It might be time for me to finally upgrade - Pixel 10a

0:00 I've never been a big phone guy.

0:01 You know, I text, I call, I browse Reddit, I watch the occasional YouTube video,

0:05 and so I guess that's why they chose me

0:07 to unbox the Pixel 10A because I've got a 7A.

0:12 I don't upgrade and I don't buy expensive phones.

0:15 Um I just don't think you have to.

0:17 I think they're kind of a waste of money, personally.

0:18 Sorry to everyone I'm going to hurt with that comment who paid

0:21 $2,000 for a Fold or uh even just like $1,000 for an iPhone.

0:25 Or I think even the Pixel 10 regular is like $899.

0:30 I don't get it, personally.

0:31 But also, I don't do a lot of work on my phone.

0:33 So, just to be clear for anyone who's a little upset,

0:37 this is purely for utilitarian stuff

0:41 and for keeping myself a little bit entertained.

0:43 Uh but what do we get in the box?

0:44 Well, it opened pretty easily, actually.

0:46 I didn't expect to go through that so quickly while talking to you,

0:48 but otherwise we got our phone.

0:51 We get a little SIM card tool as well as this is

0:55 probably like a warranty thing or a quick start guide.

0:58 Yep, there we go.

1:00 We've also got a nice USB-C to C cable.

1:03 It's nicely packaged.

1:04 I like how coiled up it is.

1:06 You know, I'm I'm okay with not getting bricks in device packages anymore.

1:11 It definitely sucks if you're buying your very first device or whatever,

1:15 but um I feel like they're kind of a waste now and most

1:18 of you out there you probably just have one from your previous device,

1:21 like a laptop or something.

1:22 Uh otherwise, my packaging ripped ever so slightly.

1:27 Uh I think they've updated it since the 7A.

1:30 It's been a while, um but I don't remember getting it

1:32 in this like cool uh like parchment paper kind of um enclosure,

1:37 but I actually really like it.

1:38 It seems to, you know, protect everything nicely.

1:41 And then, that's it.

1:43 And you know, when you're only paying like $499, I think that's totally okay.

1:48 As for the length of our cable, it is pretty short.

1:51 It's about 40 in, so not very long.

1:54 If you do want to buy another cable, hey, we sell them.

1:57 lttstore.com get a true spec cable Uh um because

2:00 I don't even know what this is rated for.

2:02 Probably not a whole lot, but you know, it's good enough.

2:04 As for our phone, it comes in four different colors.

2:07 This is the berry color, which I kind of like.

2:10 I'm not a big red guy.

2:11 I actually prefer like blues and greens,

2:13 but like this is actually a very nice kind

2:15 of orangey red almost or like a pink and yeah, it feels pretty good in the hand.

2:20 Actually, what I want to do is take my old

2:22 phone out of the case and compare them side by side.

2:25 It's about the same size, but we have significantly more rounded corners.

2:30 And so yeah, that actually would probably feel a lot better in the hand.

2:33 Yeah, it's already way less pressure just on like, you know,

2:35 whatever your palm or thumb or something while you're scrolling through stuff.

2:39 So that actually is a welcome change.

2:41 And the other great upgrade over the 7A as well

2:43 as the 9A and I think even the 10 is this looks taller, doesn't it?

2:48 That's because this is a massive camera bump.

2:51 This doesn't.

2:52 And I'm actually really impressed.

2:54 And it's one of the few reasons why I would even consider

2:58 upgrading my phone at this point cuz this thing is still fine.

3:01 It's not that old.

3:02 The battery is okay.

3:03 The pictures are good enough.

3:04 So this is the normal 10,

3:05 not the 10A, but like look at the massive camera bump on this thing.

3:09 It is better.

3:10 This one does have a telephoto lens on it that the doesn't.

3:15 So if you are considering a new device,

3:17 I think that personally most new cameras on new

3:19 phones are like more than good enough for the vast

3:22 majority of you people out there taking photos

3:24 of yourselves or your kids or your lunch or whatever,

3:27 but if you're a little more serious, you might want the telephoto,

3:30 but I mean man, look at the bulge you're getting with that.

3:33 Is it worth it?

3:35 Not to me.

3:36 Even the 9A, which is way less prominent than the 10,

3:40 it still has a minor camera bump.

3:42 And so when you're sliding your hand across it, it just doesn't feel good.

3:46 Whereas like this, yeah,

3:48 this will slide right in and out of my pant pockets like no problem.

