Google Pixel 10a review: cheaper Android is great, but no real advance

Review Google Pixel 10a review: cheaper Android is great, but no real advance Quality camera, good software and long battery life, but you should just buy the Pixel 9a instead T he latest smartphone in the lower-cost A-series Pixel line shows what makes Google phones so good, while undercutting the competition on price. The problem is that it differs little from its predecessor, which is still on sale. Priced from £499 (€549/$499/A$849), the Pixel 10a is more like a second edition of last year’s excellent Pixel 9a . The two phones share the same Tensor G4 chip, not the newer G5 in the rest of the £799 and up Pixel 10 line; the same memory, storage and cameras; the same size 6.3in OLED screen, though the Pixel 10a reaches a higher peak brightness making it slightly easier to read outside. The new phone feels well made at least, with aluminium sides, glass on the front and a high-quality plastic back. It has 2D face recognition and an optical fingerprint scanner under the screen for unlocking the phone, which is fast but not quite as reliable as the ultrasonic fingerprint readers on more expensive phones. It also has emergency satellite messaging, which is a rare feature outside flagship smartphones, should you need rescuing in the middle of nowhere without a phone signal or wifi. The Pixel feels snappy in operation despite the older chip but it won’t win any raw performance awards, although it handles most tasks well and is capable of gaming, but not at the highest quality settings. The battery lasts a good 52 or so hours per charge, including actively using the screen for seven hours across a mix of 5G and wifi. Most users should only need to charge it every other day. One of the best features is the quality software, the prompt updates and the long support, which for the 10a extends to March 2033 . But while the phone has the Gemini chatbot in its various forms, it lacks some of the more interesting on-device AI added to the rest of the Pixel 10 line , including Ma...