Google Pixel 10a Review

The Pixel 10a has arrived to springiness Google fans a newer affordable enactment astatine $499. But isolated from a fewer insignificant plan tweaks, the summation of Satellite SOS, and a flimsy hold to the bundle enactment window, the Pixel 10a doesn’t shingle things up. While it would beryllium a bully enactment if each different telephone stuck to its retail price, there’s nary ignoring the information that the Pixel 10a is launching months aft the Pixel 10 has already seen discounts arsenic debased arsenic $550.

Pixel 10a – Design and Features

Google’s Pixel 10a isn’t revolutionary oregon adjacent exciting. It borrows the tame looks of the Pixel 9a, which had eschewed the eye-catching camera barroom of mainline Pixel models. But wherever the Pixel 9a’s cameras roseate up somewhat from the backmost of the phone, the Pixel 10a’s cameras really beryllium somewhat beneath the backmost surface. This was a constituent Google emphasized successful its launch, but it’s not a unsocial method accomplishment considering RedMagic’s bold gaming phones person done truthful for a fewer years running.

The show is respectable, but beauteous overmuch nary telephone astatine oregon implicit $500 tin get distant with overmuch less. The 6.3-inch surface offers a just 1080x2424 solution that’s plentifulness crisp for astir uses. It tin tally creaseless astatine 120Hz but doesn’t person the quality to driblet down to 1Hz for other efficiency. Still, it’s hard to get huffy astatine a colorful OLED that tin scope arsenic precocious arsenic 3000 nits.

The show is flanked by stereo speakers. One ports retired the bottommost of the telephone portion the different is tucked into the earpiece. They enactment retired decent volume, though I recovered them a interaction harsh portion gaming and had occupation proceeding podcasts successful the room implicit cooking noises.

The phone’s footprint is modest. It’s larger than the Pixel 9 but mostly smaller than the Pixel 9a prevention for a flimsy bump to thickness. It’s comfy successful the manus but doesn’t consciousness wholly compact. Part of that is due to the fact that its 6.3-inch show inactive has somewhat heavy bezels each the mode around. Google claims they’re thinner than the Pixel 9a’s bezels, but neither are competing for grounds thinness.

The choices Google made for what to battalion into the compact framework are interesting. It made immoderate bully inclusions, similar a carnal SIM slot to complement the eSIM support. The telephone gets a USB 3.2 larboard for faster wired information transmission. Google adjacent opted to see the indispensable hardware for Satellite SOS, thing the Pixel 9a missed retired on.

Google near immoderate astonishing things out, though. There are nary magnets to let for Qi2 and Pixelsnap accessories. The Pixel 10a tin inactive wirelessly charge, but lone astatine up to 10 watts. And though 30W charging is supported, you’ll request to person your ain susceptible charging brick.

The Pixel 10a tin unlock with facial designation oregon an under-display fingerprint scanner. Both worked rapidly successful my testing.

Durability should beryllium OK but not amazing. Gaskets are built successful to springiness the telephone a commendable IP68 h2o absorption to support particulate and h2o retired adjacent nether astir 5 feet of water. The integrative backmost worldly feels bully and glassy, but shouldn’t shatter similar solid if dropped. Gorilla Glass 7i connected the beforehand has avoided blemishing successful my clip testing, but it doesn’t committedness arsenic utmost drop- oregon scratch-resistance arsenic the Gorilla Glass Victus showing up connected much flagship phones. The telephone gets an aluminum frame, and Google matches it to the rear color, but this tin scratch up

Pixel 10a – Software

The Pixel 10a comes moving connected Android 16 and Google promises 7 years of enactment with OS and information updates alongside its Pixel Drops, which brings caller features present and then. This semipermanent enactment whitethorn beryllium 1 of the Pixel 10a’s astir compelling features, arsenic this benignant of enactment is already uncommon for immoderate phone, fto unsocial 1 without a flagship terms tag.

Some item features of the Pixel 10a’s bundle are enactment for Auto Best Take and Camera Coach successful the camera app, helping users framework photos and seizure radical shots without anyone blinking. The telephone besides supports a caller Quick-share diagnostic that’s compatible with iPhone’s Air Drop. In testing, this fto maine stock a record straight with an iPhone with conscionable a mates taps.

Pixel 10a – Gaming and Performance

The Pixel 10a didn’t get immoderate notable under-the-hood upgrades. It has the aforesaid Tensor G4 spot that the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9a came moving on. That spot was already trailing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips erstwhile it launched, and the gulf is lone widening. Its 8GB of RAM is little than the Pixel 9 included, but hasn’t been an impediment successful regular use.

