My Pixel 10A Hands-On: Google Adds Fast Charging, Satellite SOS for $499

Google unveiled the Pixel 10A on Wednesday, after a series of teasers over the past few weeks. This year, Google kept the most affordable Pixel phone steady without any big surprises. And considering RAM shortages and concerns over the rising price of electronics, stability sounds quite nice.

The Pixel 10A starts at $499 for a 128GB storage model, or $599 if you want to double that to 256GB — the same as last year’s Pixel 9A. It has the same 5,100-mAh battery and cameras as the 9A: a 48-megapixel wide-angle, 13-megapixel selfie and a 13-megapixel ultrawide. The phone even retains the 9A’s flat camera island. In a first for the A series, the 10A has Google’s Tensor G4 processor used in the Pixel 9 series, rather than inheriting the newer Tensor G5 chip from the rest of the Pixel 10 series. 

Watch this: Google’s $499 Pixel 10A Launches with AirDrop Support and Faster Charging

03:35

So what exactly is new? There are a lot of small improvements, especially if you value faster charging.

Google bumped up the Pixel 10A’s wired charging speed to 30 watts when using a 45W charging adapter, which is a considerable step up from the 9A’s 23 watts. Wireless charging support increases to 10 watts, but the Pixel 10A won’t feature the PixelSnap magnets that make the rest of the Pixel 10 line work with MagSafe-like magnetic accessories and chargers.

I’m not surprised that the phone won’t get magnets. A Google representative told me that omitting the magnets was a trade-off for hitting the lower price. I am surprised that Google won’t be selling any of its own cases at launch that include magnets as an alternative, but hopefully, you can find them from third parties.

While the Pixel 10A won’t support PixelSnap on its own, Google did confirm the Pixel 10A’s Quick Share feature will work with Apple’s AirDrop like it does on the rest of the Pixel 10 line, so you can share photos and files using the Pixel 10A just like you can between iPhones. And if you’re hesitant to make the switch to eSIM, the Pixel 10A continues support for physical SIM cards instead of going eSIM-only like the rest of the Pixel 10 line has in the US.

During my brief hands-on time, I used the Pixel 10A’s Quick Share/AirDrop feature to send an image to my iPhone 12 Pro Max. It was delightful to see it work so easily. While you do need to set both devices’ Quick Share and AirDrop setting to the Everyone for 10 minutes receiving mode, both the Pixel 10A and the iPhone quickly found each other.

The Pixel 10A’s 6.3-inch display is brighter with a 3,000-nit peak brightness and a higher contrast ratio, matching the more expensive Pixel 10. The screen is covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 7i and is more durable than the Pixel 9A. The Pixel 10A supports Satellite SOS and Bluetooth 6. This makes the Pixel 10A the lowest-cost Google phone to have satellite connectivity for emergency communication and among the most affordable overall alongside Apple’s $599 iPhone 16E.

And on the software side, the Pixel 10A has newer camera features like the AI-powered Camera Coach, which helps you take better photos. I used it on a few subjects in Google’s demo area, including decorations and my colleague Tara Brown. The Camera Coach first identifies what I am taking a photo of, and then offers suggestions like moving closer to the subject. For a deeper look, CNET’s Patrick Holland tested Camera Coach for the Pixel 10.

There’s also Auto best take, which I haven’t yet tried out, but aims to either find the moment in a group shot where no one is blinking or combine parts of images together for a photo where everyone’s eyes are open, even though that moment doesn’t actually exist. 

The Pixel 10A will also get seven years of software and security updates, so it should be rocking whatever version of Android we’re up to in 2033. The Pixel 10A goes on sale March 5 in four colors: lavender, berry, obsidian and fog. Personally, I’m eyeing that reddish berry color, but lavender also looks quite lovely. Berry and fog are also new colors for the Pixel Buds 2A, with both of these models launching alongside the 10A. 

This phone arrives during a busy moment. Samsung’s Galaxy S26 line is expected to drop soon — and if you’re looking at the high-end you should probably wait for that. Apple’s just announced an upcoming event on March 4, and it might serve as a launch for the rumored lower-cost iPhone 17E. If so, that cheaper iPhone would likely be teed up against this Pixel.

Mobile World Congress is also just around the corner, and will likely feature a number of new phones and concepts to pick from that we’ll likely see arrive throughout the year.