Alan North
Google’s annual refresh of its Pixel line is always a treat. The Pixel hardware is lovely, and the visor on the back is quickly becoming an iconic look. (For Star Trek fans, it’s giving major Geordi LaForge vibes.) The software offers one of my favorite user interfaces in the Android world, and it comes with a ton of goodies to play with besides. Anecdotally, I have seen more and more Pixel phones out “in the wild” in 2025, and not just among my fellow tech-nerd friends. The market share isn’t there yet, but it’s certainly climbing.
This year’s Pixel 10 Pro refresh doesn’t have as much new as previous years, and not all of the new features are necessarily welcome. Google made some choices with this phone that aren’t landing for me, and that is not a reference to having Jimmy Fallon host the Made by Google event.
Overall, this has been a really fun phone to play with, largely because of the aforementioned camera bump on the back. Google promised the new flagship Pixel would land with the world’s best-ever phone camera, and so far, it’s living up to the hype. I’ve been using the Pixel 10 Pro for just under a week, and these are my initial thoughts. There’s a lot to love in this phone (and the closely related Pixel 10 Pro XL), so let’s get to it.
Pixel 10 Pro specs and design: Same old, same old
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
First, let’s take a peek under the hood:
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Processor: Google Tensor G5 chipset
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Rear cameras: 50MP wide, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto
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Front camera: 48MP
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Display: 6.3-inch Super Actua LTPO OLED display (1280×2856 resolution)
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Refresh rate: 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate
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Brightness: 3,300 nits peak brightness
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RAM: 16GB RAM
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Storage options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB storage
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Battery: 4,870mAh battery
In terms of its aesthetics, Google clearly didn’t want to alter the instantly recognizable look of the Pixel line. The phone has the exact dimensions as its predecessor. On top of that, the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro are so similar looking that I accidentally grabbed the Pixel 10 on my way to do some camera testing, and didn’t notice until I’d been driving for 30 minutes.
I get it — that’s a me problem.
The Google-engineered Tensor G5 processor, built on a 3nm process, brings the Pixel in line with other modern flagships. The phone has a plentiful 16GB of RAM, but Google sent me the 128GB version, which is already 56 percent used up — not great! We’re well past the time when 256GB should be the standard, especially on a flagship. At least Google makes it easy to upload to its cloud storage.
The battery is up just a hair over last year’s Pro model by 3 percent. But the biggest upgrade to the battery has little to do with the actual battery. All phones in the Pixel 10 series now come with wireless Qi2 charging enabled — magnets and all. That’s right, MagSafe Pixelsnap charging accessories are here. This is great news for me — I am a MagSafe addict.
This is arguably the first mainstream phone with built-in magnet support. Frankly, it’s about time.
I love Pixel software, but some AI features feel undercooked
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
For Android-heads, the Pixel software is among the best, if not the best. It’s clean and has fun interactions throughout the operating system. Two new AI features that Google is touting are the Daily Hub and Magic Cue, though they represent both good news and bad news. Both are driven by Google’s onboard AI.
The good news is the daily hub, which gives you a sort of summary of your upcoming day at the top of your Google Discover feed. Tap on it, and you get a summary of what’s going on based on your calendar, email, and other tastes. The top gives you upcoming events and reminders, while the bottom feeds you YouTube recommendations, because of course it does. How good they’ll be probably depends on how much you use the platform.
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
Meanwhile, on the other side, Magic Cue — in theory — can help you manage information from various sources, so when you need to recall that information, it’ll serve it up to you. The most common way this can happen will be in the Messages app. Someone asks you for someone else’s phone number, and Magic Cue will grab the contact information and feed you an autocompleted field with that info — at least, in theory.
Magic Cue is based on several apps all working together to give you this info, and on my review unit, I didn’t have all the necessary software I needed. After working with Google for a bit, I got part of the way there.
In the scenario I described above — asking for someone’s number — Magic Cue worked. It gave me an autocomplete suggestion with the person’s phone number. Super! When I was asked what time my flight was, Magic Cue opened a button to jump to my calendar, which is also nice, but the whole point of Magic Cue was to give you the information without jumping between apps. Finally, I was asked what my Global Entry number is, which is a pinned note in Google Keep (which is supposed to be a supported app), and I wasn’t given any information at all.
