Review Summary
Expert Rating
The Pixel 10 is Google’s entry-level flagship in its 10th-generation lineup, and it brings a set of meaningful upgrades that narrow the gap with the Pro models. However, there is more to the smartphone than meets the eye, and we are here to uncover all that and more. So, without any further ado, let’s get on with the Pixel 10 review.
The Pixel 10 is priced at Rs 79,999, and there is only one variant that you get in India, which is a bummer. The US market has a 128GB variant of the model as well.
Table of Contents
In short
The Pixel 10’s cameras are versatile enough to match most rivals in the segment, though they still lack some detail, clarity, and colour accuracy. Performance is sufficient for daily use and to power Google’s AI features, while long-term software support keeps the device future-proof. The larger battery and faster charging are welcome upgrades, but endurance remains underwhelming and could use further optimisation. Overall, the Pixel 10 balances capability with compromise, making it reliable but not class-leading.
Reliable performance, mature OS
At the heart of the Pixel 10 is Google’s new Tensor G5 chipset, paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It’s the first Tensor chip built by TSMC using a 3nm process, a shift aimed at better efficiency and thermal management. Google isn’t making any lofty claims about the chipset, except that its CPU capabilities are superior to the Tensor G4 and it can handle several on-device AI tasks.
This shows clearly in synthetic benchmarks: the Pixel 10 trails behind similarly-priced flagships on AnTuTu and Geekbench. Yet, as observed in our Pixel 10 Pro XL performance review, the Tensor G5 isn’t about chasing numbers. Its true value lies in how seamlessly it supports Google’s software and AI experiences, and in that regard, it delivers impressively without getting uncomfortably warm.
The Pixel 10 ships with Android 16 out of the box, featuring the familiar stock Android experience with Pixel Launcher. As expected, it comes preloaded with Google’s core app suite, though the overall count has grown compared to its predecessor. The Pixel 10 gets new apps, such as Journal and NotebookLM, absent on the Pixel 9, despite both devices running the same software version. While NotebookLM is available for anyone to download via the Google Play Store, Journal appears to be exclusive to the Pixel 10, at least for the time being.
The Journal app is identical to Apple’s Journal, letting you add entries with text, images, and snippets of your daily activities. I had been using the iPhone 16e as my primary device before switching to the Pixel 10, and honestly, I never felt the need to use Apple’s Journal app, and I doubt I’ll use Google’s either. Still, I tested both for the sake of this review. Apple’s Journal app presents you with a blank canvas to begin with, while Google’s approach feels more guided and purposeful. The Pixel’s Journal app asks you to set personal goal(s) first, and even requests access to Photos and Health Connect so it can provide tailored writing prompts.
Both apps are private, rely on on-device AI for suggestions, and can be locked. They also support syncing, allowing you to access your entries across devices. From my initial experience, I feel more inclined to use Google’s Journal app, which comes with mood-tracking emojis and feels more engaging and colourful than Apple’s.
The NotebookLM app, on the other hand, allows users to turn their information, notes, and data into podcasts with customisable audio to make them shorter or longer. Unfortunately, the app didn’t work as advertised for me, taking aeons to generate audio, despite the high-speed internet, and even after that, it failed to load the video. Hopefully, a future update will address this issue.
Speaking of updates, Google promises up to seven years of support for the Pixel 10, including seven major OS upgrades, ensuring the device stays secure and relevant well into the next decade. The phone runs Android 16 with Google’s refreshed Material 3 design language, which now feels more vibrant and playful than ever. Some UI elements, such as oversized tiles in the quick settings menu and the alarm interface, look unnecessarily large, reminiscent of Samsung’s One UI and OnePlus’ OxygenOS. That said, I didn’t encounter any glitches or bugs during my time with the smartphone. In fact, I found Android 16 on the Pixel 10 more practical and user-friendly than Apple’s Liquid Glass aesthetic on iOS 26. It is worth noting that iOS 26 is still in beta – its full worth will be analysed once the stable version rolls out.
