Hohem’s new smartphone stabilizer, the iSteady V3 Ultra, is the latest in the manufacturer’s long-running range of mobile gimbals. Like most products of this type, clamping your phone onto the arm will keep its movements smooth and level while you’re filming content – but here, the main selling point is the built-in AI-assisted tracking functionality.
The iSteady V3 Ultra comes with a tracking module that, through the use of a built-in 2MP camera, is able to keep the attached phone constantly pointing at a tracked subject, no matter how much they move. The V3 Ultra’s handle has 360 degrees of motion so, when set up on its built-in mini tripod, it can track a moving subject even if they circle right around it multiple times. And, unlike some of the other tracking modules, this one is able to follow not only human faces and bodies, but other objects too.
I should also note that all of the above applies not only when capturing content using Hohem’s own camera app, but also first-party and third-party camera apps like Zoom, TikTok, and Instagram. And, because the tracking module can be pointed forwards or backwards, it’ll work with both the main rear camera(s) and front-facing camera of any smartphone.
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While testing the iSteady V3 Ultra, I found this tracking to be the clear standout feature. It’s accurate and reliable, and surprisingly adaptable too.
I was able to use the gimbal’s joystick to manually adjust my position in the frame, and the module would continue tracking me while keeping me in the new position rather than just in the dead center of the frame, which is brilliant for those times you want to use the rule of thirds and keep yourself off-center.
I should point out that you can also track using software, via the Hohem Joy app – but it will keep subjects centered at all times. I much preferred the versatility and adaptability of the module-based tracking. And as a nice bonus feature, the AI tracker module doubles as a fill light with a choice of cool, warm, and neutral tones, plus fully adjustable brightness.
There’s a lot to like about this stabilizer besides its tracking capabilities, too. The compact, folding design of the device isn’t anything I haven’t seen before on competitors or Hohem’s own range, but it’s easy to unfold and set up. The built-in mini tripod, which consists of three metal rods that are pulled out of the handle, is sturdy, and a standard tripod thread mount on the base means you can attach the entire thing to an even sturdier full-size tripod or similar should you wish.
An extension rod, concealed in the handle, provides up to about 20cm of extra reach on the gimbal arm. It’s useful if you want to fit more in the frame while using the iSteady V3 Ultra handheld.
I’m also a big fan of the removable remote control module, which comes with a 1.22-inch touchscreen. I first encountered one of these on the Hohem iSteady M7, a larger and pricier smartphone stabilizer, and was pleased to see the concept transferred down the range to a more portable and affordable model.
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The controller has a wireless range of up to 10m / 33ft, and its joystick, button, and touchscreen let you adjust the gimbal arm angle, change settings, and stop/start recording from a distance. The screen also provides a live view from the AI tracker module’s camera, so you can set tracking subjects remotely too.
In my time with the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra, I’ve only encountered one major issue: sound from the gimbal’s motor gets picked up by my iPhone 13’s mic. This results in a quiet, but noticeable, background noise in all the videos I’ve recorded using the built-in mic; when I recorded using the DJI Mic 3 instead, the noise wasn’t audible.
It’s an irritating issue, but it’s not exclusive to this model. I went back and re-tested the Hohem iSteady M7 and Insta360 Flow Pro 2 with the same phone, and found the noise got picked up on these gimbals too. Still, if you’re going to rely on your smartphone’s built-in mic to record videos while using the iSteady V3 Ultra, do be aware that you’ll likely hear this sound in the background. I’ve included a short video clip below so that you can hear it for yourself.
While it’s really the only major problem I have with the iSteady V3 Ultra, it’s a fairly notable one. If you’re using an external microphone for vlogging, it’s not going to be an issue for you; if you’re relying solely on your phone’s mic, you may want to look elsewhere.
The only other potential flaw with the V3 Ultra is that it uses a standard grip on the arm rather than a quick-release magnetic grip of the type seen on the recent DJI and Insta360 smartphone gimbals. This is more of a preference thing, however – some may prefer having the grip built into the gimbal arm, as it reduces the number of components required.
All in all, I’m generally impressed with the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra. Its standout tracking skills and remote control make it the best small stabilizer around at the moment – although I expect the likes of DJI and Insta360 to offer strong competition in the near future.
Hohem iSteady V3: price and availability
Priced from $169 / £169
Black and white color finishes available
Available to order now
The iSteady V3 Ultra has an MSRP of $169 / £169 / AU$299 and is available to order now at Amazon or the Hohem online store. I’m also told by Hohem’s PR representative that it will be sold at Best Buy from September 14, 2025. An Australian launch will follow – expect an update to this review once it's confirmed.
Given the gimbal's specs and features, that feels like a competitive price to me. In comparison, the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro currently retails for $159.99 / £144.99 / AU$199.99, and the DJI Osmo Mobile 7P is $149 / £135 / AU$219, so you’ll pay a slight premium for the iSteady V3 Ultra, but in my opinion, its tracking capabilities and remote control module make it worth the extra outlay.
Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra: specs
Dimensions:
98 x 44 x 160.5mm (folded)
Weight:
428g / 15.1oz
Compatible phone weight:
Up to 400g / 14.1oz
Compatible phone thickness:
Up to 12.5mm
Compatible phone width:
58 to 98mm
Connectivity:
Bluetooth, USB-C
Battery life:
4 hours (with AI tracking and fill light) / 9 hours (balanced and stationary)
Should I buy the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra?
(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Buy it if...
You want the best small stabilizer for tracking Not only does the AI module offer the best tracking we've seen on a compact gimbal, it lets you track more than just people and pets.
You like to shoot from a distance The tracking talent, combined with the remote control unit, makes this a great gimbal for remote shooting. It's basically a camera operator that fits in your pocket.
Don't buy it if...
You’re on a tight budget The V3 Ultra is a little pricier than its DJI and Insta360 flagship rivals, and a lot pricier than entry-level alternatives.
You don't want to use an external mic If you don't want unwanted gimbal motor noise in your videos, you'll need some kind of external microphone.
Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra review: Also consider
Insta360 Flow 2 Pro The Flow 2 Pro’s big party trick is native support for subject tracking in hundreds of third-party iPhone camera apps, plus an included LED fill light. With no tracking module, Android users are left out in the cold, however, and trackable subjects are limited to people and pets. The iSteady V3 Ultra is a little more advanced in this regard.
DJI Osmo Pocket 3 The Osmo Pocket 3 is a self-contained camera rather than a smartphone gimbal, but offers much of the same functionality – superbly stabilized 4K capture and subject tracking – in a much more compact and easier to deploy package. You’ll pay a little more for it, but it’s a great all-in-one alternative for vlogging.
I used the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra for around a week in total, testing it out both handheld and set up on its built-in mini tripod. It was used with my Apple iPhone 13's front-facing and rear cameras, both indoors and outdoors, and I recorded video using a range of apps (the iPhone camera, Hohem Joy, Instagram) and both the iPhone's own microphone and a DJI Mic 3.
The Google Pixel 10 Pro XL is the Pixel phone to buy this year. The Pixel 10 Pro can match the Pro XL on the most important features, but the benefits of the larger display, along with a couple of features that are simply better on the XL device, make the Pixel 10 Pro XL my favorite of the new Pixel family, and the phone I would recommend first, but not last.
I feel confident recommending the Pixel 10 Pro XL above the rest – and above any other Android phone you can buy right now – because I spent the last year using the Pixel 9 Pro as my primary work phone. That means I know exactly why the Pixel is a great phone for being productive, but I also know that I wish I’d had a bigger screen than the 9 Pro's. The Pro XL will be my primary device this year, for sure.
If you haven’t checked out a Pixel phone in a while, you really should head to a store and get your hands on one. The latest Pixel 10 Pro XL is polished and well-built, with a refined look and gorgeous materials and color combinations. It’s a much nicer-looking phone than the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max, and it delivers on a number of features Apple hasn’t been able to match.
Google’s AI features are the most advanced on any smartphone, and often the most unobtrusive. The newest AI features, like Magic Cue and the live translation, don’t feel pushy or overblown, and they don’t produce embarrassing or useless results. Google is pushing AI into the background as a silent helper, where it should be.
Of course, all of the new Pixel 10 series phones have Google’s advanced new AI features, like the live translator that not only converts your language into another tongue, it also speaks with a voice that sounds remarkably like yours. That may sound alarming from a privacy viewpoint, but Google says this processing happens on the Pixel 10 Pro XL, and not on a distant cloud computer, so your conversations – and your voice – should be safe.
So what makes the Pixel 10 Pro XL so special, the best of the Pixel 10 bunch? First of all, Google’s Pixel displays – so-called Super Actua displays – are among the best you’ll see on any smartphone. These screens are bright and colorful and very sharp. When the screen is this good, I want as much screen as I can get, so I prefer having the larger XL display. At 6.8 inches, it’s 0.5 inches bigger diagonally than the Pixel 10's display, and that equals 13 square centimeters of extra screen space.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL also has the largest battery of all the new Pixel phones, and that equates to the longest battery life, both in my real-world testing and in our Future Labs battery rundown tests. It wasn’t a massive difference – the Pixel 10 Pro XL only lasted an hour longer than the Pixel 10. Still, every bit helps.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL also charges faster than any other Pixel 10 device, whether you’re charging wirelessly or with a USB-C cord. If you have a 45W charger, the Pixel 10 Pro XL can charge that fast, compared to the 30W charging on the other two Pixel 10 phones. The Pixel 10 Pro XL can also use faster wireless charging. Again, it’s not a huge difference, but every bit yada yada yada.
The biggest benefit for me is the combination of Google’s winning Super Actua display with the Pixel 10 Pro XL cameras. If I’m taking serious photos, I want the biggest viewfinder possible to get the right shot. The extra screen space on the Pro XL phone felt like a big advantage, and if photography is important to you, I’d recommend the Pro XL phone first. The Pixel 10 Pro has the exact same camera specs, but having the bigger Pro XL display helped me take better shots.
Are there other benefits to the Pro XL? Well… not really. It isn’t any faster than the Pixel 10 Pro… or even than the Pixel 10. In our benchmark tests, the extra RAM in the Pro models didn’t seem to make much difference. Pixel phones still disappoint if you only care about the numbers.
I don’t rely on benchmarks, though, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL was satisfying and quick in almost every task. There was some lag on the camera, but most other features – including the latest AI helpers – ran smoothly with no delays.
Google has another winner with the Pixel 10 Pro XL – and the whole Pixel 10 family. Between the premium design, the excellent software, and the advanced AI features, this is a phone that iPhone fans should seriously consider, and Galaxy owners should envy. I’ll be keeping this phone close by – snapped to my MagSafe charging stand – until an even better Pixel comes along.
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Price & availability
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Starts at $1,199 / £1,199 / AU $1,999 for 256GB of storage and 16GB RAM
Costs more than last year, but starts with more storage than the rest
I remember the days when a new phone would cost the same but come with more storage and RAM than last year's model because component costs had decreased. This year’s Pixel 10 Pro XL is more expensive than before, and it comes with 256GB of storage, but I’m not awarding Google any medals for giving the phone enough space. This phone should be cheaper.
To be fair, 256GB of storage is the right amount, unless you play a ton of games or you shoot video with your phone at high-resolution. There’s a 1TB model available, but only serious enthusiasts need apply – and you know who you are.
The color options this year are a bit drab. I like the Moonstone color and the Jade, but they aren’t very exciting. My review unit is the Porcelain white, which looks classy but a bit bland. Google also sent along a silicone case with magnets built in that matches the hone perfectly. If you want the 1TB storage option, it’s only available in the black Obsidian.
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL pricing
Storage
US Price
UK Price
AU Price
256GB
$1,199
£1,199
AU $1,999
512GB
$1,319
£1,319
AU $2,199
1TB
$1,549
£1,549
AU $2,549
Value score: 4 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Specifications
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Google Pixel 10 Pro XL has nearly the same spec sheet as the Pixel 10 Pro, with a few key differences. The display is larger, with more pixels (no pun intended), but it isn’t quite as sharp. You won’t notice, though, and both displays use LTPO tech for the best always-on display with low power drain.
