Google Pixel 10 evaluation: The brand new smartphone commonplace

Google marked the tenth technology of Pixels with four new smartphones. Whereas the ‘professional’ and foldable Pixel 10 fashions may need no-compromise specs (and costs to match), Google has blurred the strains between its entry-level Pixel 10 and people premium units. This 12 months, the bottom Pixel 10 has an even bigger battery, a brand new 5x zoom telephoto digicam and virtually as many AI options because the flagship Pixel 10 Professional and Pixel 10 Professional Fold.

If the celebrity-loaded Made By Google occasion was something to go by, the corporate is placing much more effort (and cash) into making the Pixel a real menace to the Galaxy S sequence and iPhones, and conveying that message to everybody. The Pixel 10 deserves these comparisons, and in a number of methods, it’s the higher smartphone.

{Hardware} and show

Google’s 10th-generation of Pixels look so much like their predecessors. There’s a protruding pill-shaped digicam unit, which is the central design flourish. It’s substantial, which nonetheless appears a little bit jarring, nevertheless it additionally doubles as a kind of grip for my index finger whereas holding the telephone, one thing I seen after a 12 months of utilizing the Pixel 9 Professional. Google has additionally refreshed the colour vary of its Pixel household. Each a vivid blue (Indigo) and gentle yellow (Lemongrass) shades are welcome additions to the standard black and white hues.

The 6.3-inch display screen’s refresh fee nonetheless tops out at 120Hz, however that’s now just about commonplace throughout midrange units and up. Even the entry-level Pixel 9a has the identical easy scrolling expertise. Nevertheless, Google has boosted the Pixel 10’s brightness, now peaking at 3,000 nits, which is a slight enhance from 2,700 nits on the Pixel 9. The display screen maxes out at 2,000 nits at its brightest setting for HDR, which can be a bump up from the Pixel 9. Google has additionally boosted the sound high quality on the Pixel 10 to be noticeably much less tinny and a little bit bassier than earlier Pixels.

One other addition is Pixelsnap, which is actually MagSafe for Pixels. The wi-fi charging integration is essentially the identical, with magnets that firmly connect the gadget to charging pucks, equipment and docks. It simply labored with a variety of wi-fi chargers, though Qi2-supported choices are nonetheless rarer than they need to be. You’re extra more likely to discover a MagSafe-branded wi-fi charger from third-party corporations like Belkin, however these don’t obtain the quicker cost speeds of Qi2.

For those who’re feeling spendy, Google’s official Pixelsnap charger is $70 and reaches speeds as much as 25W, whereas there’s a PopSocket-like Pixel ring stand that may snap to the again of the telephone. Moreover, the Pixel 10 sequence helps a lot of the MagSafe peripherals that iPhone customers have been having fun with since 2020.

Digicam

The massive {hardware} improve this 12 months is the cameras. The picture unit features a 48-megapixel wide-angle setup, a 13MP sensor with an ultra-wide lens and a ten.8MP 5x telephoto digicam. For a base telephone, it’s a formidable combo, regardless that it doesn’t fairly match the higher-res sensors discovered within the Pixel 10 Professional — or final 12 months’s Pixel 9 Professional.

That new telephoto lens isn’t some middling 2x or 3x zoom, however a 5x zoom which places it past rivals at an identical worth level, just like the Galaxy S25 (3x zoom) and the iPhone 16’s meager 2x optical zoom. It’s like utilizing a Pixel Professional, with an extra cropped zoom as much as 10x and a (much less constant) Tremendous Res Zoom as much as 20x. This can be a important step up for the bottom mannequin and one thing I’m certain we’ll see the aforementioned rivals doubtless attempt to match. Merely put, the Pixel 10 is only a higher, extra versatile digicam telephone than, say, the Galaxy S25.

I examined the Pixel 10’s telephoto in opposition to the 9 Professional’s, and there have been noticeable variations intimately and crispness, which is comprehensible because the latter has a a lot higher-res 48MP sensor. Nevertheless, that doesn’t detract from the leap in each element and capturing vary in comparison with the bottom Pixel 9 from final 12 months.

The Pixel 10 can even seize 10-bit HDR video now, though it doesn’t supply the Pixel 10 Professional’s 8K video, Night time Sight Video and Tremendous Res Zoom Video choices. There’s no Video Increase, both, which uploads footage to Google’s cloud to boost on-line.

There are many different notable digicam options onboard, together with Night time Sight low-light capturing, or Add Me, which continues to be the standout Pixel digicam characteristic from final 12 months and hasn’t been replicated by rivals but. For individuals who missed my praise last year, Add Me stitches collectively two group photographs, taken by two completely different individuals. The mode guides customers to line up the pictures, that means your group photographs can lastly embody the one who takes all of them (me).

Digicam Coach is an intriguing addition to the Pixel digicam expertise. Above the viewfinder, there’s a brand new digicam icon with a plus signal within the high proper nook. Tapping it makes the display screen flash, and the coach will supply a number of framing and photo-taking strategies. It’ll additionally add a Get Impressed possibility that goes a bit extra avant-garde, producing thumbnails of potential outcomes based mostly off of the pattern it took, filling the gaps with generative AI.

I witheringly launched the Coach, able to criticize its primary strategies or common sense concepts. However, you already know what, it’s not unhealthy. With hooks in Gemini AI, the mode will supply angle, lighting and composition strategies. You can even select whether or not to emphasise, say, the sample of some leaves, or the background behind it or the group of individuals to the aspect. Whereas the characteristic makes use of Google’s Tensor G5 chip to research pictures, it does require an web connection.