3:51 Um, I don't like using cases if I can avoid it,

3:54 uh, but you know, because of the camera bump,

3:57 that's actually a big part of why I have

3:59 this Dbrand case is because I want the sleekest,

4:03 most comfortable, small device to fit

4:05 into my pants pocket as I can possibly find.

4:08 I would love it if phones actually got smaller because I

4:12 kind of miss the days of like really tiny flip phones, but that's not the case.

4:16 These are about the same size diagonally and that's fine.

4:20 This is kind of the normal phone size that I'm okay with at this point.

4:24 I just wish things were a little shorter.

4:25 You might notice there's some major cracks on this one.

4:27 That's Linus' fault.

4:28 He took the 9A home and dropped it.

4:30 Maybe don't drop your phones, put screen protectors on, put cases on.

4:33 One of the big advantages of the 10A over

4:35 the 9A as well is it's got some new glass, some new Corning Gorilla Glass 7i.

4:40 It's better than the old stuff.

4:41 Otherwise, they look damn near identical.

4:46 We've got the same buttons and volume rockers here.

4:50 Same USB ports, although the 9A has your SIM card

4:56 on the bottom and the 10A has put it to the traditional side.

5:00 As for some of the major differences between the 10

5:03 and the 10A, basically what you're getting when you're saving all of that money,

5:08 and it is hundreds of dollars,

5:09 it's like almost half the price for this phone versus this one,

5:12 you're getting less RAM.

5:14 This has only 8 gigs instead of 12, which, yeah, 100% if you're computer gaming,

5:19 like you want more like 16 these days at minimum,

5:21 but on a phone that I'm just going to, you know,

5:23 browse Reddit and watch some YouTube videos on, 8 gigs is plenty in my opinion.

5:27 The other major difference that you might actually care

5:29 about is the 10 has the Tensor G5 from Google, whereas this has the Tensor G4.

5:36 With that said, are you going to actually

5:39 notice that much of a performance difference?

5:41 Maybe power users, but the average person who

5:43 this is actually marketed to, I don't think so.

5:46 And while the glass is different, they both support a 120 hertz screen.

5:51 That's my only real complaint about my 7A versus

5:53 these is that this one's only 90 hertz, I think, refresh rate on the screen.

5:56 It's not 120, but it's not 60.

5:59 So, I'll take it.

6:00 Another pretty cool feature is this will actually be

6:02 able to tell you the battery health of your device.

6:04 We went to check my 7A cuz, you know,

6:06 I've had it for a few years, maybe the battery's degraded.

6:08 Doesn't support it.

6:09 Pixel 8 and later.

6:11 So, I just missed the boat.

6:12 But, that's okay cuz this is a brand

6:14 new phone and it's got a pretty solid battery.

6:16 We measured something like 23 and a quarter hours in our longevity battery test,

6:20 which is actually really good.

6:22 And so, I don't think you're going to have any issues.

6:24 Man, I got to say the 120 hertz, I do notice it like right away.

6:28 This is just so clean.

6:29 So smooth.

6:30 Oh man, okay.

6:31 All right, maybe it's time for me to upgrade.

6:34 I love a good display.

6:35 And this actually has a crazy good display.

6:37 We measured over 4,000 nits peak in SDR

6:40 and just under that in HDR, about 3,800 nits.

6:43 So, it gets brighter than most of the content you're ever going

6:46 to be watching on it in the first place, which is fantastic.

6:49 Yeah, God, this really is a very pretty display and that is kind of killing me.

6:54 Just scrolling through at 120 hertz, it looks so much smoother.

6:58 Even the 90, man.

6:59 I don't need a new phone.

7:00 I don't need a new phone.

7:01 Okay, how's the camera though?

7:02 That's cuz that's what like most people care about.

7:04 The reality is like I don't even take a ton of pictures.

7:06 But, for example, Wade's here from DankPods.

7:08 So, I wanted to get a picture of us, right?

7:10 Cuz, you know, that's what people do.

7:12 And yeah, my camera was good enough, but maybe I could get better.

7:16 Motion Whoa, okay.

7:17 So, before you start, you get a bunch of cool new camera stuff.

7:19 Motion photo, top shot, auto best take.

7:22 This already looks better than my camera though.

7:24 Not like a ton.

7:25 Not a ton.

7:25 So, what we'll do is I'll try to take

7:26 the same pictures from my 7A, the 10, and the 10A.

7:31 And then you guys can decide what you think is best.

7:35 That's Brad.

7:36 All right.

7:36 And click.

