Engineering

Google’s Pixel 10: Upgrading smartphones again



Just because generational device improvements aren’t in-your-face obvious doesn’t mean they aren’t sooner-or-later still tangibly impactful.

As mentioned last week, one of the perks that accompanied my recent personal-cellular-line transition from AT&T to Google Fi Wireless was a free (after two years’ service, albeit still notably discounted upfront) Pixel 10 smartphone, which I’d needed to press into service immediately in order to qualify for the various promotion discounts (this “stock” photo is of the “Indigo” colorway; as noted last week, mine’s “Obsidian”):

As long-time readers may recall, I’ve been a (mostly) Google Pixel “daily driver” since mid-2017, across multiple product generations. And I’ve been specifically using a pair of Pixel 7s for the past three years. So, I feel a “bit” qualified to offer some observations and comparisons with past device experiences. Without further ado…

I’m not a power user

What I’m referencing by means of this admittedly cryptic initial section header is the fact that although the Pixel 10, which I initially wrote about as part of my coverage of Google’s August 2025 multi-product launch event, has a three-generation-newer Tensor SoC inside it (the G5, versus the earlier G2), the performance differences aren’t strikingly obvious. at least to me. Not that they’re nonexistent, mind you; Google’s increasingly impressive AI “chops” are most evident at the moment in the handset’s computational photography capabilities. That said, I strongly suspect that AI’s effects will be comparatively even more broadly visible (both in their results, responsiveness and fundamental existence) with the passage of time.

To that point, the “bump” in RAM from the Pixel 7 (8 GBytes) to the Pixel 10 (12 GBytes) is likely at least as important as is bolstered inference processing “muscle” in delivering local AI enhancements, as it enables on-device deep learning models to be more comprehensive and otherwise robust than would otherwise be the case, delaying if not completely foregoing a performance- and power-sapping handoff to the “cloud” in the process. And if there’s one upside to today’s semiconductor memory shortages, it’s that it’ll compel Google’s and other organizations’ developers to make their models even more efficient (while retaining sufficiently high results accuracy) than might otherwise be the case.

Pleasantly pocketable and reliably chargeable

Put the two phones side-by-side and you’ll realize that although the active screen dimensions and other high-level display attributes are identical (6.3” diagonal OLED with 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution, though the Pixel 10 variable refresh rate tops out at 120 Hz versus 90 Hz for the Pixel 7, for whatever that’s worth…), the Pixel 10 (at left in the following photos) is actually a smidge shorter and narrower, the result in part of bezel decreases, not to mention rounder:

  • Pixel 7: 6.13 x 2.88 x 0.34 inches (155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7 mm)
  • Pixel 10: 6.02 x 2.83 x 0.3 inches (152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6 mm)

That aside, the Pixel 10 has a higher internal battery capacity than its Pixel 7 forebear—4,970 mAh vs 4,355 mAh—and the foundry transition from Samsung to TSMC that accompanied the to-Tensor G5 SoC evolution also aspires to improve not only performance (decreasing the energy consumption necessary to complete a given task in the process) but also stored-electron efficiency, with the two factors combining to boost claimed battery life.

Speaking of battery life, a few words on charging. The Pixel 7 supports wired charging at up to a 21W incoming power payload and wireless charging at up to 12W with conventional Qi chargers or 20W with the pricey, seemingly no longer available 2nd-generation official Google Pixel Stand:

For the Pixel 10 family, there’s a new wireless charger, the magnet-augmented Pixelsnap (reflective of the magnet-inclusive and Apple MagSafe-reminiscent QI2 support now within the phones themselves), which supports 15W charging speeds with the baseline Pixel 10 and 25W for the high-end Pixel 10 Pro (both of which also support wired charging at 30W rates):

And even though, as with the Pixel 7, I still need to use a case that’s magnet-inclusive with the Pixel 10 to ensure sufficient “cling” strength to a charger or whatever else I’m striving to stick it to (or, depending on the circumstance, stick to it), MagSafe-tailored chargers now work with it, too. With the Pixel 7, charging reliability with magnet-based chargers such as my Belkin-based desktop:

and in-car setups:

was flaky at best, typically DOA with the magnet-augmented case but magnet-less foundation. Now, for whatever reason, it’s ironclad (I hope I haven’t jinxed myself by writing those words).

Optics upgrades

Speaking of computational photography, while the Pixel 7’s front camera did implement face recognition-based unlock support (for the first time since the Pixel 4), it was both too flaky and insufficiently robust in associated software support to be something I could rely on. Beginning with the Pixel 8 (therefore also including the Pixel 10), the implementation is not only faster but also more accurate and broadly robust, thanks to machine learning algorithm augmentation:

That said, it’s still reliant on the front visible light image sensor, dropping the Pixel 4’s Kinect-reminiscent and IR-derived structured light approach in the process, in an ironic contrast to the conceptually similar IR-based TrueDepth technique that Apple uses to this day with FaceID. As such, it doesn’t work great in dim light, and not at all in the dark; thankfully, Google has also seemingly improved its historically woeful fingerprint ID detection implementation as a backup in such situations. And there’s always also your PIN or other unlock sequence, after all…

One other camera-related note; in the earlier backs-of-phones images you might have noticed what appeared to be a third lens on the Pixel 10’s rear “camera bar”. Or maybe you’ve just noticed the increased prevalence of ultra-closeup pictures in my recent teardowns, ones specifically taken without the bulky multi-piece accessory I had to use previously:

Google refers to it as a 5X telephoto, and it’s admittedly nice for that, but its Macro Focus capabilities are what I’m lovin’ the most, right now at least.

Tying up loose ends

I mentioned earlier in this piece, and have also mentioned previously, how much I appreciated the fact that Google extended support (not only security patches but also full O/S updates) for the Pixel 6 and 7 series from 3 to 5 years at the end of 2024. As such, they’ll remain reliable backup-at-least options in my smartphone arsenal for at least the next year-plus. That said, beginning with the Pixel 8 series, therefore also including both my Pixel 10 and Pixel 9a, support was further extended to seven years from initial release date. Nice.

One (very) minor downside, for which I have nobody but myself to “blame” since I knew about it before I pressed “purchase”, involves ultrawideband (UWB) support. Apple’s latest-generation AirTag trackers leverage not only integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi subsystems but also UWB capabilities to enable more precise location discernment. So too do advanced Android-friendly trackers such as Motorola’s Moto Tags, one of which currently resides on my teardown shelf:

This is all well and good, but there’s one key qualifier: tracker-based UWB is only meaningful if the connected device that’s doing the tracking also supports UWB. That gives a green light to the Pixel 10 Pro, but not my UBW-deficient Pixel 10. Oh well…First World problems strike again.

And speaking of Android friendliness, I’m ironically writing this piece one day ahead of Google I/O 2026, with my special-project coverage of it scheduled to be published weeks ahead of this piece. Google has already talked some about Android-centric stuff at least week’s (again, as I write this) Android Show I/O Edition, replicating a cadence tradition it did for the first time a year ago. I’ll be curious to see what else Android- and Pixel-related is unveiled tomorrow. And I hope it doesn’t obsolete what I’ve just written today in the process! I’ll see you all “on the other side”, where I as-always also welcome your thoughts in the comments.

—Brian Dipert is the associate editor, as well as a contributing editor, at EDN.

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