Google Pixel 10a - Everything you Need to Know!

So this is the Google Pixel 10a, Google's newest budget-friendly A-series phone, which is basically their more budget-friendly Pixel. And I gotta say, I was actually expecting way more this year from this. Just like its predecessor, it's gonna start at around $500, so mid-range territory. And honestly, there's a lot of tough competitors in this market too, at that price range. I'd say the biggest things that really stood out to me are the design. Ever since the Pixel 6, I gotta say, Google has been nailing the looks of their phone. I mean, they're just beautiful to look at, and the 10a just keeps that going. This time, they made the back of the phone even flatter and smoother than ever before by removing the only thing that was keeping it from being flush, that small little camera bump on the back on the 9a. It's completely gone now, and when you run your finger across it, it's just flat. And I actually really like that. Not many phones these days just do that anymore, where they just have a completely flat back to make it perfect to use on a table without any wobbles. Now, realistically speaking, I mean, most people are gonna throw a case on their phone anyway, which makes it flat no matter what. But still, props to Google for getting rid of that wobble that none of us like without the case. And the nice part is that they didn't sacrifice anything at all, including camera quality and battery capacity. They're the same as last year. They've also leaned into using more recycled materials this time around too, which is also, I mean, it's nice to see. The aluminum frame, for example, is 100% recycled, and the plastic cover on the back is 81% recycled too. But even then, when I held it, it didn't feel cheap at all. It actually felt solid to hold, and I had a nice time using it with one hand. Plus, the flat sides and flat display were nice too, made the phone look really clean. As for colors, they've got some new ones this year. They're kind of like darker, richer versions of last year's shades. You've got Fog, which is this soft whitish green. Obsidian, which is basically light black. Berry, which is a super vibrant red. And my personal favorite, Lavender, this really nice looking blue. Definitely not boring colors at all. And of course, Google's got matching silicon cases if you wanna keep the same vibe going. From there, you've got a few new updates. I'll be real with you though, most of the phone is pretty much the same as last year's, but here's what's actually different. First, the body is slightly smaller, and I mean slightly. It's also technically 0.1 millimeters thicker, which is basically nothing. At the same time though, it's actually a bit lighter too, like three grams lighter. So yeah, when holding the phone, you're not gonna really notice a difference unless you're analyzing it under a microscope. It felt really solid when I held it, and it did feel really similar to the Pixel 9a, in my opinion. Plus, for those wondering, it still keeps that IP68 water and dust resistance, so no worries there. And since the body of the phone is almost identical to its predecessor, so is the display. It's still a 6.3 inch 1080p OLED panel, but this time around, the bezels are actually a tad smaller this time around, so you get a lot more screen real estate. Here it is side by side with the 9a. It's a super subtle change, but it's there. The screen also has a nice brightness bump, up to 3000 nits peak brightness. That's about 11% brighter than the Pixel 9a. Plus, they've upgraded the glass to cornering Gorilla Glass 7i instead of cornering Gorilla Glass 3, so it's a bit more durable now. Now, before moving on, even though Pixel cameras are great, lately, I've been really loving creating and posting content with smart glasses. Being hands-free just changes the game, and out of all the options out there, the Mentor Live, the sponsor of this video, has recently been my go-to because it's got an open source software and certain advantages over the competition. Now, of course, like most glasses, you can capture videos and photos hands-free with a camera lens on it that's 12 megapixels, but what's really making them stand out is that these are the only smart glasses that let you live stream to literally any platform. X, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, even OnlyFans. Yeah, pretty crazy, right? Most of the glasses don't even stream at all, or if they do, like the MetaRayBands, you're stuck with just Instagram and Facebook. That's it. I tested the Mentor Live on X, and it worked perfectly. Just walking around, streaming hands-free, and the footage was totally stable, too. Oh, and they're also the only smart glasses with an