Google Pixel 10a Preview

Google graciously offered to try and ship me a Pixel 10a here in Mexico, so I’m hoping to review this new handset soon. The post Google Pixel 10a Preview appeared first on Thurrott.com.

Google graciously offered to try to ship me a Pixel 10a here in Mexico, so I’m hoping to review this new handset soon. I’m curiously excited about this. Though I often end up with a flagship Android phone or iPhone and try to justify that like most do, I’ve always loved the Pixel a-series phones, and some of them, like the Pixel 3a XL, are among my favorite phones of all time. That said, many of the reviewers who are also looking at the Pixel 10a seem disappointed that this phone isn’t all that different from the Pixel 9a it’s replacing.

I don’t get that. The smartphone market is mature, making radical innovation each year impossible. And the Pixel 10a targets the low-end, most price conscious part of the market. In short, those complaining about this kind of thing were never going to use a Pixel 10a anyway, not really. Their issues have no bearing on the potential customer base and are just noise. What does matter to this audience, assuming they’ve decided to stick with Android, is value and how this phone compares to others in its price class.

To me, that’s mostly some series of Samsung Galaxy A-series handsets. But since I don’t have a lot of experience there, I look at this from the perspective of a Pixel fan and how this differs from the entry-level Pixel 10 that I reviewed back in September. That’s a terrific smartphone, and it’s quite affordable at $799, though it’s often on sale for much less. But sticking with the list prices, how does a $599 Pixel 10a compare to that?

What do you lose when you save $200? Objectively, the key differences are minor. The Pixel 10a and Pixel 10 are about the same size, but the Pixel 10a is less heavy, at 6.5 ounces vs. 7.2 for its big brother. The 6.3-inch Actua displays are identical, though the Pixel 10 has superior Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection where the Pixel 10a has an oddball and presumably less effective Gorilla Glass 7i protection.

Internally, the Pixel 10a utilizes a previous generation Google Tensor G4 processor with 8 GB of RAM, compared to the Tensor G5 processor and 12 GB of RAM on the Pixel 10; both phones support 128 or 256 GB of storage. Given the target market, this may not be as big a difference as it seems, and neither Tensor processor is particularly efficient or performant. The Pixel 10 may be more future-proof, such as that is, and it already supports a few Gemini/AI features that the Pixel 10a does not.

These include Pixel Screenshots, which is like Google’s Recall, and Magic Cue, a marquee feature of the Pixel 10 series phones, plus some camera features noted below. Oddly, the Pixel 10a has a larger 5100 mAh battery than the 4970 mAh unit in the Pixel 10, and Google claims better battery life, too: 30+ hours reported vs. 24+ hours. But the Pixel 10’s charging technology is superior: Both can charge from 0 to 50 percent in under 30 minutes, but the Pixel 10 can get there with a 30-watt charger while the Pixel 10a requires 45+ watts.

Worse, the Pixel 10a supports basic Qi wireless charging, but not Pixelsnap or Qi2 wireless charging. If you care about photography, the two phones are nearly identical from a hardware perspective, with the same 20 MP wide (main) and 13 MP ultra-wide lenses on the rear, though the Pixel 10 also includes a third 10.8 MP telephoto lens. Oddly, the Pixel 10a has a higher resolution 13 MP selfie lens on the front, where the Pixel 10 has a 10 MP unit that is otherwise nearly identical on paper.

So the most significant difference in photography will be with zoom: The Pixel 10a supports Super Res Zoom up to just 8x, compared to 20x on the Pixel 10, and it lacks the Zoom Enhance functionality that can help clean up long zooms. The Pixel 10a also lacks other camera features like Auto Unblur, Action Pan, 10-bit HDR video, and Cinematic Blur that the Pixel 10 supports. Looking at audio/video, the Pixel 10a lacks the spatial audio capabilities of the rest of the Pixel 10 series lineup, and it has only two microphones, and not the three found on the Pixel 10.

But it, too, supports stereo speakers, at least. So. Does all that add up to $200 worth of difference? Absolutely. But there’s also a subjective piece to consider. I really like the iconic look of modern Pixel phones with their prominent camera bar. And so does Apple, based on the design of the latest iPhone Pro models. But the Pixel 10a, like its predecessor, lacks that design element. In fact, the Pixel 10a is perfectly flat.

And this year, just like last year, I find myself wondering why Google did this. Why not just add a barely perceptible speaker bar to keep the familial similarity? That I can’t answer. But some may actually prefer the camera bar-less design, and Google indicated during a recent reviewer call that the design was some of the best and most positive feedback they had received about the Pixel 9a. And so that explains, in part, why Google continued forward with the flat Pixel 10a design.

Which, in its own way, is also iconic, I suppose. In fact, it somewhat ironically reminds me of the iPhone 4, which despite its many problems is still held up as a high point for that product line. Also subjectively, I really like the Pixel 10a colors. It’s offered in Fog (a light gray/green), Lavender (purple), Berry (red), and Obsidian (black), and there are identically colored cases you can optionally mix and match.

This vaguely makes me wish that Google had stuck with the polycarbonate bodies used by older a-series Pixels, but what can you do? If you are in the market for a Pixel 10a, this seems like a good time to buy (or, really, preorder). In addition to offering a free pair of Pixel Buds 2a earbuds or a $100 Google Store credit to those who preorder, Google is offering heightened trade-in values for upgraders.

You can get $125 on trade for a Pixel 6a, $175 for a Pixel 7a, or $215 for a Pixel 8a, for example, while an iPhone 16e will fetch $375. (Oddly, Galaxy A-series trade-ins are particularly weak.) You can also extend the payments out three years at just $13.86 through Google, Google Fi, or, in the U.S., Verizon. That seems about the right time frame for a phone like this, rather than the 3 days that most reviewers will spend with the Pixel 10a while they moan about year-over-year differences that don’t matter to anyone else.

Cough. Sorry. The Pixel 10a ships March 5. Hopefully, mine arrives, and arrives before then. But I will let you know either way.

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