The Pixel 10a doesn’t have a camera notch, which is great

For years now, smartphone makers have been expanding the camera size on devices in order to pursue camera improvements. Even if this type of design makes cameras better, it sometimes creates usability issues. With the Pixel 10a, Google has taken a new approach of completely removing the camera notch and making a flat phone that rests entirely on surfaces.

While this is a pleasant change in the world of big camera bumps, Google hasn’t made any major design changes with its latest budget smartphones. The Pixel 9a looks mostly the same, with a very small camera bump.

I have the plain old black unit, but Google offers the phone in Lavender (a mix of light blue and purple), Berry (coral), and Mist (a gray-green hue).

The 6.3-inch screen is the same size as last year’s device, but the screen is now brighter at 3,000 nits. Google is using the Actua series of displays it has used with other Pixel 10 series devices to make them more usable in bright conditions. The screen is capable of reaching a 120Hz refresh rate, but the unit comes with it set to 60Hz, so you’ll need to change that manually through the phone’s settings.

In terms of design and specifications, the Pixel 10a competes with the Pixel 10, with some differences. For example, the Pixel 10 has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back. The cheaper 10a model features a plastic back and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection on the front. The budget device also has a larger 5,100 mAh battery, compared to 4,970 mAh in the base Pixel 10. The Pixel 10 Pro XL has a 5,200 mAh battery.

There are only small differences between the Pixel 9a, Pixel 10a, and Pixel 10, and most of them have to do with performance and computing power. The obvious hardware difference is that the budget phone series uses a Google Tensor G4 CPU, compared to the Tensor G5 with the Pixel 10. The Pixel 10 series charges at 30W via USB-C, compared to the 23W charging capacity of the Pixel 9a. 7.5W wireless charging is supported for the Pixel 9a, 10W for the Pixel 10a, and 15W (magnetic) for the Pixel 10.

The new higher battery and charging capacity is beneficial as the battery easily lasts all day, including using your normal apps and a few hours of video watching and light gaming. Additionally, the brighter display makes the device better for the overall experience in different lighting conditions. Yes, the 10a has larger bezels than its more expensive peers, but it doesn’t make much of a difference in everyday use. After all, you are getting the device for a much lower price than the flagship device.

The Pixel 10a uses the Tensor G4 chip, which was also used in the Pixel 9a. This means there are no performance gains this year, which you might notice if you switch between a lot of apps. Due to the chip and 8GB of RAM, the Pixel 10a cannot run the updated Gemini Nano model, which means it has fewer AI features on the device compared to the Pixel 10a series.

The list of features not available on the Pixel 10a includes notification summaries, the Pixel Screenshot app, Magi Cue (which gives you suggestions across apps like Gmail, Messages, and Maps), call notes, and on-device call translation.

The phone features a 48-megapixel main camera and a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera, which is the same camera as last year’s device. The main camera is suitable for most conditions, even in low light. But due to the older, smaller sensor being so wide, it tends to lose some detail. Plus, it doesn’t have autofocus.

The Pixel 10a has an AI camera trainer feature that can guide you to take a shot of an object. This feature orients the shot frame to ensure the object is best placed in the image. There’s also Auto Best Take, which combines images to create the best shot from a group shot, which is useful when taking group photos. The phone also has support for up to 8x ultra-resolution zoom, but the processing and quality are not as good as the Pixel 10, which offers up to 100x zoom through this feature.

Notably, some AI features may arrive on the Pixel 10a through Pixel Drop, as Google is often able to make them work on older models.

Google offers seven years of software updates with this device, which is crucial for getting OS updates, along with feature drops and security updates. Although this isn’t exclusive to the Pixel 10a, the phone does have a Quick Share feature that now works with AirDrop. This means I can simply transfer photos, just like I did in this story, to my MacBook in just a few clicks. Previously, I had to connect the Pixel 10a to my MacBook using a USB-C cable.

At $499, good battery life, a bright display, and faster charging are the things in the Pixel 10a’s favor. For this price, the phone offers good value for money with a light and flat design. However, if you have a Pixel 9a from last year, there’s no reason to change. Additionally, the $499 Nothing 4a Pro offers strong competition to Google’s budget device with better specs, like a larger, brighter display, a more capable Qualcomm processor, a dedicated telephoto lens, and faster 50W charging speeds.