With the Pixel 10, Google is setting a brand new baseline for Android

Not like Apple’s tenth-generation iPhone X, which served as an evolutionary leap ahead in smartphone design and in human-computer interplay modality again in 2017, Google is taking part in a humbler and extra iterative sport with its recently-released Pixel 10 series.

Now, that is not a foul factor per se — sluggish and regular year-over-year enhancements have been Google’s mantra for a while now, and the corporate has been quietly consolidating its {hardware} identification inside the aggressive smartphone panorama since a minimum of the times of the Pixel 6 in 2021.

Arguably, Google’s current Pixel 9 was already a well-rounded package deal to the purpose the place it would be a mistake to drastically alter the Pixel formulation or to introduce a Project Soli-level curveball into the combination. With a concentrate on refinement and new AI experiences for 2025, I went forward and switched my SIM card over to Google’s premier (albeit non-Professional) Pixel 10 — and, for essentially the most half, I got here away with out disappointment.

4.5/5

Model

Google

SoC

Tensor G5

Show

6.3-inch Actua Show 1080 x 2424 pixel decision OLED (60-120Hz)

RAM

12GB

Google’s Pixel 10 options the tech large’s new Tensor G5 chip and a three-camera setup for the primary time that features a 10.8-megapixel telephoto digicam.

Professionals & Cons

• Elegant exterior design
• Qi2 magnetic wi-fi charging
• Materials 3 Expressive is beautiful

• Shiny rear glass panel
• Tensor G5 is not a 2025 powerhouse
• Non-telephoto cameras are nerfed

A time-tested exterior design

Google’s signature Pixel digicam bar is each bit as stylish right here as it’s on the ten Professional

Externally talking, the Pixel 10 appears roughly the identical as not solely the Pixel 9 sequence, but additionally the Pixel 10 Professional and 10 Professional XL. The cellphone is characterised by boxy-yet-rounded corners, a outstanding full-width rear digicam bar, and a set of slim, symmetrical front-facing bezels.

Choosing up the Pixel 10, its 7.2oz (204g) weight is effectively distributed, and its 6 x 2.8 x 0.3-inches (152.8 x 72 x 8.6mm) dimensions are giant with out feeling unwieldy. The small cellphone fanatics inside me would’ve liked for the machine to be only a bit extra compact, maybe extra similar to the 6-inch screened Pixel 5, however the 10’s 6.3-inch measurement class nonetheless strikes a strong steadiness between portability and usefulness.

As anticipated, the Pixel 10 is well-built, too. The unit’s mixture of aluminum and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 tempered glass feels premium within the hand, there is no creaking or flexing to fret about, and, as has been the case on Pixel telephones for a while now, it options buttons which are a number of the most satisfying and tactile to click on available on the market. I am a fan of the metallic outer trim’s satin end, although I’ve to say that I would have most popular a soft-touch rear glass panel versus a shiny (and fingerprint inclined) shiny one.

Placing the Pixel 10 aspect by aspect with each its contemporaries and with previous-generation Pixels, it is clear to me that Google has homed in on a design that merely works. The digicam bar is a sublime and iconic design cue that each appears aesthetically pleasing and that stops desk wobble, and the bottom-mounted speaker and microphone grilles are completely symmetrical with the USB Sort-C port.

My explicit overview unit is of the lemongrass selection, with a vibrant rear glass panel end that options hints of each yellow and inexperienced. Different colorways on provide embody the sunshine blue frost, the darkish blue indigo, and the darkish grey obsidian. All fashions characteristic black entrance bezels and color-matched aluminum aspect rails. When you’re a sucker for nostalgia, then indigo is perhaps the best way to go: it appears to be a subtle callback to the very first Pixel’s actually blue colorway from all the best way again in 2016.

The yr of the spec bump

The Pixel 10 is characterised by iterative year-over-year upgrades

It is not simply the outside shell of the Pixel 10 that carefully resembles that of its fast predecessor. For all intents and functions, the cellphone’s inside specs are solely a minor step up over the Pixel 9, although the enhancements made listed below are welcome nonetheless.

The handset is powered by the Tensor G5, which is Google’s fifth-generation in-house system on a chip (SoC). As in earlier years, Google’s focus with Tensor is on making a hardware-accelerated working surroundings for on-device AI processing, with conventional compute and graphics efficiency being one thing of a secondary concern.

A fast Geekbench 6 benchmarking take a look at reveals a single-core rating of two,319 and a multi-core rating of 6,302. This does not fairly measure as much as the sheer compute energy discovered on the likes of the Apple A19 Professional or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipsets, although it does present greater than sufficient headroom for general-purpose smartphone utilization.