There’s a bigger battery in the Pixel 10 Pro XL as well, and that meant longer battery life in my tests. I also found the 45W charging made a difference, with the Pixel 10 Pro XL charging faster than the other Pixel 10 phones.
Sleek and solid, with great materials and matching color options
Mostly the same as last year’s model, which is fine with me
The Google Pixel 10 Pro XL is the Pixel 10 Pro all blown up. It doesn’t add any extra buttons or physical details; the two phones look identical, just at a different scale. That’s a good thing because the Pixel 10 Pro is a great-looking phone, and it keeps the same exact design as the Pixel 9 Pro that was my favorite phone of last year. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I like the Pixel 10 Pro XL design even more than the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max. It feels just as refined as Apple’s phone, with fewer unnecessary buttons to get in the way. Does anyone actually use the Camera Control? I know I don’t. To be fair, I don’t use the temperature sensor on the back of the Pixel 10 Pro XL, but I can ignore that easier than a button.
The color options are a bit 'professional' and bland, but closer inspections shows more attention to detail than I would have expected from Google. The Jade color of my Pro review sample, for instance, was matched with a light gold frame that looks barely gilded. It’s a gorgeous match.
The speaker grilles on the bottom of the phone are new, and color-matched to the frame you choose. It’s a nice touch that most people won’t ever notice.
I have no complaints about the Pixel 10 Pro XL design, except that I’d like to see more interesting color options. Google at least matches its phones perfectly with its silicone case colors, and like the Pixel 10 phones, the latest cases have magnets inside that secure a very strong connection to any Pixelsnap (or MagSafe) accessories you might buy.
Design score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
One of the absolute best smartphone displays
Super-sharp and very bright in all situations
Wow… I was expecting to be pleased with the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s display, but this phone somehow looks even better than I anticipated. Google’s Super Actua displays are among the best you’ll find on any smartphone. For the past few years, Google’s new Pixel displays have been dominant, topped only by Samsung’s best Ultra screen, and this year hasn’t been disappointing at all.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL is a joy to use in any situation. It’s great in outdoor light, even for shooting photos or reading my social feeds. It’s perfect for navigating in the car or on the street. It’s a great phone for reading in the dark late at night, or as a bedside lamp with the Pixelsnap screen savers.
In fact, I like this display so much that I think it justifies paying more to have more of it. The Pro XL is the Pixel to buy not just because it has a bigger screen, but because the screen is so enjoyable that I want to have as much of it as possible.
Whether I’m watching videos, taking photos, or playing games, the Pixel 10 Pro XL display is my favorite on any smartphone I own.
Display score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Material 3 Expressive looks fantastic and adapts nicely to themes
AI features are most useful when you barely notice them
The Google Pixel 10 Pro XL highlights Google’s clean and well-designed interface. I love the Material 3 Expressive interface design, as Google calls its Pixel version of Android. It’s friendly without feeling cartoonish, and it packs plenty of useful widgets and tools that are easy to manage and don’t hog my attention.
With so much screen space, it was a joy to create AI wallpapers and populate my home screen with Google’s slick widgets. I let the phone set all of my icon and widget colors to match my wallpaper, creating a unified theme, and the phone darkened the colors as the day went on, finally flipping to dark mode after sunset.
That’s the best of Pixel – a well-designed interface filled with just enough useful features to make the phone a tool you always want in your pocket. The Pixel 10 Pro XL will definitely remain my primary work phone after this review is published. It gives me simple customizations and shortcuts that remove the clutter of apps from my home screen and surface just the information I need. I wish iOS was better at this.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL also has some of the most useful AI features you’ll find on a phone, and I’m a big fan of Google’s call-screening tools. I can let Google AI answer when an unknown number calls, and it will give me a text transcript of whatever my caller says. Then I can decide whether to answer the call or not. This feature is only available on Pro Pixel models, and it’s worth the upgrade if you take a lot of calls.
There are plenty of new AI features as well, and I’ve talked in depth about the new Magic Cue in my Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro reviews. I think it could be an important addition to Android in the long run, but it still doesn’t work consistently. It offers useful links and buttons to info as you need it, and it doesn’t get in the way or seem pushy, like other AI features, so I have high hopes for it.
Otherwise, there are many smaller improvements that I’ve found scattered throughout the interface and which bring Google’s experience closer to the holistic, thoughtful design I expect from iOS more than Android.
Apple lets you make a contact card for yourself that will accompany your phone number when you share your details. Google lets you make the contact card for your contacts, instead of making them do the work. That seems like a better solution, since not everybody owns an iPhone, and Apple’s contact cards don’t work across platforms.
Even Google’s Daily Hub is more useful than other attempts I’ve seen. Samsung, Motorola, and now Google all offer a home page for your personal information, gathered and summarized by AI. On my Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Now Brief page has been useless at best, and oddly flippant at worst. On the Pixel 10 Pro XL, the Daily Hub offers more useful information, links I actually enjoy, and easy access to more information.
There are still some odd and off-putting AI features, usually generative AI tools. The Recorder app for some odd reason offers to generate a musical background for your recordings; I don’t really need a pop-metal soundtrack for my business interviews, thanks. Still, it’s easy to ignore these oddities, and Google mostly doesn’t shove its AI in your face.
Software score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Cameras
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The best Pixel to buy for photography
Excellent low-light photos and unique AI zoom capabilities
The Pixel 10 Pro XL and the Pixel 10 Pro have identical camera lenses and sensors, but I’m calling the Pro XL the better camera phone because of the larger display and longer battery life. Both of those attributes are features that camera buyers look for, and they make a difference when shooting with the Pixels.
The photos I got from the Pixel 10 Pro XL were fantastic, perhaps the best I’ve seen on any camera phone (and I compile the Best Camera Phones list for TechRadar). I’ll need to test the cameras in more situations, and head-to-head against more competitors, but in my week with the Pro XL it took pics that matched or beat my iPhone 16 Pro Max in most conditions.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL took photos with very accurate colors and plenty of detail at every focal range. For night photography, it was no contest. The Pro XL took pics that looked like I had a professional flashgun attached, while the iPhone shots looked much darker and lacked focus.
