Google Pixel 10a review: cheaper Android is great, but no real advance
The 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,The Guardian’s journalism is independent,We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link,Learn more.
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 Magic Cue and the excellent Pixel Screenshots app, which is a shame.Screen: 6.3in 120Hz FHD+ OLED (422ppi)Processor: Google Tensor G4RAM: 8GBStorage: 128 or 256GBOperating system: Android 16Camera: 48MP + 13MP ultrawide, 13MP selfieConnectivity: 5G, sim/esim, wifi 6E, NFC, Bluetooth 6 and GNSSWater resistance: IP68 (1m for 30 minutes)Dimensions: 153.9 x 73 x 9mmWeight: 183gThe front and rear cameras on the Pixel 10a are the same as the 9a.That means it has an excellent 48-megapixel main and very good 13MP ultra wide camera, both of which rival the many flagship phones (which cost far more).
Generally you can simply point and shoot to get a great photo without much effort.New for the 10a is the addition of auto best take, which automatically shoots multiple images of group shots and blends them together to make sure everyone’s looking at the camera.Camera coach, which uses the Gemini AI assistant to guide you in taking a better framed and composed photo, is also there.Overall the Pixel 10a has a best-in-class camera but the lack of a telephoto camera holds it back from truly competing with pricier models.Google says the battery should last about 1,000 full charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity.
The phone is repairable by Google and third-party shops with genuine replacement parts available direct from iFixit.It is made up of 36% recycled materials including aluminium, cobalt, copper, gold, plastic, rare-earth elements, tin and tungsten.The company publishes an environmental impact report for the phone and will recycle old devices free of charge.The Google Pixel 10a costs £499 (€549/$499/A$849).For comparison, the Pixel 10 costs £799, the Pixel 9a costs £399, the Samsung Galaxy S25FE costs £649, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro costs £369 and the Apple iPhone 17e costs £599The Pixel 10a is a great mid-range Android phone with almost all the trimmings of flagship devices but at two-thirds of the price.
It has a very good screen, long battery life, snappy performance and an excellent dual camera on the back.It also has quality software with important features such as Gemini and Circle to Search and seven years of support, so it should go the distance.A few corners have been cut for the price.The back is plastic, it lacks Qi2 magnetic attachment support, wifi7 and it is missing the more advanced and useful AI features from the regular Pixel 10, including Magic Cue.But the biggest problem is it differs little from its slightly older predecessor.
The Pixel 9a is still on sale for £100 less and has the same chip, specifications, camera and software, and practically the same design, making it a far better buy,Pros: seven years of software updates, class-leading camera, great screen, decent chip, long battery life, recycled materials, undercuts high-end phones on price,Cons: design and chips the same as Pixel 9a, no optical zoom for camera, raw performance short of best, plastic back, no wifi 7, lack of advanced local AI features,
Oil price heading for biggest weekly gain in four years, as strait of Hormuz traffic grinds to a halt – business live
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The oil price is on track for its biggest monthly gain in four years, fuelling fears of an inflation spike that will reignite the cost of living crisis and hurt growth around the globe.The Iran conflict has driven Brent crude, the international benchmark, has soared by 17.65% this week to over $85 a barrel. That would be the biggest jump since the week to 4 March 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine
‘We’re powerless … and hoping nothing hits us’: trapped on a tanker as Iran war escalates
Thousands of seafarers are trapped on tankers in the Gulf after the strait of Hormuz was effectively closed to shipping by the escalating war on Iran.The Guardian spoke to a crew member on one of the stranded tankers that typically ferries vast quantities of oil from the Middle East to ports around the world.“When [Donald] Trump said Iran had 10 days to agree to his deal or bad things would happen, I did the math and thought we might get stuck here. And we did,” said the seafarer.From a cabin below deck, they explained how the crew watched explosions light up the sky as they loaded the vessel with crude oil at an industrial complex in the Gulf
UK arts must not be sacrificed for speculative AI gains, peers say
The UK’s creative industries must not be sacrificed in the pursuit of speculative gains in AI technology, a House of Lords committee has warned, as the government prepares to reveal the economic cost of proposals to change copyright rules.A report by peers has urged ministers to develop a licensing regime for the use of creative works in AI products and abandon proposals to let tech firms use the work of novelists, artists, writers and journalists without permission.The call from the House of Lords communications and digital committee comes as the government prepares to release an economic impact assessment of proposed changes to copyright law, as well as a progress update on a consultation about the legal overhaul, by a deadline of 18 March.Barbara Keeley, a Labour peer and committee chair, said the UK’s creative industries faced a “clear and present danger” from AI firms using their work without credit or payment.“AI may contribute to our future economic growth, but the UK creative industries create jobs and economic value now,” she said
Mark Zuckerberg says criminal behavior on Facebook inevitable
Harms to children, such as sexual exploitation and detriments to mental health, are inevitable on Meta’s platforms, the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram leader Adam Mosseri said in taped depositions played at a trial in New Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday.“I just think if you’re serving billions of people, the unfortunate reality is that some very small percent of them are going to be criminals, and we should work as hard as we can to stop that activity from happening,” said Zuckerberg. “I don’t think that the standard for our platforms would be that you should assume that it will ever be perfect.”Meta’s apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, are among the most popular in the world, each with 3 billion monthly active users.The trial has set the social media giant against New Mexico’s attorney general, who alleges that Meta’s platforms put profits and user engagement over child safety
Australia v India: one-off women’s cricket Test, day one – live
26th over: India 99-4 (Jemimah Rodrigues 15, Deepti Sharma 4) Ash Gardner with the last over before the break, Rodrigues plays it away without incident. Deepti and Rodrigues, bump gloves but Australia had the best of that first session.“It was really exciting,” says Hamilton of her first Test wicket. “The support has been the biggest thing, getting my cap from Beth Rooney.”Time for me to grab a coffee, back shortly
Aston Martin fear they may not be able to compete in Australian GP after practice disaster
Aston Martin’s disastrous start to the new Formula One season grew even worse after free practice in Australia with the team principal, Adrian Newey, revealing there were now fears they would not be able to take part in qualifying or the race at the Albert Park circuit.On Thursday Newey had hosted an extraordinary press conference when he had admitted that a severe vibration issue with the team’s Honda engine meant that their drivers were in danger of receiving permanent nerve damage through the steering wheel. Newey said Fernando Alonso believed he could manage only 25 laps in the car and his teammate Lance Stroll only 15, both well short of half the 58-lap race distance in Melbourne.After only one practice session in Melbourne Newey conceded that it might yet be a moot point as the team were down to their last two battery units for their hybrid engines and if they had any issues there were no further replacements.“The critical point is the number of batteries,” he said
Water firms sent bailiffs to tens of thousands of homes for debts under £1,000
Nissan ‘says Sunderland plant could close’ if UK excluded from Made in Europe rules
Trump says he fired Anthropic ‘like dogs’ as Pentagon formally blacklists AI startup
Retailers want ‘delightfully human’ AI to do your shopping, but will the chatbots go rogue?
Lowly Li snaps back at fans as Lowry endures another difficult day
Harry Brook reiterates support for Brendon McCullum after England’s World Cup exit