Google Pixel 10a review: a no-nonsense choice

The arrival of the Google Pixel 10a won’t come as any great surprise. Google pioneered having a mid-range of ‘a’ designation smartphones (see also similarly named devices from Nothing, where the 3a is about to be superseded by the 4a) and the release schedule has stayed close to the original template; introduce a flagship (the Pixel 10) and follow up six months later with a mid-range device. Six months on from that, introduce the new flagship, and so on.

Collectively, we’re not upgrading our phones nearly as often as manufacturers would like. It’s also safe to say that the age of AI hasn’t made sufficient inroads into the smartphone market to be considered a killer app. Even Google, which made such a song and dance about Gemini integration a few years back, is underselling the Pixel 10a’s AI elements as ‘helpful’, rather than ‘useful’ or even the more hyperbolic ‘essential’.

In truth, AI is deeply embedded in almost all modern high-end smartphones; when it’s genuinely helpful (or even useful) we tend to take it for granted. It’s only when it becomes associated with unwanted assistance or – worse – intrusive and complicated processes that we start to notice it.

So what exactly does the Pixel 10a have to offer? As a mid-range offering, it’s understood that the 10a won’t match the processing power, storage space and camera quality of the flagship. Instead, the 10a leverages the inevitable evolution of silicon to get close for less.

The invisible hand of computational photography is more active than on any previous A-series form, with Google’s Camera Coach parsing the scene with Gemini to get the right lighting and exposure balance. The 48MP main camera is joined with a 13MP ultrawide camera, and intentional AI tools (ie, those you have to engage yourself) include Auto Best Take and Add Me. ‘Results may vary,’ read the footnotes.

Fewer camera modules allows for a more streamlined body (and case), with a simpler, less techy look than the regular Pixel 10, with none of the protrusions or bumps that increasingly characterise premium phones.

The four launch colours – Lavender, Berry, Fog and Obsidian – are brighter and more playful. No sober greys here. Recycled content is up, most notably the 100 per cent aluminium frame, but there’s also recycled cobalt, copper, gold and tungsten on board (surely for their cost-effectiveness just as much as their environmental credentials).

Pixel 10a has a matching case, shown here in Lavender and Berry

In the hand, the Pixel 10a feels reassuringly solid and unfussy. Android 16 comes as standard, there’s water- and dust-protection as well a newer, tougher version of Corning’s ubiquitous Gorilla Glass. Seven years of updates (‘Pixel Drops’) come with each 10a and Google promises easier repairability as well, without going into too much detail.

The feature creep of Gemini will no doubt form a central part of these updates as the years roll by. Gemini Live is currently being rolled out to Google Home devices around the world, helping normalise natural language communication with our devices.

Google Store

Google Pixel 10a

As it becomes more and more convenient and reliable to chat to your home hub (or your car) the friction that stops many of us from chatting away to our phones will evaporate. If you want a device that guarantees a few years of smooth sailing, the 10a is a no-nonsense choice.

Google Pixel 10a, available in 128GB and 256GB models, from £499, Store.Google.com

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Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.