You can see plenty of AI help in the photos, but usually the results don’t look fake or off-putting. It’s a trade-off. I took a picture of a snowy egret from far away with my iPhone and the Pixel 10 Pro XL. The iPhone photo was grainy and fuzzy, but you could see the bird’s reflection rippling in the water. The Pixel created a smoother, more recognizable image, but the AI removed the ripples from the end result.
The only downside to Pixel photography is Google’s Camera app. It’s a nightmare. It’s hard to use, with settings that seem to conflict with each other. Adjust one setting, like changing from 12MP to 50MP resolution, and a handful of other settings suddenly go dark without warning.
I also tested the new Camera Coach feature, and you can read more about it in my Pixel 10 review. I think it helps more on the base-model phone, while the Pro XL Pixel takes photos that are good enough that you may not want an AI coach to get in the way.
Camera score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Camera samples
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Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Tensor G5 performance lags all but the cheapest bargain phones
Camera stalls after taking a high-res photo
The Pixel 10 Pro XL’s performance is the phone’s only real letdown, and even though it didn’t make a difference most of the time, at key moments the phone struggled to keep up. The gap between Pixel performance and the rest of the smartphone world isn’t shrinking – it’s getting bigger and uglier every year.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL had no trouble navigating the Android menus and launching apps as quick as can be, but not every feature was so smooth. I had trouble in the Camera app, especially when I changed to the higher 50MP resolution. The camera sometimes stalled after I hit the shutter button, and made me wait for a few moments until I could snap my next shot.
That’s a huge disappointment, and I don’t know any other phone outside cheap bargain options that fails to perform basic tasks this manifestly. I can press the shutter button on my OnePlus 13 as fast as my finger can fly and it never misses a beat – likely thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset inside.
Qualcomm has a superior platform this year, and phone makers who don’t use the latest Elite option are being left behind in more ways than one (see my battery complaints below). I no longer think the Tensor G5 is good enough for the Pixel 10 Pro XL. It isn’t. It can’t keep up with the latest Android software and features, and it’s time for Google to rethink its platform strategy.
Performance score: 3 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Mediocre battery life – is the Tensor G5 to blame?
Magnetic chargers make up the shortfall
The Pixel 10 Pro XL has the best battery life of any Pixel 10 phone so far (we haven’t tested the Pixel 10 Pro Fold yet), but that isn’t saying much. The Pro XL lasted through a full day with little trouble, but I was still nervous when the battery hit single digits before bed time, which was often.
I alleviated my stress with the MagSafe chargers I have littered throughout my house and office space. Like the Pixelsnap charger, MagSafe is convenient for fast charging when I have 15 minutes to let my phone sit on a stand. A couple of those charge breaks every day made sure I had enough battery to last as long as I needed.
This mediocre battery life is especially disappointing because I’ve seen massive gains in the rest of the Android world. Phone makers like Samsung and OnePlus – using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite platform – are offering new phones that get hours more battery life than last year’s models.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL lasted 15 minutes longer in our Future Labs battery tests than last year’s Pixel 9 Pro XL. That’s pathetic.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra achieved two hours more battery life than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, even though it uses a battery that's the same size, thanks to the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. If Google can’t offer similar improvements year over year, it’s time to change platforms or it will be time to stop recommending the Pixel.
Battery score: 3 / 5
Should you buy the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL?
Google Pixel 10 Pro scorecard
Value
The most expensive Pixel, but also the best. The bigger display, longer battery life, faster charging and larger storage capacity justify the higher price tag.
4/5
Design
Mostly unchanged from the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and that’s a good thing. This is one of the most refined and polished phones you’ll see, and it’s even more durable than before.
4/5
Display
You won’t see a better display on a smartphone than the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s Super Actua screen. It’s incredibly bright and perfectly sharp, even in bright sunshine.
5/5
Software
The latest Pixel interface is one of Google’s best, and it makes the Pixel appealing and easy to use. New AI features can be useful, but if you hate them they won’t bother you much.
5/5
Cameras
Image quality is excellent, especially night photography, which is easily the best you’ll find on any smartphone. This might be the best camera phone you can buy. Camera Coach is a fun feature, but is it replacing real experts? Best editing tools, now helped by useful AI instructions.
5/5
Performance
Frankly unacceptable performance from such an expensive phone. It can’t even run the Camera app properly, and benchmarks are lower than any phone that isn’t cheap. Google needs to take this seriously, or next year won’t be so fun.
3/5
Battery
Battery life suffers under the yoke of the Tensor G5 chipset. While Qualcomm-powered phones see massive battery gains, the Pixel 10 Pro XL can’t last longer than last year’s phone, and even with its faster charging it doesn’t charge as fast as the competition. Get magnetic chargers to keep your phone topped up – you’ll thank me for it.
3/5
Buy it if...
You want the best Pixel phone yet The Pixel 10 Pro XL is the Pixel to buy this year. The screen is fantastic, and everything is improved by the larger size and enhanced capabilities.View Deal
You take a lot of photos at night The Pixel 10 Pro XL is one of the best camera phones, but it really shines at night. Low-light photos were mind-boggling in clarity and color.View Deal
You're switching from an iPhone and have a bunch of magnets I’m an unabashed fan of magnetic charging, so I welcome the Pixel 10 Pro XL to my household filled with charging stands and accessories galore.View Deal
Don't buy it if...
You need a gaming powerhouse to win The Pixel 10 Pro XL should be great for gaming, thanks to its incredible display, but performance is a letdown, especially for gamers.View Deal
You want a phone that lasts all day, and you hate magnets Battery life on the Pixel 10 Pro XL could be better, and my MagSafe chargers saved the day. If you won’t be charging periodically, get a phone that lasts longer.View Deal
You want great cameras but wear tight pants The Pixel 10 Pro has the same amazing cameras as the Pixel 10 Pro XL, so you don’t need to buy a big phone to get the same capabilities.View Deal
Also consider...
