Google Pixel 10a vs Pixel 9a vs iPhone 16e: Price in India, Specifications and Features Compared

Google Pixel 10a, the company's latest addition to the Pixel 10 series, is an affordable smartphone that was launched earlier this month. It offers incremental upgrades over the Pixel 9a, which was launched by Google a year ago. The new Google Pixel 10a runs on Android 16, just like its predecessor, and it has a dual rear camera setup. It will compete with Apple's iPhone 16e, which is the most affordable smartphone sold by Apple with support for Apple Intelligence, and the predecessor to the company's latest iPhone 17e model. All three phones are equipped with OLED screens and offer support for features like wireless charging.

Google Pixel 10a vs Pixel 9a vs iPhone 16e: Price in India

Google Pixel 10a: Google Pixel 10a price in India is set at Rs. 49,999, and the smartphone is sold in a single 8GB+256GB RAM and storage configuration. It will be available started March 5 in Berry, Fog, Lavender, and Obsidian colour options. 

Google Pixel 9a: The Google Store website currently lists the Pixel 9a at Rs. 49,999, but customers can avail of an instant discount of Rs. 10,000 when purchasing the handset. It is available in Iris, Obsidian, and Porcelain colour options. 

iPhone 16e: In India, the iPhone 16e is priced at Rs. 59,900 for the base model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage. The handset is also sold in 256GB and 512GB storage variants, which will set you back by Rs. 69,900 and Rs. 89,900, respectively. 

Google Pixel 10a vs Pixel 9a vs iPhone 16e: Display, Software

Google Pixel 10a: The Pixel 10a is equipped with the same OLED display that arrived on last year's Pixel 9a model. Google's 6.3-inch Actua (pOLED) panel has a 1,080×2,424 pixel resolution and refreshes at 120Hz. The smartphone runs on the latest version of Google's Android operating system, and Google says it will receive up to 7 years of OS updates.  

Pixel 9a: There's a 6.3-inch (1,080×2,424 pixels) Actua display on the Google Pixel 9a has a 120Hz refresh rate. It launched last year with Android 15 out-of-the-box, and received an update to Android 16, just like other eligible Pixel phones. It is expected to receive six more Android version updates, and as many years of security updates. 

iPhone 16e: Apple has equipped the iPhone 16e with a 6.1-inch (1,170×2,532 pixels) Super Retina XDR OLED display that refreshes at 60Hz and supports features like True Tone. The smartphone was launched with iOS 18.3.1 in 2025, and it has since received an update to iOS 26.3. Apple doesn't specify how many years of support its phones will receive, but it has updated recent models with at least five major iOS versions and a couple of more years of security updates.

Google Pixel 10a vs Pixel 9a vs iPhone 16e: Processor, Battery

Google Pixel 10a: The new Pixel 10a is equipped with the Tensor G4, which is the same chip that arrived on the Pixel 9 series, including the Pixel 9a. It has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage. It is equipped with a 5,100mAh battery that can be charged at up to 23W with a USB-PD adapter, and 7.5W with a compatible Qi wireless charger.

Pixel 9a: Google first introduced its in-house Tensor G4 chip with the Pixel 9 series in 2024, and the chip made its way to the Pixel 9a last year. The smartphone is equipped with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It packs a 5,100mAh battery with support for 23W (wired) and 7.5W (wireless) charging.

iPhone 16e: The iPhone 16e runs on Apple's A18 chip, which was introduced in 2024 with the iPhone 16 series. Like the Pixel 10a and Pixel 9a, it has 8GB of RAM, but it starts at 128GB of inbuilt storage, and is also sold in 256GB and 512GB variants. Apple doesn't disclose the battery capacity of its smartphones, but teardowns have revealed that it's a 4,005mAh battery which can be charged at 20W and 7.5W when using a wired and wireless charger, respectively. 

Google Pixel 10a vs Pixel 9a vs iPhone 16e: Cameras, Dimensions

Google Pixel 10a: There's a dual rear camera setup on the Pixel 10a, comprising a 48-megapixel wide camera with an f/1.7 aperture, and a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a 120-degree field-of-view. Selfies are handled by a 13-megapixel camera on the front. The primary rear camera offers Super Res Zoom up to 8x and optical and electronic image stabilisation. It measures 153.9×73×9 mm and weighs 183g.

Pixel 9a: The camera setup on the Pixel 9a has been carried forward to the Pixel 10a, which means it has the same 48-megapixel primary camera (f/1.7) with up to 8x Super Res Zoom, and a 13-megapixel ultrawide shooter with a 120-degree field-of-view. It also has a 13-megapixel selfie camera. The Pixel 9a weighs 186g, and it measures 154.7×73.3×8.9 mm.

iPhone 16e: There's only one rear camera on the iPhone 16e, and it has a 48-megapixel resolution. Apple says it offers "optical quality" zoom at 2x, using an in-sensor crop. There's no ultrawide camera on the iPhone 16e, unlike the Pixel 10a and Pixel 9a. The smartphone has a 12-megapixel TrueDepth selfie camera. It measures 146.7 × 71.5 × 7.8 mm and weighs 167g.

Google Pixel 10a vs Pixel 9a vs iPhone 16e: Which Should You Buy?

Even though it has marginal hardware upgrades over Google's Pixel 9a, the newly announced Pixel 10a is expected to receive one more year of software updates than its predecessor. If you are looking for an affordable entry point into Google's Pixel ecosystem, then the Pixel 9a is a better option at the moment, while the price of the Pixel 10a is expected to drop in the future. If you need access to iMessage and other Apple-exclusive services, then the iPhone 16e is the most accessible option, if you're on a budget.

FAQs

1. Which of the three smartphones has the best display?

The displays on the Pixel 10a and Pixel 9a refresh at 120Hz, which means they offer smoother performance than the 60Hz OLED panel on the iPhone 16e. Google's pOLED displays are also brighter than the one on the iPhone 16e. The iPhone 16e has Ceramic Shield for improved durability.

2. Which phone has the best CPU performance?

In terms of raw CPU performance, the A18 chip on the iPhone 16e is much more powerful than the Tensor G4 on the Pixel 10a and Pixel 9a. However, in day-to-day usage, all three phones are capable of handling whatever you throw at them, while the iPhone 16e will offer better performance while playing demanding games or exporting edited videos.

3. Which phone offers the best battery performance?

While the Pixel 10a and Pixel 9a both offer a larger 5,100mAh battery than the 4,005mAh battery on the iPhone 16e. While battery life can vary based on several factors such as the number of apps installed on a smartphone and active use, the larger batteries on the Pixel smartphones could possibly offer more usage than the iPhone 16e.