Pixel 10a Faces Questions After Google Store Mentions FaceTime

Google is again leaning into a familiar pitch as it prepares to launch the Pixel 10a: switching from an iPhone does not have to mean leaving everything behind. Over the past few days, an unusual line on Google’s own store page has been doing the rounds because it namechecks one of Apple’s most recognizable services.

On the Pixel 10a page, under a “Switching to Google Pixel” section, Google is described as promising a “wide selection for video calls.” The specific wording is what caught attention. It states: “Video calls are also possible with FaceTime.”

That sentence can be read two very different ways, and the gap between them matters. Taken literally, it sounds like Google is hinting at FaceTime calls working on the Pixel 10a in a way that feels native, as if the phone has gained some new route into Apple’s calling ecosystem. Read more cautiously, it may simply be pointing to something that already exists: joining a FaceTime call through a browser using a web link.

The provided material underlines why the phrasing stands out. In a broader overview of Pixel phones elsewhere in Google’s store, the company is said to use a more careful line: “Or join a friend’s FaceTime call in your browser.” That version matches the practical reality described later in the same text, where Apple users can generate a FaceTime link and share it with someone on Android, a tablet, or even a Windows PC.

Even then, there is a clear limitation. Creating the link still requires an Apple device running the FaceTime app. The participant joining from a non-Apple device can enter via the link, but the Apple user must approve the participant.

For anyone watching Google’s messaging, the timing is the point. The Pixel 10a is set to launch on February 18, and this small line on a product page has introduced uncertainty about whether Google is teasing anything beyond what’s already possible.

Until Google clarifies what it meant, the claim sits in that awkward space between marketing language and real-world capability. For buyers weighing a switch, the fine print may end up being the story.