If I had to give one word of advice to anyone eyeing the Pixel 10a for their next purchase in 2026, it would be this: don’t.
Caught between rising costs and the need to keep its customers engaged, Google has all but renamed the Pixel 9a and presented it in a new package.
It’s likely to turn out to be this year’s biggest smartphone flop, but there’s a tiny feature that makes all the difference when choosing between the Pixel 10a and other midrange Android phones in 2026.
I still can’t wholly recommend the Pixel 10a at launch. You can pick up the Pixel 9a for significantly cheaper, and the experience will be mostly indistinguishable.
While I’m sure Google will make a big song and dance about a new software trick on the Pixel 10a, I highly doubt it’s going to make the phone worth buying.
But a few months down the line, when second-hand models start appearing on the market, I think the Pixel 10a will be the midrange phone to get, and it’s all down to a feature that’s been bugging me since my first smartphone.
A truly flat camera bar is a welcome salve after years of unnecessary camera upgrades
Practicality first is a welcome approach
I don’t enjoy photography. I’m aware of enough smartphone photography tips to elevate my snaps above the average, but I’ve long understood that it’s a discipline I will never want to master.
Taking photos that are “good enough” is all I need to get me through each week.
However, the catch is that I also enjoy trying out the latest smartphone hardware. So having to pay a premium for a feature I don’t care for is deeply frustrating, especially when it impacts the rest of my phone.
Here’s a photo I took of my family’s old cat. I captured this shot on an LG Spirit H440n in 2015, but I would be perfectly happy to share the same photo today (as indeed I do a few times a year).
I don’t need the latest camera system when smartphone cameras have been good enough for years.
This is the aspect of the Pixel A-series that has always appealed to me. Near identical hardware to Google’s flagship Pixel models, but with a stripped-down camera system.
If I didn’t find the Pro model useful for my work, I would likely be rocking one right now as a daily driver.
The Pixel 10a’s camera is exactly what I need. It’s identical to the Pixel 9a’s camera, which was only marginally better than 2024’s Pixel 8a. A camera system that would have felt new three years ago is exactly what I want.
But this isn’t the feature of the Pixel 10a’s camera that appeals to me. It’s a completely flat lens.
The sturdiest camera since the original Pixel
You might not need a case for this phone
Watch Google’s announcement video for the Pixel 10a, and you’ll notice what Google is not-so-subtly trying to tell you. The Pixel 10a has a completely flat back.
Unlike the Pixel 9a’s lenses, which stuck out ever-so-slightly from the rear of the phone, the Pixel 10a’s lenses sit completely flush with the phone’s backplate.
It’s a feature that we last saw on the Pixel 1. Every Pixel phone since has offered protruding lenses.
I hate protruding camera lenses. They collect dust, are prone to damage, and make it impossible to set your phone down without tapping the lens.
Buying a case helps prevent damage, but it’s tough to find a slim case that doesn’t compromise the camera lens.
When a camera lens is flush against the backplate of a phone, lint has nowhere to collect, and damage can’t occur unless you manage to smack the lens directly against a sharp object.
It’s the best design for camera lenses, but our quest for better cameras and slimmer phones has forced manufacturers to shelve this design in favor of the mutated growths that populate the rear of our phones.
Is a flush camera lens really that big a deal?
Yes, yes it is
While I enjoy fun and exciting smartphone features, it’s practicality that matters above all.
The removal of the camera bar for the Pixel 9a, followed by the flush back of the Pixel 10a, are my favorite design changes ever for Pixel phones.
When every phone seems to be adopting the same camera bar layout started by the Pixel 6, it’s refreshing to see a return to classic and practical smartphone design.
The Pixel 10a’s camera bar is a silver lining on an otherwise bland and uninspiring phone. Does it make up for the rest of the phone? No.
We needed battery and charging upgrades at the very minimum to make it worth buying at launch, so unless there are some excellent carrier deals, I still recommend giving it a miss.
Manufacturers need to pair practical smartphone design with hardware upgrades
It’s a shame that the flat camera lens is the only thing I’m excited about.
On reflection, it’s a sad commentary on the state of modern smartphones when such a simple feature makes headlines.
If Google upgraded the storage and memory on the Pixel 10a, I would be first in line to pick one up. It’s fine that it has last year’s Tensor chip, but unless Google conjures up something truly remarkable at the last minute, I think I’ll wait until 2027 to revisit the Pixel 10a.
