As the price of top-tier flagship smartphones floats around $1,200, it’s worth pondering a good smartphone that splits the difference between features and price, delivering good-enough (and sometimes better) performance at a price most people can afford.
Apple‘s latest iPhone 17e looks like that kind of phone, arriving with a 48MP Fusion camera, MagSafe charging, Super Retina XDR display, the performant A19 chip, and 256GB of storage, all for just $599.
A closer look
In this liminal space where we don’t have a review for either phone, the Pixel 10a does beat the iPhone 17e in a few crucial aspects.
First of all, the Pixel 10a is slightly larger at 6.3 inches versus 6.1 inches on the 17e. Apple’s Super Retina XDR OLED screen is, at 2532×1170, a slightly higher-resolution than the Pixel 10a OLED, but at 2424×1080, that phone is no slouch. And while the 17e brightness tops out at 1200 nits, the Pixel 10a offers up to 3000 nits of peak brightness
Both phones have a 48MP main wide camera, but Google adds a 13MP ultrawide on the back. Sure, I wish the megapixels were higher, but having that ultrawide in your pocket for extra-dramatic photos can’t be beat.
The Google Pixel 10a is also packed with Gemini intelligence, which, for the moment, the iPhone 17e, even with its support for Apple Intelligence, can’t match. Gemini is ready on the Pixel 10a to answer questions, help you understand your world with Gemini Live, and create and edit images. There’s even a camera coach that can guide you, step-by-step, through taking better photos. Aside from photo cleanup and middling ChatGPT integration, there’s nothing quite like it on iOS 26; at least we know that Gemini is coming to save Siri.
Let’s get flat
And then there’s the flatness. The Pixel 10a is the first modern flat phone in a while; no camera bump to make it lie unevenly on your table or to feel a bit lumpy in your pocket. Even with just one camera, the iPhone 17e has a small raised lip around its 48MP camera.
There are clear benefits to the iPhone 17e, though. Let’s start with the A19, this year’s Apple silicon, which means you can expect top-notch performance. The Pixel 10a? It’s stuck with last year’s Tensor G4. Not a slow chip by any means, but not top-tier either.
In addition, the 17e has MagSafe support, meaning it’s equipped with embedded magnets that snap onto any MagSafe accessory or wireless charger (and charge at a zippy 15W). Despite all other Pixel 10’s getting the new Pixel Snap, it was left out of the Pixel 10a. Finally, the cheaper Pixel 10a ships with half the storage. If you want 256GB, you end up paying $599 for the Pixel 10a, which is, yes, the same price as the iPhone 17e.
I’m not saying the iPhone 17e isn’t a great iPhone value; of course, it is, especially for those already in the Apple ecosystem. However, Apple didn’t invent smartphone affordability, and its efforts often pale in comparison to those of Android competitors like Google, a company that’s made a business of delivering more, usually, for less.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