Half-Baked AI
While the software feels mature, the new AI features don’t quite match up. Some, like Help Me Edit, aren’t available in India yet, while others, such as Magic Cue, which is meant to surface contextual details at the appropriate time (flight and hotel details while you’re travelling, for example) in chats and calls, and Auto Best Face, designed to fix expressions in group photos, simply didn’t work at all despite tweaking the necessary settings and giving all the permissions.
I could only get the Camera Coach feature to work on the Pixel 10. However, it also has limited use cases. Activated via the tap on the Camera icon, next to the question mark in the top right corner, the smartphone analyses the scene to guide you with the best possible shot, offering right angles and modes, so that you don’t have to spend time fixing it in post-editing. It’s genuinely useful if you’re setting up a photoshoot or want a bit of creative guidance, but not perfect.
The catch is that it doesn’t work offline. Camera Coach requires an active internet connection and the camera app to remain open on screen. Minimise the app, lock the phone, pull down the notification tray, or switch to another app, and the guidance disappears; you’ll have to start all over again. For a feature designed for convenience, that feels like a compromise. Moreover, the slight delay Camera Coach takes to process images can make it impractical for capturing fleeting moments. I would have also liked it if the feature provided me with suggestions to adjust exposure to add that dramatic effect to the images.
I’ll continue to explore Camera Coach in greater depth and share a more detailed breakdown in a separate article, so stay tuned for that.
The Pixel 10’s AI feature list also includes Gemini Live, which can provide visual assistance through the phone’s cameras and even translate calls in real time using the speaker’s own voice. These come in addition to the AI features first introduced with the Pixel 9 series. That said, the call translation tool appears to be region-locked, as I wasn’t able to access it on the Indian unit.
Cameras
Moving on to the cameras, this is the first time Google is offering a triple camera setup on a non-Pro smartphone. The Pixel 10 sports a 48MP primary sensor, a 13MP ultrawide lens, and a 10.8MP telephoto unit with OIS and 5x optical zoom. However, this comes at a cost. The Pixel 10 primary and ultrawide sensors are smaller than the Pixel 9, which housed a 50MP main sensor and a 48MP ultrawide lens. Does this compromise the picture quality? We will be discussing that in the comparison below.
Right now, you should know it is a capable camera setup, delivering contrast-rich shots with punchy, vibrant colour, though not always accurate. Google appears to have shifted away from the natural colour science it was long praised for, favouring a more saturated look that may appeal to social media users. This oversaturation is consistent across all lenses, including the telephoto, which is limited to distant subjects.
Portraits still rely on the primary sensor and Google’s computational photography, which seems to be losing its edge. The Pixel 10 struggles with both details and the separation of subjects in the foreground from the background. Last year’s iPhone 16 seems to be doing a better job than the latest Pixel smartphone.
The front camera on the Pixel 10 is unchanged from last year, but Google appears to have introduced new post-processing that oversharpens images. While this brings out more detail, it often comes at the cost of a natural-looking shot. On the video side of things, there is a new macro focus mode, which allows you to shoot footage of the subjects up close. All the other modes remain identical to the Pixel 9.
Here’s a quick comparison of the Pixel 10’s image quality against the Pixel 9 and iPhone 16:
Daylight
The Pixel 10’s shots may appear more appealing than those from the iPhone 16 and Pixel 9 at first glance, thanks to its boosted colour profile. That said, the illusion falls apart when you pixel-peep. While it may not be obvious in these compressed samples, the Pixel 10 struggles with detail, both at the centre, where the bushes look softer, and around the edges, where the under-construction building appears far clearer on the Pixel 9 and iPhone 16.
Moreover, if you prefer more natural-looking results, the iPhone delivers the best output, followed closely by last year’s Pixel. Both of these smartphones also excel in their dynamic range, preserving the details around the shadowy areas and the different colour palettes.
