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Google’s mid-range Pixels have been our products Best choice for budget Android phones for a while. They offer good cameras and most of what you need at a budget-friendly price. But this year’s upgrade seems minimal, and I prefer it more with the Pixel 9A+. Or Pixel 9B.
The $499 Pixel 10A is supposed To be a little worse Pixel 10. But it’s like a little better Pixel 9a. That’s a bit of a problem. Quite a few of the features that make the Pixel 10 series compelling have carried over to the 10A this year.
You don’t get all the good things that make the Pixel 10 series so compelling. There’s still last year’s Tensor G4 chip and 8GB of RAM, which isn’t enough to run the more advanced AI features that Google launched on the Pixel 10, like Magic Cue or Pixel Screenshots, the latter of which debuted on the Pixel 9. Care? Maybe not! I like Magic Cue, though. I think rising RAM prices play a role here. That could explain the lack of additional AI features, but I can’t blame RAM prices for what feels like a more “meh” update.
So what do you get with the Pixel 10? You can also get the 10 SOS satellite communications, in case you get lost in the woods, a bear is chasing you, and you need to point your phone at the sky and tell someone that a bear is chasing you and you need help.
The Pixel 10A also borrows some new AI tricks, like Auto Best Take (not… only Best Take), which automatically selects the best photo from a group, such as one where everyone in a group shot is facing the camera. This worked well during quick testing at the Google office. Likewise, it offers Google Camera Coach, which walks you through some ideas on how to take the best photo of a subject. I tested this out with a fake orchid, and the suggestions on how to frame it were definitely better than anything I could think of because I’m not a great photographer and usually pull out my phone to take a quick photo of my kids doing something silly.
It will be difficult for you to spot the design differences, so I will show them to you. Google says it’s the most durable Pixel A-series phone yet. The display is stronger thanks to a new Gorilla Glass 7i coating and gets a little brighter (11 percent to 3,000 nits) at its peak, like when you’re trying to see the screen in the sun. It has the same IP68 waterproofing.
The bezel around the display is slightly narrower (10 percent narrower, to be exact). The cameras are all the same as last year, but the 13MP and 48MP sensors on the back are now perfectly flush with the frame rather than sticking a hair above them. Even the colors look similar to last year, but the raspberry color is the one that stands out: you won’t find this shockingly bright color in any other phone, and it’s the color you should buy. Other colors include lavender, mist (gray), and obsidian (black). Google is also launching the Pixel Buds 2A Fog and Raspberry Pi headphones, so you can match.
The Pixel 10A also doesn’t have PixelSnap, Google’s version of MagSafe that lets you use any charger or magnetic accessory. This is frustrating, I love it, I think it should be here. However, you can get Wee Wired and wireless charging is a little faster. Wired charging jumped from 27 watts to 30 watts, and wireless charging at 10 watts instead of 7.5 watts.
Pre-orders for 10A begin today, and it will hit shelves on March 4. It will be available with 128GB or 256GB storage capacity. Many people buy Pixel A-series phones for the pure Android experience and frequent updates. I don’t think they really care about having all the AI or hardware features that Google offers. But it’s not like Google brought it up enough From Pixel 10 to Pixel 10A this year. That’s why it’s more like 9A 2.0.
Photography by Owen Grove/The Verge