The screen is now brighter, reaching a maximum brightness of 3000 nits, and I’ve had no problem reading in sunny weather (although the last few weeks haven’t been as sunny as I’d like). I appreciate the glass upgrade from Gorilla Glass 3 to Gorilla Glass 7i. It’s supposed to be more protective, and surprisingly, I don’t see a single scratch on the Pixel 10a’s screen after two weeks of use. (However, I would wear a screen protector just to be safe.)
Photo: Julian Chokkattu
Another notable improvement is charging speed: 30-watt wired charging and 10-watt wireless charging. I admit, I haven’t noticed the benefits of this technology yet, as I usually charge my phone overnight. With a compatible adapter, you can get up to 50% in 30 minutes of charging, and that matched my tests.
My biggest complaint with the Pixel 10a
Google should have taken this opportunity to add Pixelsnap wireless charging magnets to the back of this phone. This would help further align the Pixel 10a with the Pixel 10 series and bring Qi2 wireless charging into the more accessible realm, really raising the bar, which wouldn’t be a first for the A series. After all, Apple has done just that with the new iPhone 17e, adding MagSafe to the table. Or at least make the Pixel 10a Qi2 Ready like Samsung’s smartphones so that people using a magnetic case can take advantage of the faster wireless charging speeds.
Battery life was good. With average use, the Pixel 10a comfortably lasts me a full day, but it still needs a daily charge. During heavier use, such as when traveling, I had to charge the phone several times during the day to make sure it didn’t die before I went to bed. It’s a pretty big battery for its size, but I think Google could have done a bit more to extend battery life, like Motorola’s Moto G Power 2026.
I won’t dwell too much on performance. This phone has the same Tensor G4 as its predecessor with 8GB of RAM and it still handles everything I throw at it with ease. If you’re an avid mobile gamer and play demanding games multiple times a day, you might find the performance mediocre, but you shouldn’t have any problems with regular mobile games. I also had no trouble with AI tasks, although it’s easy to see how much slower it can be compared to the Tensor G5 on the Pixel 10 Pro.
I also have no complaints with the dual camera system. It’s the same 48MP primary camera, extra wide with 13-MP and a selfie shooter with 13-MP. The photos are well maintained, with clear details and natural colors. There are some white balance issues at times, but overall it’s a very respectable system for the price. I would like to see the lens increase 2X or 3X optical is in the future for the A-series, especially since Samsung offers it on its slightly more expensive Galaxy S25 FE (often sold for less than $500), but I can’t blame Google for being too drastic, given that Apple still offers a single camera on its $599 iPhone 17e.
Unlike the Pixel 9a, the Pixel 10a has the Satellite SOS feature, and it’s good to see this flagship feature coming to phones at a more reasonable price point. (Apple also offered it on the iPhone 16e, and now the iPhone 17e.) It’s just a nice little thing to have in case of emergencies in areas with no cell signal.
software intelligent
Photo: Julian Chokkattu
You get tons of features software existing from previous Pixel devices, including two new additions to the Pixel 10 series: Camera Coach and Auto Best Take. I’ve already reviewed these features in my Pixel 10 review; Simply put, I find the latter useful when you’re taking group photos to make sure everyone’s eyes are open and mouths are smiling. Camera Coach interferes with the photography process, at least for me, so I have no reason to use it.
