Google Pixel 10a Review: a roll for the same price, just with a better crust

Do you know what’s hardest about reviewing a phone that’s practically no different from its predecessor? Not writing a review of the predecessor. The Google Pixel 10a shares its processor, camera, battery capacity, display size, and amount of RAM with last year’s Pixel 9a. If you placed both phones side by side, you’d need a magnifying glass to find a difference. And yet, here I sit, claiming it’s still one of the best phones in its class. How is that possible?

Flat Backs are Great!

Let’s start with what you see right after unboxing. The Pixel 10a looks like a 9a that has undergone a subtle facelift. Plastic back, metal frame, rounded corners – nothing that would take your breath away. But one detail changes the way you use the phone: the camera module is completely flush with the body. No island, no wobbling on the table, no dust collecting in crevices. The glass covering the lenses is even slightly recessed below the level of the plastic back.

It sounds like a minor detail, but in practice, it’s like switching from a car with a broken shock absorber to a new one. The phone lies flat on the table, doesn’t get in the way in your pocket, and when held in your palm, you feel a uniform profile without protruding edges. When I recall how I complained about the two-millimeter camera bump on the Galaxy A56, the Pixel 10a is in a different league in this regard. The thickness of 9 mm is a tenth more than its predecessor, but thanks to the flat profile, the phone paradoxically feels thinner.

The rest of the design is an evolution in homeopathic doses. The SIM card tray moved from the side to the top, and a speaker grille was added to the bottom edge for visual symmetry – but beware, no sound comes from it; it’s just a decoration with a microphone. The stereo setup consists of the earpiece and the right bottom speaker. Durability remains at IP68, weight at 183 grams, and you have four colors available: lavender, raspberry, gray, and black. The raspberry (Berry) in particular is striking and reminiscent of the red Nexus 5 from 2014.

Excellent Display with Still Equally Wide Bezels

The screen is the same 6.3-inch pOLED panel with a resolution of 1080 × 2424 pixels and a dynamic refresh rate of 60–120 Hz. But beware – by default, the refresh rate is locked at 60 Hz, so the first thing you need to do after turning it on is to go into settings and manually switch to 120 Hz. Why Google doesn’t enable it by default remains a mystery. Sure, you save a percentage of battery life, but you significantly worsen the user experience.

A new feature is higher peak brightness – 3,000 nits at its peak, which is 300 nits more than the Pixel 9a. In practice, this means better readability in direct sunlight, although laboratory measurements show that the real brightness during normal use is around 1,900 nits. Still, it’s a solid value that allows the display to be used without problems even outdoors on a bright day.

Much more significant is the replacement of the cover glass. Google finally ditched the ancient Gorilla Glass 3 and replaced it with Gorilla Glass 7i. This is a leap of several generations, which will primarily manifest in scratch resistance. After two weeks of testing, I don’t see a single scratch on the display, whereas with its predecessor, the first scratches appeared within days. What hasn’t changed, however, are the bezels around the display – they are still among the widest in its price category. It’s a shame, but after an hour of use, you get used to them and stop noticing them. And if you want to hide them, try a dark wallpaper and dark mode; it helps a lot.

Tensor G4 for the Second Time: Recycling or Pragmatism?

Here comes the controversial part. The Google Pixel 10a runs on the Tensor G4 processor – the same one that powered last year’s Pixel 9a and the entire Pixel 9 series. While the more expensive Pixel 10 received the new Tensor G5, the cheaper model got the silicon from two years ago. In addition, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage as standard – again, unchanged.

Benchmarks confirm this mercilessly. In Geekbench 6, you’ll measure around 1,691 points in a single-core test and 4,331 in a multi-core test – practically identical values to the Pixel 9a. For comparison, the iPhone 17e with the A19 chip achieves almost double in the multi-core test. However, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro with Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 delivers comparable performance.

In practice, however, the Tensor G4 is still sufficient for everything you expect from a 13,000-crown phone. Apps open quickly, the system responds smoothly, and even more demanding games are not an issue. Where 8 GB of RAM painfully shows its limits is in the support for local AI features. The Pixel 10a with 8 GB of RAM uses a lighter version of Gemini Nano, which does not support some local AI features like Pixel Screenshots or Call Notes. Paradoxically, this may not bother us too much in the Czech Republic, as neither of these functions works in Czech.

At least the Exynos 5400 modem is new, bringing support for satellite SOS communication. And yes, it works (unlike Apple) even in the Czech Republic!

Camera Unchanged, But That’s Not Necessarily a Problem

The camera setup is literally copied from the Pixel 9a. On the back, you’ll find a 48Mpx main sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and optical stabilization, and a 13Mpx wide-angle lens with a 120° field of view. On the front, there’s a 13Mpx selfie camera. Not a single parameter has changed.

