Will the Google Pixel 10a see a price hike? What we can piece together so far

Will Google’s next budget offering, the Pixel 10a, cost more than the Pixel 9a, or will the company manage to stave off a price hike for another year? From the many leaks and reports about next year’s budget Pixel, we can put together a pretty coherent picture.

Let’s go over why, or why not, the Google Pixel 10a might cost more than the Pixel 9a.

Previous Pixel phones and their pricing

If we look at the price tags of previous Google Pixel a-series phones, we notice a pretty consistent pattern of the same starting cost each year. Judging from this alone, it stands to reason that the Pixel 10a will also keep this trend alive, and cost the same as its predecessors.

Here’s how previous Pixel budget phones compare in launch price.



So, there’s actually a very good chance that the Pixel 10a will also start at $499. That is, however, assuming that the phone doesn’t see hardware upgrades that force Google to increase the price.

And, it’s seeming like it won’t, actually.

Pixel 10a likely to keep an older processor

Reports indicate that the Pixel 10a will actually ship with the older Tensor G4 chip, instead of the new Tensor G5, which is found across the Pixel 10 phones. While this is bad news for many reasons — including the fact that the Pixel 10a will miss out on Google’s new AI features — it does mean a higher chance for launching at the same price.

Using an older processor for its budget offering may be Google’s way of trying to keep the phone’s starting price at $499. Industrywide cost increases are forcing almost every phone manufacturer to make their phones more expensive, and this might be a viable tradeoff.

The Pixel 10 broke a pricing trend

Though the a-series Pixel phones have been retaining their starting price for years, the same cannot be said for the main lineup of Pixel smartphones. This year, the Pixel 10 managed to break that trend, keeping the same starting price as last year’s Pixel 9.

Previous Pixel flagships were displaying a worrying trend, as can be seen here.



But, if the Pixel 10 managed to keep the starting price the same after years of increases, then the Pixel 10a might be about to do the same. On the other hand, we might just end up seeing a role reversal here, with the Pixel 10a taking up the mantle and shipping with a higher starting price instead.

Same chassis and older hardware

Other reports that have come out about the Pixel 10a allege that the phone will keep the same look as the Pixel 9a. If that is the case, that’s another reason to assume that the price will remain the same. Not only is Google not investing in creating a new design, it’s also probably going to be able to source the chassis for cheaper now.

Also, the Pixel 10a will reportedly feature older storage technology. While the Pixel 10 phones have jumped to UFS 4.0, the Pixel 10a is apparently going to stick with UFS 3.1 for now. It won’t make too much of a difference for the average consumer, but might allow Google to keep the same starting price of $499.

However, if Google removes the 128 GB variant, then we’ll likely see a price hike, just like with the iPhone 17.

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