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max The biggest iPhone gives you all of Apple’s great iOS 26 features on a big display, making it easier to share, shoot videos, and play games with iPhone friends.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra It’s a bit more expensive, but the S25 Ultra is jam-packed with features, including the S Pen stylus and a fourth camera lens for more zoom options. It’s also super-fast.
I tested the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL for a week, alongside the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro. I used the Pixel 10 Pro XL as a work phone with my high-security work accounts. I loaded the phone with more than a hundred apps, and multiple Google accounts.
I used the Pixel 10 Pro XL as a camera, testing every camera feature. I used AI features to ask questions and generate sample images. I connected Magic Cue to all of my personal Google account information, and I fed the Pixel 10 Pro XL a regular diet of screenshots of my personal dealings for the Screenshots app.
I connected the Pixel 10 Pro XL to my Pixel Watch 3, my Pixel Buds Pro, and many other Bluetooth headsets and devices. I used Android Auto in my Kia and my friends’ Acura and Subaru cars, and connected to Bluetooth in an older BMW.
I've been testing phones for more than 20 years, since the days of BlackBerry and Palm OS smartphones and Samsung flip phones. I have tested hundreds of devices myself, and our Future Labs experts have tested hundreds more. I even did a brief stint as the internal phone reviewer for Samsung Mobile, testing products before launch in order to predict review scores and reception.
Future Labs tests phones using a mix of third-party benchmark software and proprietary, real-world tests. We use Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, WebXPRT and Mobile XPRT, and 3DMark for performance testing. We test a phone's performance on video editing tasks using Adobe Premiere Rush. We also measure display color output and brightness.
For battery testing, we have proprietary rundown tests that are the same for every phone, which we use to determine how long it takes for the battery to run down.
Google probably won’t get any credit for major leaps in foldable innovation, but the new Pixel 10 Pro Fold does represent a couple of notable firsts in the folding phone space: IP68 protection and Qi Pixel Snap charging, which happens to work almost exactly like Apple’s MagSafe charging and accessory technology.
These are not features that you'd notice at a glance, as Google’s latest folding Android phone looks almost exactly like the Pixel Pro 9 Fold. The dimensions are the same; it’s still just 5.2mm thick when unfolded, which, a year ago, was an eye-opening spec, but now, in the face of the 4.2mm-thick Galaxy Z Fold 7, is just looks nice and slim. The materials, which include multi-alloy steel, aerospace-grade aluminum, and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, are unchanged.
This is unquestionably not the same Pixel Fold as last year, though.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold preview: design
Google has reengineered the hinge so that it's now gearless and, apparently, fully sealed, protecting it not just from water incursion but dust. This might be the first foldable that’s safe to take to the beach without of a case. The hinge is also incredibly smooth in use; if anything, the magnet holding it closed feels slightly less intense than those on the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
And while the 8-inch Super Actua Flex screen is still eight inches (and almost crease-free), it’s the cover screen that's gotten the more noticeable upgrade. The bezels are now slightly thinner, which makes the Super Actua display larger, at 6.4 inches (up from 6.3).
Interestingly, the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s cover screen is, at 6.5, larger (it’s actually slightly taller), but side by side the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s cover display is wider, with more pixels (2364 x 1080 vs 2520 x 1080 for the Fold 7), which means the virtual keyboard on the Pixel is more usable.
Design-wise, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold maintains the aesthetic appeal of its predecessor, with the folded device being almost indistinguishable from a standard flagship phone, except that one side features curved corners and the hinge side is more squared off. It still feels good in the hand and not heavy, although at 258 grams it’s not a lightweight when compared directly to the 215g Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Initially, the camera array on the back appeared unchanged to my eye, but then I noticed some subtle differences. The lens openings are slightly larger and are surrounded by a thin, polished chamfer, which gives the array a slightly more upscale look.
Google has also upgraded its logo on the back. It’s larger, and has a reflective finish.
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Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold back. Note the new reflective logo. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
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Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, folded: USB-C charge port, mic, and speakers (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
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The redesigned hinge (outside) (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
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Back and camera array (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
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Unfolded, the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is essentially flat. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold preview: displays
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold (left) cover screen compare to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold (right) (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
Unfolded, there’s virtually no difference between the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Last year, I marveled at how the Pixel Fold 9 could unfold completely flat; this year, I simply expect it. Because of the large camera array, though, it still doesn't lie flat on a table, a 'feature' it shares with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
There’s still a large-ish punch hole in the 8-inch main display for the 10MP camera, and the bezels are about the same thickness as before. The screen, though, features new materials to help it better withstand impact, although, perhaps fortunately, I wasn't able to test their effectiveness, as I managed not to drop the phone during my brief hands-on time.
Both displays are brighter than ever, thanks to their 3000 maximum nits level, which should make the Pixel 10 Pro Fold excellent for outdoor, direct-sunlight use – I’ll let you know when I get the chance to take a review unit outside.
The large 8-inch super Actua flex display is not only bright, it's sharp, clear, and with smooth motion (1Hz-120Hz adaptive). The crease is barely noticeable. It does have a camera punch hole, but I don't imagine that will be very distracting for most activities.
It's a great viewfinder for the camera and also a lovely way to look at the pictures you just took.
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Google Pixel 10 Pro main Super Actua Flex display (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
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Google Pixel 10 Pro flex screen fully unfolded. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
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The Main screen on the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold (left) compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7's main screen (right). (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold preview: cameras
The triple camera array specs are virtually unchanged from last year. They are:
Triple Camera Array:
48MP main wide-angle
10.5MP ultra-wide
10.8 telephoto (5x optical)
Selfie cameras
10MP on Cover display
10MP on Main display
The three camera array. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
There’s also a 10MP selfie camera in the cover screen and another 10MP selfie camera in the main display, which is a slight improvement from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's 8MP main-screen selfie camera.
While the Galaxy Z Fold 7 appears to have the Pixel 10 Pro Fold beat in most aspects, the latter phone has the upper hand when it comes to optical zoom. The Z Fold 7, much to my dismay, tops out at 3x optical, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold delivers 5x with, at 10.8MP, a slightly higher pixel count.
