We use words like “candy bar†or “slab†to describe our full-screen smartphones, but Google has designed what is likely the slabbiest phone of the modern era. During an hour-long hands-on with Google’s all-new Google Pixel 10a, I slid the phone across a desk and felt oddly satisfied that it could glide as neatly as a figure skater without any hint of a camera bump hindering its path. It’s the first thing I need to bring up regarding the Pixel 10a, because there’s no other discernible difference between this phone and the previous-gen Pixel 9a.
And that seems to be the point. The Pixel 10a starts at $500, exactly how much the Pixel 9a cost at launch. In a Q&A with journalists, Google told Gizmodo that the company wanted to offer the same price point as before. That apparently required Google to stick with the same Tensor G4 chip as last year. You still have the same storage options of 128GB or 256GB and the minimum of 8GB of RAM.
Think of the Pixel 10a as a Pixel 9a with a reduced camera bump. If you’re one of the heretics who uses a phone without a case, that fact alone may be enough to pay attention. Otherwise, you’ll be scrounging to find any real difference between the Pixel 10a and one of last year’s best mid-range phones.
No Pixelsnap is a real bummer
The Pixel 10a sports the same 6.3-inch pOLED display as the Pixel 9a, just with slightly smaller screen bezels and a slightly higher brightness spec (2,000 nits in HDR compared to the 1,800 nits on the Pixel 9a) and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i instead of Gorilla Glass 3. That may help it survive more scratching while you play air hockey with your Google phone. As for the back, you have the choice of a smooth glass texture in a choice of four colors. Alongside light gray Fog or dark gray Obsidian, the cool Lavender color is pleasing to the eyes. However, my favorite of the bunch is easily the neon Berry color that helps the device stand out.
Google’s mid-range offerings were previously a means for consumers to get access to Google’s tech at a lower price point. Last year’s Pixel 10 appeared visually indistinguishable compared to the Pixel 9. It instead came with a few noticeable upgrades, including a new 5x telephoto lens, more AI features, and support for Pixelsnap magnetic wireless Qi2 charging. That MagSafe-like snapping capability was one of the best new features for Google’s Pixel 10 family. The Pixel 9a doesn’t have Pixelsnap capabilities. It instead maintains the same 10W Qi charging (not the new Qi2 15W or 25W wireless charging).
The Pixel 10 also came with smaller image sensors that produced photos that looked worse in quality compared to the Pixel 9. At the very least, the Pixel 10a doesn’t change a single iota of the Pixel 9a’s camera specs. It still contains a 48-megapixel wide lens with a 1/2-inch sensor and an f/1.7 aperture. There’s another 13-megapixel ultrawide camera with a 1/3.1-inch image sensor and an f/2.2 aperture. It still supports the same 8x “Super Res†zoom functionality.
The only recent photo functionality the Pixel 10a steals from the Pixel 10 is Camera Coach. The feature uses AI to generate a few potential crops for your photos based on what you show it. It’s essentially just an easy way to identify where to put your subject to maintain the rule of thirds or how to focus on your subject. If you have any photo experience, Camera Coach is largely pointless. It’s potentially helpful for the layperson who wants to get better at taking photos of friends.
Nowhere near the same Gemini capabilities as the Pixel 10
As much as Google promotes access to its Gemini AI capabilities, the company hasn’t included any of last year’s big standout AI capabilities. You won’t get Voice Translate to deepfake your voice in another language when on a call. There’s no Magic Cue, which tries to surface relevant info from among your apps to help you wrangle all your daily tasks each morning. The lack of the Tensor G5 chip makes this phone inherently feel behind the times.
That doesn’t mean the Pixel 10a is not snappy when actually using it. Swiping between apps was fast. Pages loaded quickly in Google Chrome. I don’t find Camera Coach useful at all, but at least that feature, plus Auto Best Take (for selecting the best face for each individual in a group shot) and Add Me (for combining shots to insert people or objects), loaded quickly without much fuss.
As much as Google wants me to, I have very little use for Gemini. Google’s assistant AI will perform the same search tasks I was already used to but will require far more fact-checking on my part. That means the Pixel 9a is left behind in an arena created close to two years ago. The Pixel 9 from 2024 was a transitionary time for phones. That was an age when AI-ified Siri still had a chance of competing with Google’s Gemini features that year.
The lack of any hardware enhancements to the Pixel 10a may be Google’s way of telling us that we can either have a good price on a phone or more phone features. The ongoing memory shortage is impacting every device that requires RAM or flash storage. Based on my time with it, the $500 Pixel 10a is—in every way—an old phone with a new coat of paint. The Pixel 10a is up for preorder today with a launch date on Mar. 5. If you’re simply looking for the flattest phone, then the Pixel 10a is up your alley. Just know if you want Google’s latest hardware and Gemini AI features, you’ll need to spend more for the Pixel 10, 10 Pro/10 Pro XL, or a 10 Pro Fold.
Original Source: https://gizmodo.com/google-pixel-10a-is-the-same-damn-phone-as-pixel-9a-2000722838
Original Source: https://gizmodo.com/google-pixel-10a-is-the-same-damn-phone-as-pixel-9a-2000722838
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