Google raises Pixel 10a price by nearly $200 in Canada

While I had my gripes with Google’s Pixel 10a being a clone of the 9a, the good thing was that both phones cost the same. Well, no longer — Google has officially jacked up the price of its budget Pixel by nearly $200.

Yup, that’s right. The Pixel 10a now costs $849, $170 more than the $679 launch price. Notably, the 10a was on sale as low as $529 just weeks ago. And it’s not just Canada — the U.S. also got a price hike.

It’s a frankly egregious price hike for a number of reasons. For one, the A-series Pixel devices were Google’s more affordable option, so jacking up the price by this much hurts even more.

But worse, the Pixel 10a is effectively the same as the 9a. We’re talking same screen, same chip (the aging Tensor G4 at that!), same memory and storage, same cameras, same battery. $850 for what’s essentially a phone from 2025 is insane.

Worse, this likely means the next A-series Pixel — presumably the Pixel 11a, if Google even launches one — will likely cost at least $850. In my eyes, that’s firmly out of budget territory and basically kills any value argument the Pixel A-series might have had.

Unfortunately, Google isn’t alone in raising prices. Samsung and Apple have both jacked up the cost of their smartphones, including older models. It bucks the long-running trend of tech getting cheaper as it gets older.