Same as last year

Review: Google Pixel 10a - Google's most affordable mobile

Pixel 10a is an affordable way to access Google's latest features and long update time, but it is almost exactly the same mobile as last year's model.

Published 2 April 2026 - 10:56

When a new phone is launched, we expect a certain level of hardware updates compared to the equivalent model from last year. If nothing else, that it has faster processors, and if it doesn't, something else that compensates, such as better cameras.

For Google Pixel 10a, the list of new features is short and insignificant compared to Pixel 9a. The chipset that powers the phone is, for example, Google Tensor G4, instead of the new Tensor G5 found in the other Pixel 10 models. This is a departure from how Google has previously handled its a-models, and a pedagogical problem. Google likes to claim that the computing power in their new chipset is crucial and tailored for the Pixel experience. The A-series, in turn, is marketed as the cheapest way to access Google's cutting-edge features for Android and AI. But if Pixel 10a uses last year's chipset, it either means that the phone is not guaranteed the same functionality in the software over time as the more expensive models in the series, or that the Pixel 9 series can handle the tasks just as well and the Pixel 10 series doesn't add much. If we look at the new software features that Pixel 10a has, one of Google's selling points is that they update their phones with new features over a long period. And with almost exactly the same hardware, there is no reason why Pixel 9a won't get all those features soon. Pixel 10a is promised seven years of updates just like Pixel 9a was and will therefore be updated one year longer, but that could just as easily have been achieved by extending the update promise to Pixel 9a.

Last year's performance

If we return to the chipset, Google's chipset does not impress in performance tests, but Google claims that since they are tailored for their phones, they feel faster than what the tests indicate. There is undeniably something to that, but it is still the case that you can sometimes feel the phone stutter, for example when searching in Google Maps. For the most part, it feels as fast as you want a phone to be.

The design is new, according to Google, but it depends on how you look at it. The camera island is completely embedded in the plastic back, which then becomes completely smooth, but its elevation on the Pixel 9a was very small, and otherwise, the dimensions are identical. In many ways, it is nice to have a completely smooth back, for example, the phone sits steadily on the table when you use it, and there is no edge that can get caught in your pocket. But partly I wonder if the glass in front of the camera lenses doesn't scratch more easily this way, and it should be said that Google has achieved this by making the whole phone unusually thick for a mobile today.

The black frames around the screen are also thick. It gives a slightly cheap impression, but it's okay, the phone is actually quite cheap. The screen has the same dimensions and resolution as its predecessor, and like it, it is of the OLED type with a 120 Hz refresh rate for smoother scrolling, but the screen is a bit brighter, with a sunlight mode at 2000 nits. The screen glass is also of a slightly more durable type, Gorilla Glass 7i instead of Gorilla Glass 3.

Google Pixel 10a has also received slightly faster fast charging compared to its predecessor. It can now be charged with up to 30 watts, or 10 watts if you charge wirelessly. However, the battery is still 5100 mAh as before, and the battery life is quite okay without being impressive.

What is particularly missing on the Pixel 10a compared to other Pixel 10 models is Pixelsnap, Google's equivalent to Apple's Magsafe, their implementation of the Qi2 standard that makes wireless charging much more convenient thanks to magnetic attachment. If there was any feature we had the right to expect from the Pixel 10a that could justify having an otherwise identical mobile, it would have been Pixelsnap. It becomes extra strange that the Pixel 10a is slightly magnetic so that it sticks to a magnetic charger in a way that, say, the Galaxy S25 does not, but not enough to prevent it from sliding off. It's almost as if one suspects that Google built the mobile with Pixelsnap but the magnets became too weak, so they removed the feature from the specifications and pretended nothing happened.

Trimmed cameras

The camera setup is the same as the Pixel 9a, that is, a main camera with a sensor smaller than average and a wide-angle camera with an even smaller sensor and lower resolution. It is also the same cameras minus the telephoto camera found in the Pixel 10. Google calls it the best camera setup in the price range. Here, I think, for example, Xiaomi with its Poco mobiles rightly has objections, but it is clear that the camera is better than expected given the sensor size. I compare it with the Samsung Galaxy S25, and for that matter, I have compared the same cameras in the Pixel 10 and 9a with other mobiles such as the more expensive Pixel 10 Pro and overall I get images with fine sharpness and colour reproduction on par with the Galaxy S25 which has a larger sensor. In poorer lighting conditions, however, you notice the smaller sensor and the night photos do not quite hold the same class as the more expensive mobiles. And if you photograph zoomed in, the images feel mildly AI-upscaled already at two times magnification.

In many ways, it's still the software you want in a Pixel phone. In addition to Google giving Pixel users some exclusive features not found in regular Android, they introduce new features over time with so-called Pixel Feature Drops.

These features are largely linked to AI, and as usual, they mainly fall into the two categories of language processing and image processing. The unfortunate thing is that we, as Swedish users, for various reasons, do not get access to the full set of features, either because it does not support Swedish or because it is only launched in a limited number of countries. Examples of missing features include the call assistant that can answer spam calls for you or convert multi-choice menus in phone exchanges to buttons on the screen, and the image editor Magic Editor where you can edit a photo you've taken with an AI text prompt.

Call recording

Phone features that we do get include call translation between about ten languages, with Swedish being one. If you enable the feature, a voice reads it out and the person you're talking to translated, and the voice mimics your voices in a slightly eerie way. Another feature that has long been available for Pixel in the USA but has now come to Swedish phones is the ability to record phone calls with the mobile.

When it comes to image editing, you at least have access to the ability to move details in the image or erase unwanted details with the help of AI, but this is hardly unique to Google and is rather standard in mobiles in a slightly higher price range today.

Google has some of its own smart features that come into play as soon as you take the picture. One of them is camera coach, which you can activate to get guided instructions on how to take better pictures, for example by changing the angle or getting closer to highlight the subject. For those who are often dissatisfied with their pictures, it can be a good way to learn more about photography. If you are going to take group photos, there is the Add Me function where you switch who is photographing and then the pictures are edited with AI so that everyone is included. Sometimes it is successful, sometimes obviously artificial. Best Take is a function where, when you take group photos, you get everyone's best face, either by selecting the best moment or, if necessary, by editing several exposures together into one with the help of AI. When I try the function, it is noticeable that it is active because the camera needs a couple of seconds to take the picture. It is difficult to assess the result because you are faced with a fait accompli and therefore cannot compare with how it would be if the function was not active. In at least one case, it allows a picture through where one of the two people in the picture is blinking.

To the extent that the Pixel 9a has not already received these features, they will be coming to the older mobile shortly, and individual software features are not an argument to choose one Pixel mobile over another. If it's the software features you're after and you're less interested in the cameras, the Pixel 10a is quite as good value, but not as good value as the Pixel 9a, which can now be obtained even cheaper.

Questions and answers

Is Google One with AI and storage included in the price of the phone? Yes, but only for three months.

Does the screen work well in sunlight? Yes, a little extra brightness is welcome here, and the screen is fully readable in the sun.

Is it true that Google's quick sharing feature Quickshare works with Apple's Airdrop on the Pixel 10a? Yes, that's correct, but the feature will of course also come to other Pixel mobiles.

An alternative

As noted, the Pixel 9a is almost identical to this mobile. At the time of writing, you can buy it new for under 5000 kronor, almost 2000 kronor less than the Pixel 10a costs.

Camera example

For having such a small camera sensor, the Pixel 10a delivers good images in most conditions, even in twilight as here.

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