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Being able to see multiple photos you just took while still having access to the viewfinder is actually excellent. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
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The new images just keep rolling in while pushing the old ones off the screen. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
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The Pixel 9 Pro Fold camera array (gray) compared to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold array (mint) (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
I took some photos with all these cameras and they looked good. Macro capabilities through the ultra-wide are impressive, as were the few shots I managed to grab with the 5x telephoto camera. It’s way too soon, however, to tell if they meet or exceed last year's cameras or those of any other folding phone.
What I did enjoy was the ability to preview photos on the flex screen (Google calls this 'instant View') as you’re taking them. The 8-inch display can automatically split up into quadrants, with the viewfinder display at the top-right, the camera controls below that, and the last two photos you took appearing on the left side of the screen. As a new photo comes in, the oldest one is pushed off the screen.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold preview: Performance
Inside the phone is Google's new Tensor G5 chip, which is more AI-capable than ever. This chip runs the Gemini Nano Model on the phone, meaning the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is capable of supporting multiple generative AI capabilities across speech, information, and imagery. Similar to what I experienced on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, I can now run Gemini Live in full-screen mode on the 8-inch display. I turned on the camera and asked Gemini to identify what it saw on the table, which it did with impressive skill.
There are other features, like Camera Coach and Edit Photos with Ask Photos, that were not yet enabled on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold phones I tried out, but which I did see in action on a Pixel 10 Pro, and I was impressed with how the coach guides you step by step towards, for instance, a better portrait. It advised me, for example, to switch to portrait mode, how to frame my subject, and even how to use the rule of thirds, and the result was better photos.
Another Gemini feature that works locally, thanks to the Tensor G5 chip, is Live Translate. While it wasn’t yet working on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, I did try it on a Pixel 10 Pro XL, and it is, to be honest, astonishing. I held one phone and spoke in English to a Google rep who was holding a phone on the other side of the room. She was playing the role of a Spanish-only speaker. I talked for a bit in English, but could overhear on her end 'my voice' speaking the same phrases in Spanish. It was wild, and the closest thing I've seen in mobile technology to the Star Trek Universal Translator.
There might be some concerns about what Google is doing with that voice clone, but Google told us it’s all on device, and not persistent. So there’s no accessible record of my Spanish-speaking voice.
(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold preview: Battery and charging
The Google Pixel 10 Pro on the new Pixel Snap stand. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
At 5,015mAh, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s battery is significantly larger than last year, and could offer up to 30 hours of video playback (a claim I couldn't test during my brief hands-on session), but that’s not the only power-related upgrade.
This is a Qi2-compatible device (as are all the Pixel 10 phones), which means it will support 15W wireless charging speeds. More exciting, though, is the inclusion of Pixelsnap, a MagSafe-like feature that integrates a ring of magnets, which means the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will work with a variety of first-and third-party Pixelsnap grips, charging devices, and bases.
Google has some gorgeous ones, including a ring stand that folds so flat and thin but is strong enough to hold the Pixel 10 Pro fold even when I held only the ring and dangled the phone in the air.
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The new Pixel Snap ring (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
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Yep, Pixel Snap works with third-party accessories. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
Pixelsnap also works with Google’s new Pixelsnap charging stand, letting you attach the phone in landscape or portrait mode. I was also able to unfold the phone and still attach it to the stand, which is heavy enough that it didn't wobble or tip over. Naturally, we had to try third-party MagSafe accessories, all of which worked perfectly on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, even ones from Apple.
This is, naturally, a 5G (Dual Sim, Nano SIM, and eSIM) Android 16 phone that will arrive with support for WiFi 7 and, notably, Bluetooth v6.
The Tensor G5 CPU is backed by a formidable 16GB of RAM and a base of 256GB of storage. That’s unchanged from last year, as is the price, which still sits at $1,799 (UK: £1,749.00 / AUS: $2,699).
The phone is not only designed to last, but will be supported by seven years of OS, security, and Pixel Drop feature updates.
Preorders for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, available in Jade and Moonstone, kick off on August 20, but you’ll have to wait a bit for the phone to arrive. It’s currently set to ship on October 9.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold preview: price and specs
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold specs compared
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Dimensions (folded):
155.2 x 76.3 x 10.8mm
154.94 x 76.2 x 10.16mm
72.8 x 158.4 x 8.9mm
Dimensions (unfolded):
155.2 x 150.4 x 5.2mm
155.2 x 150.2 x 5.1mm (unfolded), 155.2 x 77.1 x 10.5mm (folded)
143.2 x 158.4 x 4.2mm
Weight:
258g
257g
215g
Main display:
8-inch Super Actua Flex display 1 (LTPO) 2076 x 2152 OLED at 373 PPI Adaptive refresh rate (1-120 Hz)
8-inch Super Actua display
2076 x 2152 / 1080 x 2424 pixels
8-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED
(2184 x 1968), 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz)
Cover display::
6.4-inch Actua display 20:9 aspect ratio 1080 x 2364 OLED 408 PPI adaptive refresh rate (60-120Hz) 2
The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a phenomenal smartphone, and one of the best foldable phones you can buy, but after reviewing the phone for a week, I was left wanting more… or maybe less. Big tablet foldable phones still have a hard time justifying their mountain-peak prices, and while I love Google’s latest Pixel 10 family, as a foldable phone, it just doesn’t offer enough extra appeal to justify paying so much more for the privilege of a Google tablet inside.
Before I talk about what I like or dislike about the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, I need to get the price out of the way, because this is one of the most expensive phones you can buy, and it’s even more expensive than most laptop computers. It gives you an outer display that is nearly the same as the display on the Pixel 10, but the new Pro Fold costs $1,799 / £1,749 / AU $2,699, which is $950 / £750 / AU $1,000 more than the Pixel 10 Pro.
How could a foldable phone possibly justify costing twice as much as the flat phone from which it evolves? You can buy a Pixel 10 Pro and two iPad mini tablets for the same price as a Pixel 10 Pro Fold. If the Fold is going to be worth the high cost, it needs to be special. It needs to be a better choice than buying a phone and tablet separately.
