The Pixel is all grown up.
9 years and 10 generations in, Google’s smartphones are well-established and impressively achieved.
And I don’t have to check the brand new Pixel 10 sequence to know that they’re the best handsets the corporate has ever made. Battery capacities, charging speeds and cameras have been upgraded throughout the board, to not point out the all-important built-in Qi2.
In actual fact, I feel all of this quantities to a much bigger step for the corporate – making it the default Android flagship maker. Samsung is likely to be extra fashionable, however Google has some methods up its sleeve that no different manufacturers can match.
When you’re based mostly in Europe or North America and are searching for a brand new Android flagship, right here’s why Pixel telephones must be your first port of name.
Main the best way on wi-fi charging
There’s just one place to begin. The Pixel 10’s largest improve is to one thing you may not have thought of when shopping for a telephone – wi-fi charging.
Including built-in Qi2 assist may not sound like a lot, but it surely might have a major knock-on impact for the way forward for smartphones. After the HMD Skyline grew to become the primary Qi2 Android telephone final yr, Google added the tech to flagships for the primary time – all 4 Pixel 10 telephones, to be precise.
Why is that this such an enormous deal? There are three causes.
Firstly, it will increase wi-fi charging speeds from 15W to 25W (on the Professional telephones), placing it in keeping with wired speeds on handsets such because the Galaxy S25.
Then, the ring of magnets makes it very simple to lock the charging puck into place with a safe match, similar to Apple’s MagSafe.
And at last, an entire new ecosystem of magnetic equipment is rising. Google has already launched a charger (with or with out stand), ring stand and appropriate instances, however that appears set to be only the start.
Different Android flagships are more likely to get on board with Qi2 quickly, however Google has a head begin.
The perfect cameras for most individuals
In fact, everybody needs a telephone that may take nice pictures, and so they’re not exhausting to seek out as of late. However a very nice digicam telephone is one thing altogether totally different.
I imagine the distinction lies in consistency. On some telephones, one photograph is sensible however the subsequent is inexplicably poor. On others, pictures are glorious when there’s good pure lighting, however very disappointing in low mild.
In case you have images experience, these points may be mitigated to an extent. However should you’re an informal photographer who simply needs to seize reminiscences, an awesome point-and-shoot digicam expertise is crucial. And I imagine Google does this higher than another telephone.
On each Pixel telephone I’ve tried, all of the digicam lenses have been capable of maintain their very own. The primary sensor is often the spotlight, however the high quality of ultrawide photographs is all the time a pleasing shock. And, on telephones that embody it, the optical zoom and sensible portrait results afforded by a telephoto are glorious.
Chris Corridor / Foundry
Throw within the 5 new images options Google has added to the Pixel 10 sequence, and I wrestle to see how any 2025 telephones can beat them.
A ‘low-cost’ flagship with out main compromise
In my expertise, the most affordable telephone in a flagship lineup is commonly such a downgrade that it doesn’t even really feel like a flagship anymore.
Positive, the common Samsung Galaxy S25 and iPhone 16 are stable handsets, however do you actually wish to put up with a small battery and hamstrung cameras? I actually don’t.
Make no mistake, the common Pixel 10 continues to be a major downgrade in comparison with the Professional telephones. Certainly, there are not any fewer than 14 lacking options.
Nevertheless, I feel these are issues that most individuals can dwell with out. At the same time as a telephones professional, there are fairly a number of that I doubt I’d even discover.
Crucially, Google has added a telephoto lens to the usual telephone this yr, enabling high-quality 5x optical zoom pictures. The standard from the ten.8Mp lens received’t be fairly pretty much as good because the 48Mp model on the Professional and Professional XL, however I don’t count on it to be a significant step down.
Alongside an analogous battery capability and the identical Tensor G5 chipset, there are many causes to go for the most affordable Pixel 10 telephone.
High-tier software program
You may name me one thing of a Pixel software program sceptic. Earlier this yr, I declared Samsung’s One UI 7 to be superior, whereas early impressions of Android 16’s new Materials 3 Expressive redesign didn’t impress me.
Nevertheless, I feel I is likely to be swaying again in direction of the Pixel. I forgot how a lot I beloved having the ability to keep away from Samsung’s extreme bloatware, whereas the brand new AI options that Google has introduced (akin to Magic Cue) might make an actual distinction.
Both means, Pixel telephones nonetheless have a number of the finest software program you’ll discover on any telephone. It’s intuitive, simple to make use of and presents in depth customisation choices.
Immediate updates for years and years
Google’s dedication to software program updates stays pretty much as good because it will get. A full seven years of OS and safety updates is one of the best you’ll discover on any flagship, even when the mid-range Fairphone 6 now presents eight of each.
Nevertheless, shopping for a Pixel means you keep away from one in every of Android’s largest issues: delayed updates.
The brand new Pixel 10 telephones are transport operating Android 16, with an earlier iteration already accessible on the Pixel 9 sequence.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Different supported Pixel telephones will get the replace quickly, however how lengthy will it’s a must to wait on your Samsung, OnePlus or Xiaomi telephone to get it? The reply can vary from a number of weeks to a number of months, and it tends to take longer if it’s an older or cheaper machine.
Up to now, a significant new model of Android has even been launched by Google earlier than all eligible telephones obtained the earlier model. In case you have a Pixel, you don’t have to fret about that.
Google may path Samsung relating to market share, however should you’re out there for a brand new Android flagship, a Pixel telephone is now the apparent selection.
See extra information and opinions on the Pixel 10 telephones in our devoted 2025 Google Occasion hub.