Technically talking, the Tensor G5 relies on the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm’s (TSMCs) state-of-the-art 3nm processing node — which means the processor affords enhancements in energy effectivity over the Samsung-fabricated G4 used within the Pixel 9 sequence.

Elsewhere, the Pixel 10’s 6.3-inch OLED show panel is available in at a decision of 1080 x 2424, and it is able to pivoting between 60 and 120Hz refresh charges. Peak brightness can attain a slightly brilliant 3,000 nits, and different niceties like HDR and 24-bit coloration depth are current and accounted for as effectively.

Different key inside Pixel 10 specs embody 12GB of RAM, a alternative between 128GB or 256GB of inside storage, a 4,970 mAh battery pack, 30W wired charging, 15W wi-fi charging, IP68 water and mud resistance, and a very good under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.

Pixelsnap enters the fray

In the end, Android’s MagSafe has arrived

Personally, my favourite Pixel 10 characteristic is one that may’t be discerned by the bare eye alone. Hidden behind the cellphone’s shiny rear glass panel is a brand new ring of magnets that conform to the Wireless Power Consortium’s Qi2 with Magnetic Energy Profile (MPP) normal for wi-fi charging. Functionally according to Apple’s MagSafe protocol, the Pixel 10 is the primary (fine, second) Android cellphone to ship with magnetically-enhanced wi-fi charging capabilities constructed proper in.

Briefly, it is a massive deal for each Pixel and Android at large as a result of it allows compatibility with a complete host of magnetically-adhering docks, stands, mounts, wallets, chargers, battery banks, and extra. After utilizing my iPhone 15 Pro for the higher a part of two years, and after having closely invested within the MagSafe ecosystem, I am ecstatic that Google is taking a number one position in bringing this identical expertise over to Android.

In my expertise, the Pixel 10’s magnets are roughly equal in energy to these discovered on latest iPhone fashions I’ve examined, which is to say they’re robust and completely safe. On a technical stage, nevertheless, I am left disenchanted by Google’s decision to go for the older Qi 2.0.1 standard, which tops out at 15W of wi-fi energy supply. For comparability, the newer Qi 2.2 spec is able to a speedier 25W, and it is what’s present in Apple’s competing iPhone 17 on the identical value level.

The digicam scenario positive is fascinating

You win some, you lose some

With the Pixel 10, Google is transport its first-ever non-Professional Pixel cellphone with a triple rear digicam setup. The array consists of a 48-megapixel wide-angle shooter with an f/1.70 aperture and a 1/2-inch sensor measurement, a 13-megapixel 120-degree ultra-wide lens with an f/2.2 aperture and a 1/3.1-inch sensor measurement, and a ten.8-inch 5x telephoto digicam with an f/3.1 aperture and a 1/3.2-inch sensor measurement.

The addition of a devoted zoom lens is a marked step up from the Pixel 9, which solely provided wide-angle and ultra-wide focal lengths, and it lastly brings the bottom flagship Pixel according to the triple digicam normal employed by Samsung ( which is still absent from the bottom iPhone 17).

Nevertheless, there is a catch: whereas the 5x telephoto is way appreciated for zooming in on far-off topics, Google has really downgraded the wide-angle and ultra-wide angle sensors when in comparison with these discovered on the Pixel 9. Resolutions and sensor sizes are smaller, which is disappointing, and it means you may have to spring for the ten Professional or 10 Professional XL for best-in-class Pixel digicam {hardware}.

Fortunately, Google’s computational pictures prowess shines via as a lot right here on the Pixel 10 because it does on every other fashionable Pixel handset, and the top result’s a reliable package deal for snapping recollections. I really like the Pixel 10’s easy point-and-shoot strategy to pictures — coloration science, publicity, and different issues are all the time taken care of with none fear from my finish.

The cellphone does assist RAW picture seize, although Google has artificially restricted guide management over autofocus, ISO, and shutter pace to the costlier Professional fashions, which is a transfer I am not a fan of. Video recording can also be strong, with the power to report HDR content material in 4K decision at 24, 30, or 60 frames per second (fps), in addition to in 1080p Full HD at 120 and 240fps.

An Android expertise price celebrating

The Pixel 10 shines with Materials 3 Expressive out of the field

I’ve chronicled my evolving impressions of Google’s new Materials 3 Expressive design language in separate items, however, the lengthy and the wanting it’s that I’ve come to love the brand new visible look.

