Display series it used with the other Pixel 10 devices to make it easier to use in bright conditions. The display can go up to a 120Hz refresh rate, but the unit ships with the 60Hz setting, so you’ll need to manually change that via the phone’s settings.
In terms of build and specs, the Pixel 10a is a perfect match for the Pixel 10, with a few differences. For example, the Pixel 10 has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back, while the cheaper 10a has a plastic back and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection on the front. The budget device also has a larger 5,100 mAh battery, compared to 4,970 mAh in the base Pixel 10. The Pixel 10 Pro XL has a 5,200 mAh battery.
There are only minor differences between the Pixel 9a, Pixel 10a and Pixel 10, most of which have to do with performance and computing power. The obvious hardware difference is that the budget phones use the Google Tensor G4 chip, compared to the Tensor G5 in the Pixel 10. The Pixel 10 charges at 30W via USB-C, up from the Pixel 9a’s 23W charging capability. Wireless charging is supported at 7.5W for the Pixel 9a, 10W for the Pixel 10a and 15W (magnetic) for the Pixel 10.
The battery capacity and faster charging speed are useful as the battery easily lasts all day including normal apps, a few hours of video watching and light gaming. In addition, the brighter screen makes the device better for a comprehensive experience in different lighting conditions. Yes, the 10a has thicker bezels than its more expensive cousins, but they don’t make much of a difference in day-to-day use. Besides, you get the device at a much lower price than a flagship.
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The Pixel 10a uses the Tensor G4 chip, which was also used in the Pixel 9a. That means no performance gains this year, which you might notice if you switch between multiple apps. Due to the older chip and 8GB RAM combination, the Pixel 10a can’t run the updated Gemini Nano AI model, which means it has fewer AI features on the device than the Pixel 10a series.
The list of features not available on the Pixel 10a includes notification summaries, the Pixel screenshot app, Magic Cue (a feature that offers contextual suggestions in apps like Gmail, Messages, and Maps), call notes, and on-device call translation.
The phone has a 48-megapixel main camera and a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera, which is the same as last year’s device. The main camera works well in most conditions, even in low light. But given the older and smaller sensor on the wide-angle lens, it tends to lose some detail and lacks autofocus.
The Pixel 10a has a camera AI feature that can guide you in taking a photo of an object by helping you frame it better in the viewfinder. There’s also Auto Best Shot, which merges photos to create the best composite from a bunch of shots — useful when shooting a group. The phone also has support for up to 8x super-res zoom, but the processing and quality isn’t as good as the Pixel 10, which offers up to 100x zoom through this feature.
In particular, some AI features may reach the Pixel 10a via a Pixel Drop, Google’s periodic software updates that** often bring new features to older models.
Google offers seven years of software updates with this device, which is crucial for receiving OS updates along with feature drops and security updates. While this isn’t exclusive to the Pixel 10a, the phone has a quick sharing feature that now works with Apple’s AirDrop. That means I could just transfer photos, like I did for this story, to my MacBook in a few taps. Previously, I had to connect the Pixel 10a to my MacBook with a USB-C cable.
At $499, good battery life, a bright display, and faster charging are the main things going in the Pixel 10a’s favor. For this price, the phone offers good value for money in a light and flat design. However, if you already have last year’s Pixel 9a, there’s no reason to switch. Also worth checking out: The Nothing phone 4a Pro, also at $499, packs a punch with better specs, including a bigger and brighter screen, a more capable Qualcomm processor, a dedicated telephoto lens, and faster 50W charging speeds.