Software program

Because of the Tensor G5 chip, the Pixel 10 can run Google’s latest Gemini Nano mannequin on-device. This implies generative AI experiences can now be used with out the necessity for connectivity. Nevertheless, as I discussed with Digicam Coach, that isn’t at all times the case.

Nevertheless, Magic Cue does work with out having to summon its solutions from the cloud. And when it really works, it’s what I’ve wished from AI assistants for years. After gaining your permission, Gemini will get into your screenshots, calendar, Gmail accounts and extra. Magic Cue will pull within the data you want, hopefully, the place you want it. For instance, it shows the e-mail deal with for that comedy present venue your good friend desires tickets for, or nudges your calendar to indicate availability when a good friend asks what your weekend plans are. These cues are highlighted with a rainbow “aura” that has turn into the de facto visible shorthand for synthetic intelligence. That is simply the beginning: Google will ultimately add the power for Magic Cue to faucet into your photographs, suggesting photographs when somebody’s talked about in textual content messages, emails and extra.

Magic Cue has some blind spots, although. As my colleague Sam Rutherford famous in his Pixel 10 Professional evaluation, I discovered it notably fussy with calendar cues, usually failing to determine dates or instances in screenshots or emails. It’s additionally lacking a serious space of the place I would like all of this data: third-party messaging apps. However hey, should you’re utilizing Google Messages, you’re good to go.

Google’s almost-instantaneous voice translation throughout calls is spectacular too. Managing Editor Cherlynn Low laid out how that works, and whereas it’s a technical marvel, I’m unsure how a lot I’d use the characteristic for high-stakes conversations like reserving lodging or checking out journey points.

I additionally preferred Take a Message, which transcribes calls while you’re unable to reply. Nevertheless, identical to I did whereas I used to be testing Apple’s related characteristic throughout my iOS 26 preview, I both answered calls instinctively [Ed. note: Mat is clearly a different specimen from the rest of us humans] or individuals didn’t go away voicemails.

There are many minor upgrades to present instruments and options on the Pixel 10. Gemini Dwell, which might “see” by means of your digicam or learn what’s on display screen, can even now supply visible steerage, highlighting objects onscreen after listening to your request or query. NotebookLM now integrates with Pixel Screenshots and Recorder. If the previous detects one thing that could possibly be helpful to an present NotebookLM mission, it’ll recommend including it for simpler entry.

There are additionally Writing Instruments (sound familiar?) inside Gboard, which might retool your present prose into specified writing types. It’ll even recommend which emojis so as to add into the combination. For now, that is solely appropriate with US English, so it’s not my favorite favourite. There’s additionally a brand new Pixel Journal app, which sounds pretty familiar too. I briefly examined it out in the course of the days I’ve had the telephone, however should you haven’t discovered the app/pocket book/diary to journal in but, it’s a superbly tremendous possibility, with AI-powered strategies on what to jot down about and the power to connect photographs and different particulars that your smartphone can log. One thing that wasn’t obvious throughout my evaluation was that the Journal app will study your writing patterns and supply up insights on how usually you write, while you sometimes write and extra.

Efficiency and battery life

Google says its new Tensor G5 chip is 34 p.c quicker than final 12 months’s G4, whereas the TPU (Tensor Processing Unit, ugh) is 60 p.c quicker at AI duties. Efficiency testing apps like Geekbench 6 can’t be put in on Pixel units earlier than the telephones go on sale, so I wasn’t capable of quantify the improve. I can really feel these enhancements with heavier processing duties although, like transcription, translation and picture technology, in apps like Pixel Studio. The Pixel 10 additionally had no points working graphically intensive video games like Infinity Nikki and Zenless Zone Zero, and appeared faster to load most apps in comparison with Pixel telephones of the previous. Google’s Tensor chips are positively catching up.

Anecdotally, I discover myself utilizing Google’s Pixel AI options (and Gemini) considerably extra usually than on different Android units I’ve used and examined. With comparable AI duties, equivalent to transcribing an interview, the Tensor G5 seems to deal with them extra effectively, delivering leads to much less time.

The Pixel 10 has a 4,970mAh battery, which isn’t solely larger than the Pixel 9 (4,700mAh) but additionally the Pixel 10 Professional (4,870mAh). Nevertheless, the Pixel 10 doesn’t fairly match the 27 hours-plus rundown time of the Pixel 9. Operating a looping video, this 12 months’s telephone lasted round 22 hours, which is a bit disappointing given the specs. I’ll retest and replace this evaluation if the outcomes differ.

The Pixel 10 helps wired charging as much as 30W, returning to over 50 p.c in underneath half-hour. It may also be wirelessly charged at as much as 15W, due to Qi2 help. That’s an enchancment, nevertheless it’s not Qi2.2 just like the Pixel 10 Professional XL, which might attain 25W charging wirelessly.

Wrap-up

The Pixel 10 redefines what we must always count on from base flagship smartphones. With Apple’s next iPhone just around the corner, Google has added a 5x telephoto digicam, rounding out the Pixel’s images chops providing whereas augmenting it with extra options powered by Gemini. Digicam Coach may not be for everybody, however Magic Cue — like Pixel Screenshots final 12 months — is a glimpse into the way forward for how we’ll use AI on smartphones.

The Pixel 10 is a considerable improve from the Pixel 9, though given it has the Tensor G5 chip, it’s a disgrace that software program options like Zoom Improve from final 12 months’s Pixels didn’t make the minimize. Until you’re a die-hard smartphone gamer, there isn’t a extra succesful smartphone at this worth.