That means it needs to be thin and light – impossibly so. The magic trick of producing a tablet from within your smartphone is dazzling, but it only works if the folded phone is the size of a normal smartphone.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Sadly, Google hasn’t made the Pixel 10 Pro Fold any thinner this year. It’s even taken a step back, while Samsung has blown us away with its super-thin Galaxy Z Fold 7. To be fair, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold was the thinnest phone you could buy when it launched in 2024, but this is the year for thin phones, and the new Pixel Pro Fold has been snacking between meals.
A foldable phone also needs to do things that a flat phone cannot do. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold doesn’t just have a bigger display inside. It also folds in the middle, so you can use the two sides for different functions. You can also use the inner and outer displays simultaneously.
I wish there were a lot more features that took advantage of the unique foldable design, but sadly, Google hasn’t added much excitement to the Fold over the past few years. Now, when you open the camera on the big inner display and take a photo, you’ll see the pic you just took on one half of the screen with the camera app on the other half. Big deal? Hardly.
There is nothing the Pixel 10 Pro Fold lacks – nothing missing that I loved on the Pixel 10 Pro. The flat Pixel Pro phone is one of the best you can buy. But without adding standout features that take advantage – and justify the cost – of the folding display, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is much harder to recommend than its flat siblings.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
If you’re settled on a foldable tablet, there are only two phones worth considering – the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. I have both of these phones (that’s almost $4,000 worth of folding glass in front of me), and the differences are more interesting than I imagined.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is technically superior in many ways – it's faster and has much better cameras than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold – but Google has some distinct advantages that are firsts for a foldable of this size.
Foremost is the IP68 rating, which means the phone won’t be destroyed by dust and sand. I don’t know how Google did it, but the new hinge is more tightly sealed than ever before, and that means you can take the Pixel 10 Pro Fold to more places than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Google also includes its new Pixelsnap magnetic charging on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which opens a world of accessories, including charging stands, wallet cases, and magnetic tripods. That also means my Pro Fold fit neatly into my world of iPhone MagSafe charging and accessories. The Galaxy can’t do that.
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold (left) next to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 (right) (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
Finally, my disappointment over the lack of big-screen features aside, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is much more attractive and comfortable to hold than other big foldable phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It keeps most of the Pixel 10 family design – a winning look that Google refined this year – and offers more durability and better battery life instead of shaving off another millimeter.
I’d recommend the Pixel 10 Pro Fold over other foldable tablets like the Z Fold 7 because I like those priorities – durability and battery life – and because Google’s version of Android remains the most polished and friendly on any phone, foldable or flat.
Still, despite its advancements, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold struggles to justify the premium price for its unique form factor, making the more affordable and traditional Pixel 10 Pro a better choice for anyone who doesn’t have money to burn.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Price & availability
Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Moonstone (top) and Jade (bottom) (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
Starts at $1,799 / £1,749 / AU $2,699 for 256GB of storage and 16GB RAM
Available in Jade or Moonstone, but 1TB size only comes in latter
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the most expensive phone you can buy… from Google. It keeps the same price as last year's 9 Pro Fold, while Samsung raised the price on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, making the latter the most expensive smartphone you can buy (outside of China, where the tri-fold Huawei Mate XT laughs at our poverty).
This is the third Pixel Fold, but that sticker price is no less shocking. You can get a Pixel 10 Pro and an iPad mini with a cellular connection for the same cost, and still have hundreds left in your bank account. Is it really so convenient to have both devices in one? Yes, but not twice-the-price convenient, and certainly not more than that.
Of course, most people won’t pay full price, and I’m seeing carrier deals that will drop the Pixel 10 Pro Fold to around $25/month in the US – if you sign a three-year contract. Google is promising seven years of Android OS updates and security patches, but I’m sure this phone will feel aged in three years, considering the super-thin new phones just hitting the market.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold pricing
Storage
US Price
UK Price
AU Price
256GB
$1,799
£1,749
AU $2,699
512GB
$1,919
£1,869
AU $2,899
1TB
$2,149
£2,099
AU $3,289
Value score: 2 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Specifications
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
With a Google Tensor G5 chipset inside, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold doesn't veer far from the rest of the Pixel 10 family, and it isn't a major upgrade from last year, at least not on a spec sheet. Durability and resilience count for more than megapixels, in my opinion.
The numbers to compare will be the camera specs. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold features a 48MP main camera and a 5x optical zoom. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 steals the 200MP sensor from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. I'm the first to say that megapixels don't matter as much as sensor size, and the Galaxy also uses much larger sensors than Google on all three cameras: wide, ultra wide, and zoom.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold specifications
Dimensions:
Open: 155.2 x 150.4 x 5.2mm Closed: 155.2 x 76.3 x 10.8mm
Kind of like the Pixel 10, with a camera block instead of a bar
This design was impressively thin last year
We can't expect phone makers to come up with new designs every year, so I don't fault Google for making the Pixel 10 Pro Fold a more refined, more durable version of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Unfortunately, in the interim, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 arrived and redefined what I expect from a foldable tablet.
A foldable tablet is the thinnest phone you can buy, at least when it's unfolded, but which foldable tablet is actually the thinnest? Last year it was the 5.2mm Pixel 9 Pro Fold. This year, the Fold gains a hair of thickness, while the Galaxy slips under the gap with a 4.2mm frame that, while closed, is nearly as thin as an iPhone 17 Pro.
Tick-tock, maybe next year Google will win. Maybe it will be Samsung. Maybe Apple will have a foldable phone that's thinner than the iPhone Air. Don't let these complaints distract you. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is already thinner than the iPhone Air when it's open.
Even though it's thicker and heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 – by a noticeable degree – the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the nicer looking phone. It has gently curved corners, pleasantly rounded edges, and a beautifully machined camera block, atop the gorgeous Jade green or alluring Moonstone blue-grey. The Galaxy feels sharp and edgy by comparison.
Design score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Excellent displays inside and out, sized perfectly
I wouldn't mind less bezel on the big display, not gonna lie
Both of the displays on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold are excellent; they're bright and colorful even on a sunny day. I loved using the inner display to take photos with the camera – I'm definitely the dork who wished my old iPad had much better cameras. The camera also has more dual-screen features than any other app, so it was the most fun app to use during my review.
