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8 / 10 Score Cnet Score CNET provides expert, unbiased reviews of products and services. When we assign a score, we use a scale of 1-10. Each product we score is evaluated by criteria specific to its category with most assessing pricing, quality, features and performance. Read more on: How we test Google Pixel 10A $499 at Google Store Pros iPhone-convert friendly
Simple, clean phone design
Good at photography Cons Missing several Pixel 10 features
Similar to the Pixel 9A
Five years ago, I was a happy Google Pixel 3 XL owner, but in 2021 I found myself ready to switch to Apple's iPhone. I was lured over by the tech giant's promise of longer software and security support, which at the time was far longer than the three years of support Google promised its Pixel 3 phones. But now that I'm looking for my next phone, and Google now promises seven years of support for its Pixel phones, I'm tempted by the Pixel 10A's $499 price and features. On the other hand, I've become invested in Apple's world of apps, iMessage and FaceTime, all of which are notoriously difficult to switch from.
Looking at the Pixel 10A from that lens, I like what it offers. The Pixel 10A's setup wizard is designed with the expectation that an iPhone-convert could be using this phone. In addition to letting me transfer my data using a cable -- which has been an option on Android for years -- the setup process offers the relatively new ability of transferring an eSIM over from iOS to Android.
The Pixel 10A works with AirDrop, which immediately came in handy. It allowed my father to send over a photo of our family dog playing in the snow in full quality, without me having to direct him to a separate app or cloud service. The feature, which debuted on the Pixel 10 as a software update during the fall and is also coming to the Pixel 9 (but not the 9A), is available here on the 10A at launch. And having that access could be quite meaningful for someone coming to the Pixel 10A from any of Apple's iPhone SE models. Those phones sold for under $500, making the Pixel 10A a tempting Android option in the same price range that doesn't require giving up AirDrop.
Watch this: Unboxing Google's Pixel 10A: Everything That Comes With the $499 Phone 00:48
But if AirDrop isn't important to you, the Pixel 10A is extremely similar to last year's Pixel 9A. So much so that, for the first time, we can't recommend picking up the A-series model over the more expensive Pixel 10. In prior years, the A-series phone performed so closely to its pricier counterpart that we'd advise saving the money. This year, however, aside from some modest charging improvements, the Pixel 10A performs equally as well as the Pixel 9A did in most of our review benchmarks.
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