There is no good reason to buy a Pixel 10a — buy a Pixel 9a instead

Google Pixel 10a hands-on. — (Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Last week I commented that the string of Pixel 10a rumors that made their way online painted a very poor picture for the phone. The rumors suggested that most of the core specs would be the same as last year's Pixel 9a — right down to the two phones sharing the same Tensor G4 chipset.

Now that the Pixel 10a has been officially revealed, it seems that most of those rumors were correct. And that makes the Pixel 10a seem like a very bad deal. So bad, in fact, that I wouldn't recommend buying it right now. Not while the Pixel 9a is readily available, and potentially a much better value.

Pixel 10a vs Pixel 9a

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	Pixel 10a	Pixel 9a
Starting price	$499	$499 / £499 / AU$849
Screen size	6.3-inch Actua pOLED (2424 x 1080)	6.3-inch Actua pOLED (2424 x 1080)
Refresh rate	60-120Hz	60-120Hz
Chipset	Tensor G4	Tensor G4
RAM	8GB	8GB
Storage	128GB, 256GB	128GB, 256GB
Rear cameras	48MP (f/1.7) main, 13MP (f/2.2) ultrawide	48MP (f/1.7) main, 13MP (f/2.2) ultrawide
Front camera	13MP (f/2.2)	13MP (f/2.2)
Battery size	5,100 mAh	5,100 mAh
Charging speed	30W wired; 10W wireless	23W wired; 7.5W wireless
Size	6.1 x 2.9 x 0.4 inches / 153.9 x 73 x 9 mm	6.1 x 2.9 x 0.4 inches / 154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9mm
Weight	6.5 ounces / 183 grams	6.6 ounces / 185.9 grams
Colors	Obsidian, Lavender, Berry, Fog	Obsidian, Porcelain, Peony, Iris

The Pixel 10a is not identical to the Pixel 9a by any means. There are some differences in the general design, which can't be ignored. The 10a has a brighter display, offering up to 3,000 nits compared to the 9a's 2,700 nits. There's also the totally flat back, with no camera protrusion, and the more durable Gorilla Glass 7i display glass.

There are some differences in the software as well, with the Pixel 10a getting some AI features that aren't currently available on the Pixel 9a — like Camera Coach and Auto Best Take. However, this may change in a future Pixel Drop update, since there's no hardware reason why the Pixel 9a couldn't also support those features.

The colors options are similar, but not identical. Pixel 10a comes in Lavender (light purple), Berry (pinkish red), Fog (white) and Obsidian (black). Meanwhile, the Pixel 9a comes in Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, and Peony. They're slightly different color tones, more muted in the case of Iris and Peony, but they probably wouldn't fail a vibe check from passing observers.

The question is whether these differences mean it's worth buying a Pixel 10a over the Pixel 9a? I'd argue not. Certainly not right now, when the Pixel 10a is available at full price. $499 might not be horribly expensive as far as smartphones go, but we're likely going to see the Pixel 9a get even cheaper in the coming weeks.

Old phones always get price cuts

Google Pixel 9a — (Image credit: Future)

Considering we saw the phone drop to as little as $199 last December, you'd be absolutely mad to pay two and a half times more for a phone that's barely any different. That'd be like paying full price for an iPhone 17e right before the launch of iPhone 18, an event that is all but certain to end with the iPhone 17 getting a $100 price cut.

In fact, some regions have already seen the Pixel 9a drop in price on the official Google Store. While the discount doesn't seem to be active on the U.S. store, buyers in the U.K. can buy last year's model for £399. That's £100 cheaper than both the Pixel 10a and a Pixel 9a that was purchased last year.

I will caveat this by pointing out that Google is offering a fairly generous trade-in bonus for the Pixel 10a. Google is advertising a $284 price tag with an "instant trade-in," but it requires a newer, more high-end phone to get the full savings. Google's trade-in calculator is offering as much as $550 credit for certain devices, like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

This means, as always, the most valuable trades come from recent phones that were both expensive and somewhat desirable. It's up to you to decide whether that's a good deal or not. Personally, I'd rather keep my old device and pick up a cheaper version of the Pixel 9a instead.

Amazon has also dropped the price of brand new Pixel 9as to varying degrees. Depending on the color you choose, you will be asked to pay between $399 and $429 for a 128GB model.

That's a hefty discount already, and the Pixel 10a has only been available to pre-order for less than a day. We can certainly expect that number to drop at more retailers once the phone officially goes on sale on March 5.

But this won't last forever

The four Pixel 9a colors stacked on top of each other with a focus on the camera of the Iris model — (Image credit: Google)

There will, of course, be a tipping point to this. Retailers will start running out of Pixel 9a stock at some point in the near future, at which point actually buying one will become a lot harder. Used models will likely be available, and for a generous discount, but the supply of brand new models will have dried up.

We should see prices keep dropping as retailers attempt to offload those devices if you're patient, but waiting too long means you run the risk of missing out entirely. Hopefully, by that point, we'll have started seeing the first major Pixel 10a discounts pop up online. It's common for the first Pixel phone deals to pop up a couple of months after release, and I doubt the Pixel 10a is going to be an exception.

So even if you miss out on generous Pixel 9a discounts, odds are you'll be able to find a cheaper Pixel 10a instead. At which point, I would recommend picking it up. While we haven't done any in-depth testing yet, the fact that it's so similar to the Pixel 9a suggests that it's going to be an excellent phone to have.

Albeit, just not one that's really worth picking up while the Pixel 9a is readily available, especially at a discount.

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Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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