It’s not arsenic though the Pixel 10a is slow. In mundane use, it’s been capable to support up conscionable fine. It fluidly ramps up to 120Hz for creaseless animations portion swiping around, and it browses the web without fuss. It tin grip airy games well. I played an hr of Carrion and the telephone lone got somewhat warm, and I couldn’t archer whether that was due to the fact that of the crippled oregon conscionable the phone's funny inclination to get a small warm. It adjacent handled Rainbow Six Mobile astatine Ultra settings smoothly. Bigger, much demanding games similar Where Winds Meet can’t spell all-out, though. The Pixel 10a was capable to tally the crippled astatine its Ultra graphics preset, but it was capped to 30fps. It mostly maintained that framerate astatine least. The telephone seems to throttle capable to debar getting blistery successful use, but warmth is astir constant.

While serviceably fast, the show limits that beryllium contiguous are lone going to go bigger impediments successful the aboriginal arsenic much demanding games and apps arrive. So adjacent if Google continues to enactment the telephone with bundle updates, its hardware whitethorn simply not beryllium viable for overmuch astatine the extremity of that enactment window.

Compared to different caller devices, the Pixel 10a’s show leaves a batch to beryllium desired. It falls shy of the fund Poco X7 Pro successful multi-core and graphical show by a sizeable amount. That lone widens erstwhile facing disconnected against a much potent instrumentality similar the OnePlus 15R, which the Pixel 10a tended to autumn anyplace from 30 to 50% behind. The Pixel 10 besides comes retired up of the Pixel 10a, albeit not with overmuch of a graphical bump to talk of. And though it whitethorn look similar an evident result for the Pixel 10 to transcend the Pixel 10a, it matters for imaginable buyers due to the fact that the Pixel 10 has already seen discounts that bring its terms acold person to the 10a’s terms than MSRP would person you believe.

The artillery beingness of the Pixel 10a is good, but not impressive. It fits successful a 5,100mAh battalion conscionable similar the 9a, and it’s been bully for all-day artillery beingness with a small foodstuff to spare. But the telephone seems to person a spot much passive drain overnight than I’d like, truthful I don’t expect to easy get done 2 days of dense use.

Pixel 10a – Cameras

The cameras person mostly been a item of Pixel phones, and though the fund bid makes immoderate sacrifices, they tin inactive execute well. That said, the Pixel 10a does thing new. It has the nonstop aforesaid camera strategy arsenic the Pixel 9a. Considering that it has the aforesaid SoC arsenic the Pixel 9a, there’s truly thing caller this telephone tin bash successful the camera department.

• 48MP wide, f/1.7, 1/2”, OIS, EIS
• 13MP ultrawide, f/2.2, 1/3.1”, 120-degree FoV
• 13MP Selfie, f/2.2, 96.1-degree FOV

It’s not wholly atrocious news. The main sensor was large past twelvemonth and is inactive large this year. It captures plentifulness of light, helping marque the astir of adjacent dim environments. It provides crisp and colorful images with a ton of detail. The wide aperture besides lends to a brushed inheritance blur erstwhile taking close-ups.

Google would accidental the sensor is bully capable to zoom successful digitally, but astir shots I took with integer zoom don’t clasp up good erstwhile viewed astatine afloat size. Zooming into 2x connected the telephone does person immoderate advantages implicit simply zooming successful connected a 1x photo, arsenic the telephone does other sound simplification and sharpening, though adjacent that doesn’t marque it a large photo.

The ultra-wide sensor is utile to person for getting other position connected ample and adjacent subjects. It gets a bully magnitude of detail, adjacent if it tin get brushed astir the edges. It’s not a cleanable complement to the main sensor, though, arsenic I caught it shifting the colour somesthesia from the main sensor, which tin marque for an inconsistent bid of photos. The tighter aperture besides doesn’t fto it execute arsenic good successful dim environments, truthful wherever the main sensor whitethorn beryllium capturing crisp and wide shots, switching to the ultra-wide sensor could pb to noisy photos.

The selfie camera is besides acceptable. It gets decent airy and earthy colors alongside a wide capable FOV to seizure a mates of friends successful the aforesaid shot.

While not mind-blowing, the prime of the cameras connected the Pixel 10a is inactive capable to support it somewhat protected against the OnePlus 15R oregon Poco X7 Pro for anyone who prioritizes photos implicit gaming performance. That said, it inactive leaves the Pixel 10a facing disconnected against the world that the Pixel 10 has been (and astir surely volition beryllium again) connected merchantability for $550-$600, and offers a large vantage with its further telephoto sensor.

Mark Knapp is simply a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything electronics and gaming hardware. He has implicit 10 years of acquisition successful the tech manufacture with bylines astatine PCMag, Reviewed, CNET, and more. Find Mark connected Twitter @Techn0Mark oregon BlueSky astatine @Techn0Mark.