Google Pixel 10a vs. Pixel 9a: Will it be worth the upgrade?

It's that time of the year when a new budget Pixel launch is imminent. The Google Pixel 9a launched in March 2025, and we're expecting the Pixel 10a to launch around the same time this year, perhaps even earlier. Unlike last year, though, we've not had many substantial leaks of the new phone, but the general consensus is that it'll be a "safe" upgrade. This usually translates to mild upgrades to a few areas of the phone, but nothing drastic.

Typically, this would be a good enough reason to skip upgrading to the Pixel 10a, but considering how good the 9a was to begin with, we can't say we're really surprised. There were a few things with the 9a that we wished were better, and we hope Google rectifies that with the 10a.

Right now, it's more of a matter of should you wait for the Pixel 10a to launch or simply grab the Pixel 9a in a deal. Let's try to answer this based on what we know.

Google Pixel 10a vs. Pixel 9a: Design and display

The Google Pixel 10a is expected to adopt the same design as the Pixel 9a, which already got a massive design overhaul in 2025. I personally think it's the right move, as I love the minimalist look of the 9a. What Google will do is introduce new colors. Apart from the safe shades like black and cream/ white, we should see a new hero color for the Pixel 10a.

You should expect similar dimensions too, as the 9a. The Pixel 10a should weigh under 190 grams and measure roughly 9mm thick. These two measurements could vary a bit depending on whether Google decides to equip the 10a with Pixelsnap tech. The latter was introduced with the Pixel 10 series, which enabled magnetic attachment of accessories like stands and wireless chargers.

Google has given the A series incremental upgrades to the display, and we really hope this time the Pixel 10a gets an LTPO panel with a high PWM dimming rate. Scratch protection is yet another area where this series lags behind competing phones, with the 9a still using the very old Gorilla Glass 3. These would be small but meaningful upgrades that could actually sway your buying decision in the 10a's favor.

The back panel of the Pixel 9a is plastic, which is what contributes to the low weight. The Pixel 9a comes in some cool colors like Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, and Peony. If you hate rear camera bumps, you'll love the almost-flat back of the Pixel 9a. There's an IP68 rating for dust and waterproofing, and we absolutely love the matte finish of the frame, which doesn't pick up any fingerprints.

The Google Pixel 9a actually matches the Pixel 9's screen for size, brightness, refresh rate, and resolution. This is quite impressive for a now $399 phone. You'll also find the brightness level to be much higher than most other phones in this segment. While the display is good for general viewing, PWM-sensitive folks will not like this one bit.

Google Pixel 10a vs. Pixel 9a: Hardware and specs

The big upgrade everyone's expecting the Pixel 10a to have is the SoC from the Pixel 10 series: the Tensor G5. But according to one leak, this could be the first time Google breaks this upgrade streak and uses a "boosted" version of the Tensor G4 SoC from the 9a instead. It's difficult to tell what this actually means right now, but one thing's clear: it probably won't have the same AI capabilities as the Pixel 10 series.

The G5 SoC reduced the performance gap to an extent and fixed the overheating issue of the G4 quite a bit. We're hoping this tweaked version of the G4 (or scaled-down version of the G5, however you want to look at it) in the Pixel 10a has the latter two properties of the G5 chip at the very least.

Even with the astronomical prices of RAM these days, we're expecting the Pixel 10a to launch at the same $499 price as the 9a. This would be for the 128GB variant, while the 256GB variant should ideally be $100 more. There really isn't much more we can say in terms of performance of the 10a, but expect it to do really well at AI tasks and less in heavy gaming.

Battery life was one of the Pixel 9a's strongest points, and we'd be happy with the same capacity in the 10a. Of course, a slightly larger size would be appreciated any time, but the 5,100mAh capacity is still plenty good for a phone at this price. I do wish Google bumps up the charging speed on the 10a, though, which felt slow on the 9a. The Pixel 10 series got a bump in charging speeds over the 9 series, and I hope we get something like 30W or more for the 10a. Wireless charging speeds could also use an upgrade, as 7.5W just isn't worth it.

Google added a third telephoto camera to the standard Pixel 10, a feature previously reserved only for the Pro models. I'd love for the Pixel 10a to get this too, but that's probably wishful thinking. It's not like it's impossible to get a telephoto camera in this segment, just look at the CMF Phone 2 Pro. Adding a third camera, though, would require changing the back panel layout, which is unlikely for this generation.

The cameras on the Pixel 9a were good, but a higher-resolution ultrawide would be nice to have.

The Pixel 9a now retails for $399 and $499 for the two storage tiers. Performance is more than adequate for the price, and it actually matches the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro in many benchmark scores.

The 5,100mAh battery is one of the largest batteries we've seen on a Pixel, and this results in amazing battery life with over a day of runtime even with heavy use. Charging speed is much slower, though, at just 23W with Google's 45W adapter. There is wireless charging too, but the speed is just 7.5W.

The Pixel 9a has a 48MP main and a 13MP ultrawide on the back, and a 13MP module in the front. It can shoot 4K videos with the front and rear cameras, and even though it doesn'tt have a macro camera, it supports features like Macro Focus to help it get sharp close-up shots.

Google Pixel 10a vs. Pixel 9a: Software

The Google Pixel 10a will ship with Android 16 and will most likely get the seven-year OS upgrade commitment, just like the 9a. It should get most of the AI capabilities as the Pixel 10 series, but a lot of that will depend on what SoC ends up residing in the 10a. In terms of features, it should have the same software features as the Pixel 10 series and perhaps a trick or two more than what the 9a can do.

The Pixel 9a shipped with Android 15, but it has received the Android 16 update and will continue to receive day-one OS upgrades with the rest of the Pixel family for the next six years. It has all the beloved features we've come to know and love, like Add Me, Astrophotography, and Macro Focus. Due to the lower RAM, though, you get Gemini Nano instead of the full-blown version, and this limits access to features like Pixel Screenshots and Call Notes.

Google Pixel 10a vs. Pixel 9a: Should you wait?

From the looks of it, the Google Pixel 10a shouldn't be too different than the Pixel 9a which means you can safely grab the 9a right now for $100 off if you can't wait till March. You'll still be getting six more years of updates, fantastic battery life, capable cameras, and decent performance. It's without a doubt the best cheap phone you can buy today. Just remember some of the shortcomings, though, like the slow charging, low PWM display, and fewer on-device AI features.

There's no guarantee that the Pixel 10a will fix all of these issues when it launches in a few months, but if you can wait, I'd say hold off. The Pixel 9a won't go up in price once the 10a is out. In fact, it could dip even lower as Google tries to sell off the old stock. By waiting, you could end up with a phone that's still great at $499 and would hopefully fix some (if not all) of the shortcomings of the 9a.