With the price of top-tier flagship smartphones hovering around $1,200, it’s worth considering a good smartphone that splits the difference between features and price, offering good enough (and sometimes better) performance at a price that most people can afford.
Apple’s latest iPhone 17e looks like that kind of phone, as it comes with a 48MP Fusion camera, MagSafe charging, Super Retina XDR display, the high-performance A19 chip, and 256GB of storage, all for just $599.
A closer look
In this liminal space where we don’t have a review of either phone, the Pixel 10a beats the iPhone 17e in some crucial ways.
Firstly, the Pixel 10a is slightly larger at 6.3 inches versus the 17e’s 6.1 inches. Apple’s Super Retina XDR OLED display has, 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’s brightness maxes out at 1,200 nits, the Pixel 10a offers up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness.
Both phones have a 48MP wide main camera, but Google adds a 13MP ultrawide camera on the back. Sure, I wish the megapixels were higher, but having that ultrawide in your pocket to take more spectacular photos can’t be beat.
The Google Pixel 10a is also equipped with Gemini intelligence, which, at the moment, the iPhone 17e, even with its support for Apple Intelligence, cannot 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 trainer who can guide you, step by step, to take better photos. Aside from photo cleanup and lackluster ChatGPT integration, there’s nothing like it in iOS 26; At least we know that Gemini is coming to save Siri.
let’s get flat
And then there is the flatness. The Pixel 10a is the first modern flat phone in a long time; no camera bumps that make it sit unevenly on the table or feel a little bulky in your pocket. Even with a single camera, the iPhone 17e has a small raised border around its 48MP camera.
However, the iPhone 17e has clear benefits. 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. It’s not a slow chip by any means, but it’s not top-notch either.
Additionally, the 17e is MagSafe compatible, meaning it’s equipped with built-in magnets that attach to any MagSafe accessory or wireless charger (and charge at a speed of 15W). Even though every other Pixel 10 got the new Pixel Snap, it was left out of the Pixel 10a. Finally, the cheaper Pixel 10a comes 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 dedicated to offering more, often for less.
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