7:38 Okay, that's one.

7:39 That's two.

7:41 Click.

7:42 Okay, I think the winner is definitely the 10, but the 10A is right behind.

7:47 Yeah, even the skin tones just look a little bit more natural on the 10.

7:53 But, I think they're both great, honestly.

7:55 And the reality is they're both clearly better than my 7A.

7:59 I don't know if that's just a screen brightness thing or what,

8:01 but like yeah, this looks okay.

8:02 It's just dim.

8:03 It looks crisper, like way crisper on the 10A.

8:07 And I wonder if it's just like a sensor thing or what, but yeah.

8:10 Whether it's the better camera or the better screen,

8:11 I'm already I'm kind of sold.

8:13 If you really do care about photography, sure, get the 10 instead.

8:17 But like, is it worth an extra $400?

8:20 I don't know.

8:21 I don't think I I don't I personally don't really think so.

8:23 Another really cool feature that uh older phone owners like me

8:27 might not have access to is the add me feature in Gemini.

8:31 Uh it's pretty cool.

8:31 You just set your phone somewhere, you take a picture, you leave,

8:34 someone else comes in, and you can like splice them together.

8:37 So, we'll try that in a second after this word from our sponsor.

8:39 Our sponsor, dbrand,

8:41 sent over one of their idiot-proof screen protectors for the Pixel

8:44 10A, which you won't need because you're not an idiot, right?

8:47 But, because I work here, they think I am.

8:50 So, let's put their theory to the test.

8:53 Ah, that's the case.

8:55 That's the screen protector.

8:56 Man, these look so cool.

8:57 Like I haven't had to actually install one of the new ones.

9:00 Includes squeegee, alcohol wipe, and a microfiber cloth.

9:03 Let me clean it first.

9:05 Give it a wipe.

9:06 Is there a microfiber in here?

9:08 Squeegee, alcohol wipe, and microfiber cloth.

9:11 That's an alcohol wipe.

9:12 Oh, here's the I'm stupid.

9:13 I am an idiot.

9:14 They really do know who they're messing with.

9:16 Okay, you just attach the tray to the phone like so.

9:20 Oh man, that really does make it idiot-proof, huh?

9:22 Pull the tab.

9:25 And then you swipe down the middle.

9:29 Wait a bit.

9:30 And you're done.

9:31 I've got a couple air bubbles, but that's what the squeegee is for.

9:33 Push those off to the side, and you're done.

9:36 Wow, super easy.

9:37 Who's the idiot now, dbrand?

9:39 They also sent over one of their customizable grip cases,

9:42 which you can slap any of dbrand's overpriced stickers onto for a custom look.

9:46 We've got LTT's collab skin, dark circuit,

9:49 which you should also buy if you want us to receive a royalty.

9:51 Or, if you hate us, you can buy something else over at my bossesveryshort.com.

9:56 Thanks, dbrand.

9:57 you guys.

9:58 So, I'm on add me.

10:01 Click.

10:02 Okay, hand off the Pixel and join the scene.

10:09 That kind of worked.

10:10 That's pretty good, actually.

10:11 that kind of, you know, it's not perfect,

10:14 but it even put me like in front of your arm and stuff.

10:16 Like it didn't, you know, screw that up at all.

10:18 Like obviously you're major hover handing me, but like whatever.

10:22 Um yeah, that's you know, that's a pretty cool feature.

10:24 I don't think I'd ever use it personally, like on my own phone,

10:27 cuz like I just I don't know, I'm lazy and I just want to take a quick photo,

10:30 but uh it's a very cool feature to have,

10:32 especially if you want multiple people in frame and you just you don't have,

10:35 you know, an easy way to do that.

10:36 Let's do a little speaker comparison between uh

10:38 my old phone and the 10A, because I do listen to a lot of YouTube videos

10:47 when I'm just puttering around the house or whatever,

10:49 doing some cleaning, you know, I've got YouTube Premium,

10:51 so I just shut the screen off and I let the audio play.

10:53 And this is sometimes a little too quiet.

10:57 It depends on the video's audio mixing, obviously,

10:58 but uh every now and then I wish it could just get a little bit louder.

11:03 So, that's max volume.

11:08 Okay.

11:09 I'm not going to wait for the bass.

11:10 We all know there's no bass coming.

11:17 Yeah.

11:21 You know, it's kind of funny.

11:22 This one is bassier.

11:24 I think I actually prefer the old ones.

11:26 I don't know if it's just the EQ or what's going on.