Ultrawide
It is the same picture in the Ultrawide shots as well. However, credit where it is due, the Pixel 10 keeps the colour profile consistent with its primary sensor. In all other areas, you will find the smartphone lagging behind.
The Pixel’s ultrawide images show noticeably more distortion compared to the iPhone 16—and even its predecessor. In contrast, the iPhone’s ultrawide shots stand out with near-accurate colours and consistently sharper details, not only at the centre but also around the edges. Look closely at the trees in the corners, and the difference becomes even clearer.
Portrait
Portraits, which were once the USP of Google smartphones, no longer hold the same advantage. The Pixel 10 has lost its edge in both subject separation and accurate skin tones, realistic skin tones, losing the finesse its predecessors were known for.
Compared to the iPhone 16, the Pixel falls short in capturing fine details like stray hair strands, which give portraits a more natural look. The handset also tends to render skin tones darker than they should be, with an unnatural reddish cast, while facial details appear less defined. The iPhone, by contrast, delivers sharper facial features and skin tones that look far more true to life.
Selfie
The Pixel 10 selfies are almost on par with the iPhone 16 and the Pixel 9. The handset oversharpens the results to make them more detailed than its counterparts. However, the overall results appear less natural, with the iPhone keeping the skin tones closer to reality, preserving those shadows, and offering good exposure to background details.
Low-light (night mode)
In low light with night mode, the Pixel 10 seems to be smoothening the details to keep the noise level down. While it gives a clean look to the images, those paint strokes in the samples (above) look much more lively on the iPhone 16.
Identical design
The Pixel 10 offers a design identical to its predecessor, but with a few noticeable differences. The Pixel 10’s Obsidian variant has a slightly greyer tint and a more pronounced Google logo than the Pixel 9. Moreover, has also introduced new colour options, Indigo, Lemongrass, and Frost, exclusive to the latest model. On the hardware front, the Pixel 10 adopts smaller sensor sizes while adding a third camera lens, marking a notable shift from last year’s variant.
Structurally, the Pixel 10 remains unchanged. It still measures 152.8mm x 72mm x 8.6mm, features flat edges with subtly curved corners, and uses a recyclable aluminium frame sandwiched between Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels. The handset also carries an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance; however, I feel like Google has missed a trick by not going with the IP69 certification that withstands high-pressure water jets and has become quite common in mid-range smartphones. The Pixel 10 is also relatively heavier at 204 grams, which could be due to its large 4,970mAh battery.
The visor-like camera module, now a trademark design element of Pixel phones, remains intact on the Pixel 10. Personally, I find this approach more practical than circular or square camera modules, which often cause devices to wobble when placed on a flat surface. In contrast, the Pixel 10 rests firmly and allows for a more stable typing experience, while also giving the phone a distinctive look that sets it apart from the crowd.
As for I/O, you get a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer on the bottom edge, flanked by two vents – one functional for the speaker and the other primarily for symmetry. The speaker, paired with a secondary unit behind the earpiece, delivers a proper stereo output. The audio quality is impressive, retaining clarity even at around 80 percent volume, though a slight distortion does creep in at maximum levels.
Bright but not flagship-grade display
The Pixel 10’s display sees a modest upgrade this year, with peak brightness climbing to 3,000 nits from the Pixel 9’s 2,700 nits. The bump improves legibility under harsh sunlight, but beyond that, the experience feels familiar. You still get a 6.3-inch OLED ‘Actua’ panel with FHD+ resolution, HDR10 support, and a 120Hz refresh rate. However, it is still not LTPO, meaning the refresh rate only scales down to 60Hz instead of dynamically ranging between 1Hz and 120Hz. That limitation not only puts it behind competitors but also affects power efficiency, disappointing at this price point.
