Early signs indicate that Google’s next budget phone won’t shake things up. Multiple leaks suggest the Pixel 10a will recycle last year’s silicon, opt for slower storage, and eschew a few headline AI features—establishing the asteroid midrange as an update that’s more maintenance than momentum.
Tensor G4 again: safe, not exciting
Tipsters suggest the Pixel 10a is in line to have the Tensor G4 — the same chip used across the 2024 Pixel 9 family — not the newer Tensor G5 that is beneath the star-studded Pixel 10 series it helps anchor. On paper, that’s pragmatic: Google has a history of filling its “a” phones with last-gen flagship silicon to save a few bucks, but still retain Pixel-only software like Call Screen and oh-my-god-this-camera-comp, but still retain Pixel-only software like Call Screen and killer computational photography.
But it’s also the third generation in a row that the cheap version lags the main product in terms of core compute. And that’s significant, because especially in the case of Google’s latest generative features, those neurons have gotten a lot stronger. If on-device models are to take greater prominence in what Pixel is, a G4-driven 10a could more often be shut off to the cloud for assistance (or miss new features altogether).
A step back in storage speed
Among the most deflating reports is that the Pixel 10a will be equipped with UFS 3.1 storage, not UFS 4.0. The difference isn’t academic. By Samsung Semiconductor and JEDEC standard, UFS 4.0 peaks read throughput is double that of UFS 3.1 (3.5GB/s) and write throughput also nearly doubles (up from around 2.3GB/s) while delivering power efficiency benefits per bit. In actual use, that translates to faster app installs, large game updates, camera-to-gallery transfers and system restores.
Why does that sting? Longevity. If Google continues its seven-year OS and security update support, a Pixel 10a with slower storage installed could feel dated more quickly, and that’s especially the case as apps continue to expand and on-device AI models get more system-resource-heavy. There are also a few rivals in the same price bracket that already make use of UFS 4.0 in at least one decked-out trim – check out products like the OnePlus 12R in 256GB – making it more difficult to justify getting a less snappy phone.
AI features could be gated
Leaks indicate the 10a won’t include Magic Cue, Google’s new on-device assistant that displays context-aware content while on calls and in chats. It’s the kind of feature that sells a phone in 2025: useful, quietly intelligent and obviously faster when it’s happening on device. And if Magic Cue turns out to be exclusive to Tensor G5 phones, the Pixel 10a might feel like it just doesn’t fit in a world where “AI phone” is the tagline.
Google has previously backported flagship software marquee tricks — think Recorder transcriptions and Best Take — to older hardware, so the 10a should still net a rich feature set. The question is not so much what it ships with as whether it will keep up as Google iterates its on-device models over the next few years.
Cameras: same old strengths, same missing reach
You shouldn’t count on a telephoto lens, even though the standard Pixel 10 is believed to pack one. That’s middle of the road, and Google’s image pipeline will still be wringing the life out of a primary and an ultrawide. The company’s advantage in HDR tuning, skin tones and low-light processing — all of which help an OS or app look its best — should remain.
That said, optical reach is more common above $500, and other competitors like Samsung and Honor have elevated zoom quality even when they lack periscope hardware. If the 10a maxes out at digital zoom, it will need to lean on Google’s Super Res technology to keep up the pace.
Display and other hardware tidbits
There’s at least one small win: brightness. Word on the street is the Pixel 10a will peak at around 2,200 nits — a tad higher than the 9a’s rumoured 2,000 nits. That’s important for outdoor visibility and HDR punch. Anticipate a flat OLED panel, and a silky-smooth refresh rate to match recent “a” models, which already ramped up to 120Hz in many markets.
What is more in question is whether or not Google will scale memory to 12GB at the top end of the scale or remain with 8GB and if the same battery capacity and charging profile will be maintained. Those details are important: away from the iPhone ecosystem, rivals consistently offer up larger cells and faster charging in this bracket — and while software optimization frequently closes the real-world gap, it’s a thing.
Value calculus in a midrange group that’s thick with talent
The $400 to $600 category is one of the few consistent bright spots in smartphone sales, analysts at Counterpoint Research say. That makes price-to-spec scrutiny unforgiving. Samsung’s Galaxy A — series, the OnePlus 12R, and budget- friendly options like the Nothing Phone 2a all try really, really hard to win your interest with their speed, battery capacity and flashy design.
Google’s counterpunch has long been software polish, camera consistency and a long support timeline. If the Pixel 10a lives up to the seven-year update promise and maintains launch pricing that sits beneath the price tags of Google’s more widely recognized (and loved) “a” models, it’ll still be attractive for buyers who see long-term stability as more valuable than spec chasing. But if leaked compromises come and go with no real price advantage (or if Magic Cue becomes a must-have) it’s a tougher argument to make.
Bottom line
On today's leaks, the Pixel 10a feels more like a refinement than a revolution: Tensor G4, UFS 3.1, no telephoto, a brighter but still well-known display with some of the most vital AI features possibly M.I.A. None of that condemns the phone — this is a line that has survived on consistency — but it takes the shine off in a competitive year. If Google does want the 10a to stick out, price and long-term software support are going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting.