11:32 This sounds too bassy,

11:33 and it sounds a little muddy because of that, whereas this sounds kind of clear.

11:36 Let me just check like like spoken word really quick.

11:40 Apple just came flying in out of left field

11:43 with the people's elbow dropping their giant buying power.

11:47 That might have just been the song cuz this sounds pretty good still.

11:50 I don't know.

11:50 I think either way I'm splitting hairs here and like

11:53 the speakers are more than good enough on either device.

11:55 The reality is most of you are probably

11:57 going to be listening with earbuds or headphones anyway.

11:59 Or at least I hope you are.

12:00 Please if you're in public, on the bus, on the plane,

12:03 on the train, please please please please stop playing stuff over the speaker.

12:06 I will go insane one day and that will be why.

12:08 Yeah, otherwise it's like holding them both in the hand.

12:11 I know I'm comparing like an older device but I think the reality is

12:14 that's kind of the people that are going to be shopping for this thing.

12:16 Like if you bought a 9A you're probably not looking to upgrade to a 10A.

12:20 So anyone with like a 7A or older like I I got to say I wasn't

12:24 expecting to like it this much and care

12:26 this much about the display and the hand feel.

12:29 Like I hate that there's this camera bump here.

12:31 I can feel it on my finger just holding the phones together.

12:34 Another major upgrade both over my 7A and the 9A is satellite connectivity.

12:40 I went home to Yellowknife recently and there's a road

12:44 that literally goes to like the end of Canada basically.

12:47 And if you're on the Ingram Trail,

12:48 certain parts of it don't have cell service and you're going to need

12:51 some kind of like satellite phone if

12:53 you're going to get yourself stuck somewhere.

12:56 And so yeah, that's actually a big deal

12:58 and it could genuinely save your life at some point.

13:00 So camera's good, the screen is pretty good, the speakers are totally fine.

13:04 The only reason why you might want to shell out more for this guy aside

13:08 from the telephoto lens is probably the improved

13:11 processing power because it's genuinely pretty strong.

13:14 In our Geekbench 6 CPU single core test

13:17 we're getting over 2300 points on the 10,

13:20 whereas we're only getting about 1700, 1750 on the 10A.

13:24 So it's a significant difference.

13:26 And then when we go to multi-core,

13:28 we're getting over 6,000 points on the 10 versus only about 4,500 on the 10a.

13:33 Which, you know, they're synthetic benchmarks and like,

13:36 yeah, I don't game on my phone.

13:37 I don't care that much.

13:38 The funny thing is, when we use 3DMark Steel Nomad Light Test,

13:41 we actually get a better score on the 10a than we do on the 10.

13:45 It's not a major difference, but it's there.

13:47 So, I kind of think that a lot of people just fall for the like newer is better,

13:51 flashier marketing traps that um marketing tries to use

13:55 to get you to buy their new product.

13:57 And I just I've never been the kind

13:58 of person who upgrades their phone every single year.

14:01 Cuz as you can see with the 10a versus the 9a, there's not a lot of differences.

14:04 Like, sure, you get the better glass.

14:06 And sure, the camera bump is less than on this guy,

14:08 but this one's already pretty minimal.

14:10 It really is.

14:11 And personally, um I have an actual camera if I want to take photos.

14:15 So, I don't really care about the telephoto lens,

14:17 and I would 100% ditch this camera bump if it means I don't get it.

14:21 Like, I'm totally down.

14:23 Absolutely.

14:23 Like, this is solid.

14:24 This with no bump at all?

14:26 Yeah.

14:26 How does it feel to slide into the pocket?

14:29 Oh, it's so good.

14:30 It just goes in.

14:30 It doesn't get stuck on anything.

14:32 And then now it's slimmer because I don't have a case on it.

14:36 Am I buying a new phone this weekend?

14:37 I don't know.

14:38 Maybe.

14:38 It's good enough.

14:39 And at $499 for the 256, it's a pretty decent deal.

14:46 You know, if you've been wondering, yeah, do I need all of this phone?

14:50 Maybe you don't.

14:51 Maybe get yourself a Pixel 10a.

14:52 And if you don't like it, you can probably return it.

14:54 I'm Fluf this short circuit.

14:56 This is the Pixel 10a.

14:57 I think it's pretty solid for the price.

14:59 If you want to look at an even cheaper budget phone,

15:01 check out the Samsung 17a 5G.

15:06 That's like 300 bucks.

15:08 That's a great deal.

15:12 See you later.