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

In contrast to 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 enjoying a humbler and extra iterative sport with its recently-released Pixel 10 series.

Now, that is not a nasty factor per se — gradual 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 throughout the aggressive smartphone panorama since not less than the times of the Pixel 6 in 2021.

Arguably, Google’s present Pixel 9 was already a well-rounded package deal to the purpose the place it might be a mistake to drastically alter the Pixel formulation or to introduce a Project Soli-level curveball into the combo. 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 big’s new Tensor G5 chip and a three-camera setup for the primary time that features a 10.8-megapixel telephoto digital camera.

Execs & Cons

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

• 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 digital camera bar is each bit as elegant right here as it’s on the ten Professional

Externally talking, the Pixel 10 appears to be like roughly the identical as not solely the Pixel 9 collection, but in addition the Pixel 10 Professional and 10 Professional XL. The telephone is characterised by boxy-yet-rounded corners, a distinguished full-width rear digital camera bar, and a set of slim, symmetrical front-facing bezels.

Selecting 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 massive with out feeling unwieldy. The small telephone fans inside me would’ve beloved for the gadget to be only a bit extra compact, maybe extra akin to the 6-inch screened Pixel 5, however the 10’s 6.3-inch measurement class nonetheless strikes a strong stability 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 isn’t any creaking or flexing to fret about, and, as has been the case on Pixel telephones for a while now, it options buttons which can be a number of the most satisfying and tactile to click on in the marketplace. I am a fan of the steel 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 facet by facet 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 digital camera bar is a chic and iconic design cue that each appears to be like aesthetically pleasing and that stops desk wobble, and the bottom-mounted speaker and microphone grilles are completely symmetrical with the USB Kind-C port.

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

The 12 months 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 intently resembles that of its instant predecessor. For all intents and functions, the telephone’s inside specs are solely a minor step up over the Pixel 9, although the enhancements made listed here 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 atmosphere 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 provides enhancements in energy effectivity over the Samsung-fabricated G4 used within the Pixel 9 collection.

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 moderately brilliant 3,000 nits, and different niceties like HDR and 24-bit colour depth are current and accounted for as effectively.

Different key inside Pixel 10 specs embody 12GB of RAM, a selection 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 telephone’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 in step with Apple’s MagSafe protocol, the Pixel 10 is the primary (fine, second) Android telephone to ship with magnetically-enhanced wi-fi charging capabilities constructed proper in.

Briefly, this can be a large 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 similar expertise over to Android.

In my expertise, the Pixel 10’s magnets are roughly equal in energy to these discovered on current iPhone fashions I’ve examined, which is to say they’re robust and completely safe. On a technical degree, nonetheless, I am left upset 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 similar worth level.

The digital camera scenario certain is fascinating

You win some, you lose some

With the Pixel 10, Google is delivery its first-ever non-Professional Pixel telephone with a triple rear digital camera 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 digital camera 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 in step with the triple digital camera normal employed by Samsung ( which is still absent from the bottom iPhone 17).

Nonetheless, there is a catch: whereas the 5x telephoto is way appreciated for zooming in on distant 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 will have to spring for the ten Professional or 10 Professional XL for best-in-class Pixel digital camera {hardware}.

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

The telephone does assist RAW picture seize, although Google has artificially restricted guide management over autofocus, ISO, and shutter velocity to the dearer Professional fashions, which is a transfer I am not a fan of. Video recording can also be strong, with the flexibility to document 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 value 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 in need of 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 every thing simply feels extra playful and alive than it has in years earlier. The brand new blur results are tastefully carried out throughout interface surfaces, and, put collectively, these modifications humanize Android and the Pixel in a manner that not even Apple’s new Liquid Glass redesign does for the iPhone.

I used to be significantly 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 way in which 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. Every part from Android’s notification heart, to its app drawer, to its Settings app characteristic a refined 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 some other variety of UI colortones, and so they routinely adapt to whichever wallpaper you have chosen.

I additionally wish to shout out the Pixel 10’s all-new out-of-box number 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 accessible Low mild mode can also be a lot appreciated. The lack of the Colours display saver is an unlucky casualty in my eyes, nonetheless.

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

In my brief time with Magic Cue, I have not discovered the software to be a helpful one. It is potential 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 manner, I’ve come away completely underwhelmed. Conceptually, Magic Cue makes a variety of sense, and so I hope to see Google enhance upon it by way of future software program updates.

Different new AI-powered additions this 12 months embody Digital camera Coach, which makes an attempt to supply contextually related pictures suggestions throughout the digital camera 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, and so they each appear to be attempting to resolve issues with AI for the sake of AI.

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

Is the Pixel 10 definitely worth the improve?

It is likely to be, relying on which telephone 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 units look, really feel, and behave moderately equally on paper, Google has refined the end-user expertise by being attentive to the oft-overlooked cellular minutia that matter when utilizing a high-end handset.

The Pixel 10’s design is refined, assured, and delightfully symmetrical, its triple rear digital camera 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 significant high quality of life enchancment over its direct predecessor, although charging speeds may very well 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 degree.

All in all, should you’re available in the market for a brand new high-end smartphone, and should you aren’t completely wedded to Apple’s walled garden ecosystem, then the Google Pixel 10 is a brilliant selection 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 elements attribute of a premium 2025 smartphone.

This gadget was offered 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 big’s new Tensor G5 chip and a three-camera setup for the primary time that features a 10.8-megapixel telephoto digital camera.