The good news is that last year’s generation brought significant improvements in color accuracy and image processing, so it builds on a solid foundation. Photos from the main sensor are sharp in good light, with natural colors and balanced exposure. Google traditionally excels in HDR processing – just be careful not to let excessive dynamic range blend more dramatic scenes into boring uniformity.

The wide-angle lens does a decent job in daylight, but in poorer conditions, it quickly loses detail and adds noise. Without a telephoto lens, digital zoom beyond 2× is only a last resort. If you regularly zoom in, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro with its periscopic 3.5× telephoto lens at a similar price point is in a different league in this regard.

There are two software novelties. Camera Coach uses AI to advise you on composition and settings in real-time – useful for beginners, redundant for more experienced users. Auto Best Take then automatically combines several shots of a group photo so that everyone has open eyes and a pleasant expression. This is a feature you’ll appreciate at a family celebration more than you’d expect.

Battery Lasts, Charging is Faster

The battery capacity remains at 5,100 mAh, but battery life has paradoxically improved. Tests show approximately 8 hours of active use, which is two hours more than the Pixel 9a – likely due to software optimizations in Android 16. With normal use, you’ll easily get through the entire day, and if you’re not a power user, you can extend the battery life to a day and a half.

Charging is one of the few areas where there has been a tangible hardware improvement. Wired charging jumped from 23W to 30W – in 30 minutes, you’ll replenish about 50–60% of the capacity, depending on the adapter. Wireless charging grew from 7.5W to 10W, but it still lacks support for Qi2 magnets and the proprietary Pixelsnap system, which other Pixel 10 series phones have. This is a disappointment, as magnetic accessories are one of the things that delight both casual users and enthusiasts. Apple added MagSafe to the iPhone 17e, Samsung offers at least Qi2 Ready – and Google? Google is cutting corners.

Android 16 and Seven Years of Peace of Mind

Software-wise, the Pixel 10a is a showcase of what Google can do with its system. Android 16 is clean, fast, and free of unnecessary bloat. No pre-installed junk, no system ads, no forced services – something many competitors’ owners can only dream of.

The most interesting software novelty is the desktop mode. When connected to an external monitor, the Pixel 10a transforms into something akin to Samsung DeX – with multiple workspaces, application windows, and even support for multiple user profiles. This is a feature that has real potential to replace a cheap laptop for basic office work.

Google guarantees 7 years of Android system updates and security patches. This means support until 2033, i.e., Android 23. In the segment of phones costing 13,000 crowns, this is an unbeatable offer – Nothing promises 3 years of system updates, while Samsung offers 6 years for the Galaxy A56, but with a tendency to trim features for older models.

Who it Competes With and Who it Yields To

The biggest competitor to the Pixel 10a is… the Pixel 9a. Last year’s model with the same chip and camera will drop in price throughout the year and can be purchased significantly cheaper during sales. If you don’t mind shorter software support and older display glass, it’s a legitimate alternative.

Among new phones, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro for 12,199 CZK is an interesting choice. It offers a periscopic telephoto lens, Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, a 144Hz display with 5,000 nits brightness, and a glowing back with Glyph Matrix. However, software support is shorter.

Also worth mentioning is the POCO F8 Pro, which offers a Snapdragon 8 Elite for a lower price, or the OnePlus Nord 5 with Snapdragon 8s Gen 3.

The iPhone 17e is then an alternative for those considering a switch to Apple. It offers a significantly faster A19 processor, MagSafe, 256GB of storage as standard, and better battery life. On the other hand, it lacks an ultrawide lens, the display is slower (without 120 Hz), and Apple Intelligence AI features are not yet available in Czech.

The Best Phone That Won’t Excite You

The Pixel 10a is a paradox of the modern smartphone market. It’s a great phone that does practically nothing wrong – but also does almost nothing new. Google bet on maintaining the price of 13,290 CZK for the base model (8/128 GB) and 15,690 CZK for the 256 GB storage version, amidst rising component costs and a memory crisis. And that in itself is a valuable decision.

Flat backs, better display glass, faster charging, and satellite SOS are welcome upgrades. Android 16 with its clean environment, desktop mode, and seven years of support make the Pixel 10a a phone that will serve you longer than most competitors. The camera is still top-notch for its price category, and battery life has improved slightly compared to its predecessor.

However, the absence of a new chipset and only 8 GB of RAM in 2026 is disappointing. It doesn’t mean the phone will be unusable in a year – but it does mean that Google has exhausted all room for innovation, and the next generation will have to bring a real leap. The Pixel 10a is like a roll from a quality bakery – you know exactly what you’re getting, and there’s no reason to be disappointed. Just don’t expect it to surprise you.

Editor’s Rating: 80%

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