Google Pixel 10a needs these three features to convince me

The Google Pixel 10 phones are out, and the more budget-conscious consumers now look to 2026 for the Google Pixel 10a. While some leaked specs paint the Pixel 10a as an underwhelming phone, there are some features that it could have which would convince many buyers like myself.

Let’s go over some of the absolute must-haves that Google should definitely add to the Pixel 10a to make it a worthwhile budget phone next year.

Gemini’s best new tools

With the Pixel 10 series, Google announced some really cool new AI features, powered by Gemini. Two of the best, perhaps, are Magic Cue and Camera Coach.

Magic Cue is basically the sort of AI digital assistant that phone manufacturers have been trying to perfect ever since modern Artificial Intelligence went mainstream. With Magic Cue, you don’t have to keep asking for advice or telling it to perform a task: Gemini does all of that proactively. Camera Coach, meanwhile, guides users on how to take the perfect photo in any setting.

However, some leaks point to the Pixel 10a shipping with the Tensor G4 chipset, instead of the new Tensor G5. If that happens, then the 10a most likely will not support Google’s new AI features.



Some people could not care less about AI features on their phone, but I think that Google’s new phones should not release without the company’s heavily-advertised AI features.

A screen that doesn’t look so outdated

Look, a display is perhaps the most important part of a smartphone. Unfortunately, the Google Pixel 9a didn’t have a great one.

Sure, its resolution was good, and so was the refresh rate and peak brightness, but those bezels are just awful. I can excuse slightly thicker bezels on a budget phone — not every manufacturer needs to be shaving off every 0.1 mm that it can — but not like this.

The Google Pixel 9a, simply put, looks very outdated. If the Pixel 10a wants to stand a chance in 2026, it needs to make a good first impression. It is, after all, going to be competing with the likes of the iPhone 17e and the Galaxy S26 FE, even if it might be a bit cheaper than those two.

At least the same battery as Pixel 9a

Nowadays, everyone seems to be releasing super slim phones with tiny batteries. Apple and Samsung have set the stage for the future of smartphones with the iPhone Air and the Galaxy S25 Edge. Others are following suit, like with the Tecno Slim and the Motorola X70 Air.

Google may or may not decide to slim down the Pixel 10a. If it does, the phone needs to at least keep the same battery capacity as its predecessor. Funnily enough, the Pixel 9a had a larger battery (5,100 mAh) than the base model Pixel 9 (4,700 mAh). Meanwhile, the new Pixel 10 has a battery capacity of 4,970 mAh.

The battery on the Pixel 10 isn’t bad, but it’s not excellent, either. This is an age of phones boasting battery capacities of 8,000 mAh and up. Next year, we’re going to see phones with battery capacities of 10,000 mAh and higher.

Now is not the time to be sliming down your batteries, unless it’s a new model that was made specifically for that purpose, I suppose. So, the Google Pixel 10a should at least carry over the Pixel 9a’s 5,100 mAh capacity, though I wouldn’t say no to a better battery.

What I am okay with

There are some other reports that aren’t worth getting hung up on, in my opinion. Here are some of the things that wouldn’t really bother me on the Pixel 10a.

• The same exterior design as the Pixel 9a
• Same resolution and refresh rates for the display
• The same decent, but not excellent, cameras
• Same dual speaker setup as before
• Display size remaining at 6.3 inches
• Weighing the same as Pixel 9a

Yeah, it’s mainly the bezels and the AI features that will make or break the Pixel 10a for me, and very likely for you too.

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