actual app store. They run on this open source software called Mentor OS, and there's a built-in mini app store where you can grab all kinds of stuff. AI note-taking tools, poker probability apps, proactive AI assistance, you name it. And of course, they've got a speaker on it, too, so you can listen to music, take calls, all that good stuff, and they're even really light, too, only weighing 43 grams, so I can wear them all day and not even notice that they're there later on. So if you're a content creator, a live streamer, or just someone who wants a solid pair of smart glasses, I definitely recommend checking out the Mentor Live. I'll drop a link down below if you wanna grab a pair for yourself. Anyway, back to the Pixel 10a. Battery-wise, it's the same as last year, 5,100 milliamp hours of capacity, to be exact, so no upgrade there. However, charging is a little faster this time around. For wired, it goes up to 30 watts instead of 23 watts, and then for wireless, it bumps from 7.3 watts to 10 watts. So yeah, technically faster, but not by a huge margin. Personally, I would've liked to see at least 45 watts, like what you get on the Pixel 10 Pro XL, but hey, at least it matched the standard Pixel 10. What it doesn't match, though, is that the 10a doesn't come with PixelSnap, which is basically Qi2 wireless charging with magnets. So unlike the Pixel 10, you can't magnetically attach it to something like a MagSafe stand, which kinda sucks. Now performance, I'm not gonna lie, this is where I was a little disappointed. They didn't really change anything here. Same memory, same storage speeds, and most importantly, the same processor as last year. So you're still looking at eight gigabytes of RAM, UFS 3.1 storage speeds, and the same Tensor G4 chip. And look, I get it, from a marketing standpoint, they don't want the 10a performing just as well as the more expensive Pixel 10, but man, I really wish it had that Tensor G5. With that chip, everyday tasks are around 35% faster, and AI-related stuff can be up to 60% faster, and when I was using the Pixel 10 Pro XL, I genuinely noticed the difference compared to the 9 Pro XL, especially since these phones lean so heavily into AI features now, especially within the cameras, too. And on that note, hardware-wise, the two cameras on the back of the Pixel 10a have the same setup as before, a 48-megapixel main lens on the back and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide, and then on the front, it's still got that 13-megapixel camera lens. No changes there. But you do get a few new software features that came with the Pixel 10. One of them is Auto Best Take, which automatically makes sure everyone in a group photo looks their best. So if your friend blinked or they turned their head in the wrong direction, AI will try to fix it for you automatically. You also get Camera Coach, powered by Gemini, which gives you tips while you're shooting, better framing, better angles, posing ideas, that kind of thing. And one of my favorite Google Pixel features is that Gemini is built directly into the photo editor, too. You can literally just type out what you want changed, like maybe the color of a shirt, or you can remove windows in the background, and it'll just do it. No need to dig through a bunch of editing tools just to figure out what everything is called. And surprisingly, that's pretty much it for the new software-exclusive features found within the camera this time around. It's the same as the Pixel 10. Outside of the camera, too, you also get this new Satellite SOS feature, which also came with the Pixel 10, which I'm really grateful for. It basically lets you connect to a satellite to reach emergency services if you don't have Wi-Fi or a cell signal. But beyond that, there aren't any new software features that Google introduced. We've seen them all in the regular Pixel 10. And for those wondering, yes, you still get all the core Pixel features from before, things like Call Screen, Direct My Call, Magic Compose, Pixel Weather, all that good stuff, and of course, seven years of OS updates, which is still a huge win, considering that the phone is selling for 500 bucks. That's pretty much everything you need to know about the Pixel 10a. Again, it'll start around 500, and that'll be available on March 5th. Would you pick one up, even though the changes are pretty minimal this year? Let me know what you think in the comments, and if you wanna keep watching, tap this video to see every Pixel-exclusive feature that you might not even know existed, or even tap this one if you want to learn about how to completely stop spam on your Android. Either way, I appreciate you sticking to the end, and I'll catch you guys in the next one. Kapow!