The brand new, responsive animations discovered all through Materials 3 Expressive’s OS design are pleasant, and the whole lot simply feels extra playful and alive than it has in years earlier. The brand new blur results are tastefully applied throughout interface surfaces, and, put collectively, these modifications humanize Android and the Pixel in a method that not even Apple’s new Liquid Glass redesign does for the iPhone.

I used to be notably excited to take a look at the Pixel 10’s upgraded Always-on display mode, which offers the choice to show a blurred model of your wallpaper on display always. Sadly, because it seems, Google has restricted this characteristic to the higher-end Pixel 10 Professional and 10 Professional XL fashions. This will possible be attributed to the extra superior LTPO-powered show refresh charges that ship on the Professional fashions, that are able to notching all the best way all the way down to 1Hz (versus the Pixel 10’s minimal of 60Hz).

Out of the field, my Pixel 10’s interface was color-coded to match its lemongrass exterior hue. All the pieces from Android’s notification heart, to its app drawer, to its Settings app characteristic a delicate yellow hue, which is a small consideration to element that exemplifies Google’s newfound sense of hardware-software synergy. In fact, it is simple sufficient to change over to every other variety of UI colortones, they usually routinely adapt to whichever wallpaper you have chosen.

I additionally need to shout out the Pixel 10’s all-new out-of-box choice of display savers, which lastly matches the fit-and-finish discovered on Apple’s StandBy Mode for iPhone. Each the digital and analog clock faces are effectively crafted, as is the brand new Climate display saver. I am a fan of the elevated date and time readability, and the globally obtainable Low mild mode can also be a lot appreciated. The lack of the Colours display saver is an unlucky casualty in my eyes, nevertheless.

As for AI experiences constructed into the Pixel 10, Google is speaking an enormous sport as per normal. This time round, the brand new flagship AI characteristic is Magic Cue, which makes an attempt to routinely floor related info whereas utilizing the cellphone. For instance, a immediate with upcoming flight particulars would possibly seem on the decision display whereas trying to succeed in an airline’s customer support line.

In my brief time with Magic Cue, I have not discovered the device to be a helpful one. It is doable that I merely have not used the handset for lengthy sufficient for it to correctly index my Google Account’s Gmail messages and RCS texts, however, both method, I’ve come away solely underwhelmed. Conceptually, Magic Cue makes a variety of sense, and so I hope to see Google enhance upon it through future software program updates.

Different new AI-powered additions this yr embody Digicam Coach, which makes an attempt to supply contextually related pictures suggestions inside the digicam app, and Each day Hub, which serves as an AI briefing web page for a birds-eye view of the day forward. Neither characteristic is especially compelling in my eyes, they usually each appear to be attempting to resolve issues with AI for the sake of AI.

On a brighter be aware, current AI options from the Pixel 9 period proceed to show helpful, together with Pixel Screenshots (which types display caps for simple reference), the digicam’s Add Me mode (for including further topics into a photograph), and Gemini Stay integration (Google’s large language model (LLM) powered conversational voice assistant).

Is the Pixel 10 well worth the improve?

It is perhaps, relying on which cellphone you have already got in your pocket

You would be mistaken to dismiss the usual non-Professional Pixel 10 as a boring and uninspired retreading of yesteryear’s Pixel 9. Whereas it is true that each gadgets look, really feel, and behave slightly equally on paper, Google has refined the end-user expertise by taking note of the oft-overlooked cell minutia that matter when utilizing a high-end handset.

The Pixel 10’s design is refined, assured, and delightfully symmetrical, its triple rear digicam array offers focal size flexibility, and its Materials 3 Expressive-based interpretation of Android 16 is a pleasure to work together with. The addition of Qi2’s MPP ring of magnets is a serious high quality of life enchancment over its direct predecessor, although charging speeds might be a bit snappier. I am additionally nonetheless not offered on the deserves of Magic Cue and sure different Gemini AI options, although they’re compelling on a conceptual stage.

All in all, when you’re available in the market for a brand new high-end smartphone, and when you aren’t solely wedded to Apple’s walled garden ecosystem, then the Google Pixel 10 is a great alternative worthy of consideration. At $800, it is a good bit extra inexpensive than its Professional-tier siblings, whereas managing to ship on all of the important parts attribute of a premium 2025 smartphone.

This machine was supplied to Pocket-lint by Google.

4.5/5

Model

Google

SoC

Tensor G5

Show

6.3-inch Actua Show 1080 x 2424 pixel decision OLED (60-120Hz)

RAM

12GB

Google’s Pixel 10 options the tech large’s new Tensor G5 chip and a three-camera setup for the primary time that features a 10.8-megapixel telephoto digicam.