Google Pixel 10a was arguably the best bargain in smartphones, and now it isn’t
Google is the latest mobile manufacturer to push up the prices for an existing smartphone with the mid-range Pixel 10a now falling victim. The previously-priced $499 has leapt up by $100 to $599 for the 128GB version. The 256GB version also goes up by $100, meaning it costs $699. Switch the dollar signs for the pound sterling sign and you’re looking at the same situation. Up £100. Now £599/£699.
The Pixel 10a phone appears to have been hit by the now-familiar AI-enforced increases in the price of RAM and storage. That 128/256GB of storage will be costing Google more to acquire, as will the 8GB of RAM, which actually isn’t enough to run the most powerful Gemini Intelligence features.
Is the Pixel 10a – which arrived in February this year – still a good deal? Well, given loads of other phones are going up simultaneously, including older devices from Apple and the current flagships from Samsung, this is the cost of playing the smartphone upgrade game.
Our reviewer gave the Pixel 10a phone a four-star score from a possible five and praised the handset for its competitive cameras for the price, the slight improvement to wired and wireless charging, and the slightly sleeker design. You’re also getting the Google guarantee of seven years of software updates and security fixes.
However, it fell down on its run-of-the-mill battery life, the lack of Pixelsnap magnets and the lack of meaningful hardware upgrades over the Pixel 9a. The Pixel 9a has since been discontinued by Google, but if you can get ahold of one for less than $499/£499 that might offer better value now. If you shop around you might still find the 10a at a decent price too.