Moreover, I would have liked it if Google had reduced the bezels and the punch-hole setup for the selfie camera, which looks obnoxious on a flagship. These choices hold back what is otherwise a solid panel with punchy colours, Widevine L1 certification, and reliable HDR playback across Netflix and other major streaming platforms. On the plus side, Google retains the ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner from last year. It remains fast, accurate, and conveniently positioned where your thumb naturally rests, making unlocking the device seamless in daily use.
Average endurance
Google has increased the Pixel 10’s battery capacity to 4,970mAh, up from the Pixel 9’s 4,700mAh. On paper, that’s a modest gain, especially when compared to contemporary smartphones adopting silicon–carbon technology to pack in batteries as large as 7,500mAh without adding extra bulk. Still, capacity alone doesn’t tell the whole story; software optimisation often plays a bigger role in how long a device lasts.
We couldn’t get the PCMark battery benchmark to run on the Pixel 10, so a synthetic comparison with the Pixel 9’s 11 hours and 48 minutes remains out of reach. Real-world results, however, paint a less flattering picture. In our lab test, which involved 90 minutes of gaming and video streaming, the Pixel 10 drained 29 percent of its charge. By contrast, the Pixel 9 used up only 25 percent under the exact same conditions, which indicates the newer model is less efficient despite the larger battery.
With my typical usage, browsing, streaming, social media scrolling, capturing images, and testing the new AI features, the Pixel 10 lasted close to a full day. On longer days, though, you may need a quick top-up to avoid running out of battery, which isn’t fun either. The Pixel 10 supports 30W fast charging, which is an improvement over its predecessor, but still takes around 90 minutes to go from 20 to 100 percent. For context, the Vivo X Fold5 (review), with its larger 6,000mAh battery, can achieve the same jump in just 38 minutes using the bundled 80W fast charger. By contrast, Google doesn’t include a charger in the box; you’ll need to buy one separately.
That said, if you have any of the iPhone’s MagSafe charging accessories lying around, you can snap them to the back of the Pixel 10 to charge it wirelessly. The handset is the first smartphone in India to come with 15W Qi2 wireless charging support, which has a magnetic ring (marketed as PixelSnap by Google) built in to attach the charger or other accessories, such as wallets, a stand, and more. It’s a far more convenient solution than traditional wireless charging, which often requires careful alignment and can be easily dislodged.
Final verdict
If you have made it this far and are still wondering whether to buy the Pixel 10 or not, then let me tell you it can be worth considering, but not at the cost of the Pixel 9. I recently revisited the smartphone, and it still remains a solid buy for its cameras and current asking price of Rs 64,999.
The Pixel 10, on the other hand, brings the latest innovations from Google, pushing the baseline Pixel experience forward, even though it is not always in ways that matter most. The smartphone offers reliable performance, seven years of assured software support, and useful additions like a brighter display, bigger battery, and wireless charging via Qi2. If Google can refine its cameras, endurance, and AI feature sets with future software updates, the Pixel 10 has the potential to stand out not just against today’s flagships, but also those on the horizon.
Until then, the smartphone will be a balanced package with future-ready software and a distinct design, falling short where it matters most: camera details and battery life.
Editor’s rating: 8.2 / 10
Reasons to buy
- The 6.3-inch OLED panel delivers up to 3,000 nits peak brightness, making it easy to read even under harsh sunlight.
- Android 16 and Google’s Pixel Launcher, offering a smooth, bloat-free experience alongside exclusive AI features such as Camera Coach.
- The triple-camera setup, including a new telephoto lens, produces contrasty, punchy shots suitable for social media sharing.
- With Qi2 support, users can easily snap-on charging and compatibility with magnetic accessories
Reasons not to buy
- Only a single 256GB variant is available in India, with no expandable storage.
- The endurance lags behind rivals, often struggling to last a full heavy-use day and taking around 90 minutes to fully recharge at 30W.
- While vibrant, the photos often oversharpen or smooth out fine textures.
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