After teasing the Pixel 10a a couple of weeks ago, Google has now officially unveiled everything there is to know about its latest mid-range phone.
For starters, if you’re looking at the Pixel 10a in the image above and struggling to tell it apart from the Pixel 9a, you’re not alone. On the surface, the two look nearly identical, and the Pixel 10a closely mirrors the Pixel 9a in overall design and hardware. That said, there are a few key differences between the Pixel 10a and 9a that are worth pointing out.
Before we dive into those changes, here’s the basics: the Pixel 10a starts at $499 USD ($679 CAD) and is available for pre-order now, ahead of its March 5 launch. Notably, it keeps the same $499 starting price as its predecessor and comes in four colors: Lavender, Berry, Fog, and Obsidian.
The Pixel 10a is available in both 128GB and 256GB storage sizes, and is powered by the Tensor G4 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and a 5,100mAh battery, the exact same internals as the Pixel 9a.
Now, that brings us back to what’s actually different, and there are three main areas where the Pixel 10a stands apart from last year’s Pixel 9a.
- Brand
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Google
- SoC
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Tensor G4
- Display
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6.3-inch 1080 x 2424 pixel resolution pOLED
- RAM
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8GB
The Pixel 10a’s display is brighter and more durable
The bezels look the same
The Pixel 10a features a 6.3-inch Actua pOLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate — the same as the Pixel 9a. Where things start to differ, though, is brightness and durability.
The Pixel 10a can hit up to 2,000 nits of HDR brightness, with a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. That’s 11 percent brighter than the Pixel 9a, which topped out at 1,800 nits in HDR and 2,700 nits of peak brightness. It’s not a significant jump, but it should make the Pixel 10a easier to see in bright conditions.
Then there’s durability. The Pixel 10a’s screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, which offers improved scratch and drop resistance over the Pixel 9a’s older Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
A flush camera bar
The Pixel 10a won’t wobble on a table
The Pixel 10a retains the same dual rear camera setup as the Pixel 9a: a 48-megapixel wide lens paired with a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens. While the hardware is unchanged, the design tells a different story.
When the Pixel 9a was unveiled last year, the key visual change was the removal of the camera bar used by the Pixel 8a and, notably, by Google’s flagship Pixel phones. In its place was a smaller camera cutout with a bump on the back.
This year, that cutout remains on the Pixel 10a, but now it’s completely flush with the back of the phone, meaning there’s no bump at all. That means when you set the Pixel 10a down on a table, it lies totally flat without any wobble. Admittedly, it doesn’t significantly change day-to-day use, but I appreciate the cleaner look, and it feels more cohesive with the overall minimalistic design of the phone.
Additionally, there’s a software difference on the camera side: the Pixel 10a supports Auto Best Take and Camera Coach — two photo features the Pixel 9a doesn’t have.
Faster wired charging
Still no Qi2 wireless charging support though
The final key difference between the Pixel 10a and the Pixel 9a is charging, specifically faster wired speeds on the Pixel 10a.
The Pixel 10a supports up to 30W wired charging when paired with a 45W wall adapter, while the Pixel 9a tops out at 23W under the same conditions.
Again, that isn’t a huge jump, but Google says the Pixel 10a can charge to 50 percent in about 30 minutes, which is roughly in line with the Pixel 9a. So, while the wired charging numbers technically differ, the real-world impact may not be that noticeable.
In total, Google says the Pixel 10a’s battery can last more than 30 hours and up to 120 hours with Extreme Battery Saver mode enabled.
The Pixel 10a may be worth the upgrade
If you have an older Pixel phone, the Pixel 10a offers a lot of value
Overall, the Pixel 10a is extremely similar to the Pixel 9a, and while there are a few differences between the display, camera design, and the charging speed, it would’ve been nice to see Google upgrade the phone more this year, such as outfitting it with the same Tensor G5 chipset as the Pixel 10.
In my view, if you have a Pixel 9a, there’s no reason whatsoever to upgrade to the Pixel 10a. But if you’re using an older Pixel A-series phone, such as the 6a, 7a, or 8a, the Pixel 10a offers strong value, and it’s good that, despite the ongoing memory and storage shortage, Google has kept the price at $499.
The Pixel 10a is available for pre-order now and launches on March 5. Stay tuned as I’ll have a review of the phone on Pocket-lint in the coming weeks.