I also tried calling United Airlines, and I was served up a travel voucher that United Airlines sent me from my last flight. It’s nice that it connected those dots, but honestly, if I’m calling United Airlines, and I’m flying tonight on United Airlines, wouldn’t my itinerary be more helpful?
So, Magic Cue seems to be halfway there, which is arguably better than a certain other company’s track record rolling out AI features, but that’s a different matter entirely. It’s also fair to mention that Magic Cue can take some time to curate the proper information, so I think the fairest criticism I can make is that it’s not quite done cooking, but as with any software, that can change fast.
Performance and battery
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
Historically speaking, Google Tensor processors have not been the best on the market. Like Samsung Exynos processors (Google collaborated with Samsung on Tensor processors from the beginning), they suffered in comparison to Apple and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. I also noted the performance gap between Exynos and Snapdragon processors when I reviewed the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 a few weeks ago. That being said, while the processor isn’t the fastest out there, it’s plenty fast to open apps, switch between them, and power onboard AI features like live language translation.
I played a few games on the Pixel 10 Pro, the heaviest of which was Asphalt Legends. After a 20-minute gaming session, the phone showed no lag, nor did it heat up too much. That’s an improvement over past Pixels I’ve reviewed, and I’m happy about it.
Anecdotally, I can say that the battery life seems to be fine. (As a smartphone reviewer, my usage isn’t exactly typical.) Beyond the times when I was testing the cameras to their limits, I still had 30-40 percent left in the tank at the end of the day. Bottom line, unless you’re a heavy gamer or taking high-def videos, you should be fine.
Pixel 10 Pro cameras: A case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
I already tested the camera set extensively when I compared it with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Here’s the headline: The Pixel 10 Pro main camera lives up to the hype, and Google set the hype bar extra high this year. On balance, the Pixel 10 Pro beats out the S25 Ultra.
The 100x Super Res zoom in particular is eye-popping. Other aspects, like portrait mode, are a bit clunky, but overall, you’ll struggle to take a bad photo during the day with this smartphone.
Left:
The 100x zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro (left)
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
Right:
The 100x zoom on the Galaxy S25 Ultra (right)
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
At night, it’s a different story. The main camera is OK, taking very acceptable photos at night with some amount of grain in the darker areas and blown-out highlights from light sources, but if you stray from that main camera to the ultrawide or telephoto lenses, or if your subjects are living (and therefore moving, even minimally), your photos fall apart quickly.
Video is a similar story, unfortunately. The exception to that rule comes from the Night Sight video mode. This is not a new concept this year — Night Sight Video Boost, which launched on the Pixel Pro 8, can do a lot of heavy lifting to clean things up in such a situation. There’s still a good bit of grain, but the shudder and shake from footsteps is cleaned up considerably. I still wouldn’t shoot — to imagine a completely random scenario not at all based on real events — a music video with it, but a fun night out with friends could work.
This is pretty disappointing, to be perfectly frank. Considering how good the cameras are during the day, to see this much drop off by night is surprising. Google has built its Pixel brand on being great at photos, and this isn’t it.
The Pixel 10 Pro captures a lot of detail even in a busy, fast-moving scene.
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashabl;e
The ultra-wide lens compares favorably to other flagships. Faces blurred for privacy.
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
The Pixel 10 Pro has a new AI photography tool called Camera Coach.
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
The photo I took with Camera Coach’s help.
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
A photo taken with 5x zoom.
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
Pixel 10 Pro: My final verdict
Overall, this is an excellent phone with a few notable flaws. I haven’t even addressed the fact that Pixels went to eSIM only in this review, which is at best inconvenient (as evidenced by the 30-minute hold required with T-Mobile’s customer service to activate it), and at worst, consumer-hostile. eSIMs won’t adversely affect the average consumer’s life, but they’re heckin’ annoying for phone reviewers and anyone else who switches phones more than once per year.
Nighttime photography is also very disappointing, though daytime performance (and Super Res Zoom) almost entirely makes up for it. Beyond those two drawbacks, though, this phone is quite good and a worthy upgrade.
The hardware is on point, though the color selection could be better and brighter. The software is great as is, and if Magic Cue can start to deliver what it promises, that could range from neat to game-changing. Right now, it’s more toward the “neat” side. The only thing stopping me from using this phone full-time is the fact that it doesn’t fold, but that will change in October when the Pixel 10 Pro Fold lands, and I am here for it.