The outer display is pretty much the same screen as the Pixel 10 Pro. It's the exact same size and resolution, unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which still uses an unusually narrow cover display. I was always happy to use the front screen on the Pixel – it felt natural. On the Galaxy, the front display is just an appetizer for the big main course inside.
The inner screen on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is enormous. I love using it for reading, and web pages get blown up so much bigger than on a normal flat phone that it's an entirely better experience. Then I open the crossword, or doomscroll my socials writ large, and this foldable tablet wins me over.
Display score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Excellent Pixel software is the most refined version of Android you'll see
Not enough Fold-specific features, and too many bugs
I love Google’s Pixel software, from the way it handles notifications to the way it answers my phone calls for me. The latest Android 16 version of the Pixel interface is gorgeous yet refined, with bubbly clocks and other widgets that change color to match your wallpaper, then get subtly darker as the sun goes down. I'm just scratching the surface; I really like what Google is doing with Pixel.
What Google is doing with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold specifically? Not so much. Like, there isn't much that takes advantage of the big screen inside. Not even one big widget that would span the whole display. Zilch.
Take my Calendar (please!). I can place a widget showing an entire month, but it will only fill half the big screen. I can't stretch it further. This is convenient when I close my phone and I only have half the area to work with, but I want a full-screen widget or two. I'd also like to place a widget across the crease, but widgets lie on one side or the other, never on the gap.
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I want a lot more features to make the Pixel 10 Pro Fold feel truly special – more than the sum of its parts. Otherwise, I'd recommend buying a Pixel 10 Pro and an iPad mini – you'd save money and you won't feel let down by either.
Maybe I should count my blessings. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is very buggy right now. I'm hoping future software updates fix these glitches, but I had trouble during my review time.
The app taskbar at the bottom of the big display would occasionally persist and block my view of important app features. Google-owned Waze would sometimes stop showing me buttons or information, but only when I used it on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. A few times, my timer would go off, but when I asked Google to stop it, it would say – on top of the alarm sound – that I had no timers ringing or music playing.
These are minor inconveniences that are usually resolved in an update or two, but the first Pixel Fold had similar software glitch problems. You hate to see it.
Software score: 3 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Cameras
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Not the best camera phone, especially for a Pixel
Camera Coach is fascinating and worth exploring
In the past, I might have been more forgiving of sub-par image quality from a foldable phone, but Samsung had to destroy expectations by slapping its full-grown 200MP sensor on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. So, now I want my $1,800 phones to have a good camera, is that so wrong? The Pixel 10 Pro Fold camera is fine, but it isn’t very good.
Google is using the same sensors as last year, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Apple famously uses the same Sony sensors for years on its iPhone models, and with experience, its Camera developers continually refine the images you get from those cameras. That’s not the case with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
What I like about the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, like the Pixel 9a, is that Google seems to be carefully tuning its cameras so they produce images that all look alike. A photo taken with the Pixel 10 Pro XL will have the same color balance and lighting as a photo taken with the Pro Fold. Zoom in close and you’ll see the problems.
Google is applying a heavy dose of AI enhancements to its photos. So much so that I wonder if every photo from the camera shouldn’t come with Made with AI Content Credentials.
When you zoom in on a photo, especially photos taken at night, it looks smoothed out and painted over. On the phone screen, images look clearer when taken with the Pixel Fold versus other foldable phones, like the Galaxy Z Fold 7. When you zoom in, however, that clarity starts to look artificial.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
If you don’t need the absolute best photos from your smartphone camera, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has a fascinating new Pixel feature that could make you a better all-around photographer. When you have your shot lined up, instead of pressing the shutter, press the Camera Coach button, and Google will use its AI to analyze your photo and offer advice.
I don’t mean simple advice, either, like ‘use Portrait mode.’ Rather, Camera Coach is an AI instructor. First, it gives you three or four suggested themes for your photos. Then, it takes you step by step through the shot. It highlights the right camera mode to select, and it tells you where to move for the best angle.
In the end, it really did help me take better photos if I was willing to take the time to walk through the steps. Camera Coach is one of Google’s newest and most advanced AI features. Sometimes it simply would not load, complaining of bad network problems, even though I had a few bars. Other times, I just got a generic error.
When it did work, Camera Coach was impressively astute, and it produced interesting results, so I’m willing to be patient and hope this feature improves over the next few updates.
Camera score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Camera samples
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Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Better benchmarks than the rest of the Pixel 10 family, for what it’s worth
Some performance lags on the camera and AI features
Pixel phones aren’t known for top performance, and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is unimpressive if you rely on benchmark scores alone. In my real-world testing, I found the Pro Fold to be smooth and responsive, especially when switching apps back and forth between the outer and inner displays. That doesn’t mean there weren’t hiccups.
Google’s biggest performance offense is letting the camera lag. If you have too many features enabled, the camera shutter button will stop working between one photo and the next while the phone thinks about things. It happened fewer times on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold than on the Pixel 10 Pro, but that’s probably because the Fold doesn’t have as many megapixels to count.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I also saw things slow down considerably when I tried to use the new AI features. Perhaps someday these AI tools will be a natural extension of the Android OS, but for now, every time I used one of the more advanced AI features, it felt like an event. An event with a line out front and a bouncer who has to check my name off a list.
I can’t blame the network because I had plenty of bars on AT&T, and the phone performed admirably on my new Wi-Fi 7 network. As more of these AI tasks are handled on the phone itself, hopefully we’ll see those response times improve.
Performance score: 3 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Battery life wasn’t great, but it beats the competition
I love having wireless magnetic charging on a foldable
I’ll admit that battery life isn’t a huge priority for me these days as my home, car, and office are littered with wireless chargers, so I’m continually topping up my battery. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold makes doing so especially easy with Google’s Pixelsnap magnetic charging. It’s the first foldable that will stick to my iPhone’s MagSafe charging gear without a special case.
Magnets aside, battery life wasn’t terrible, but a smaller battery is the second sacrifice every foldable tablet makes, after the cameras. Well, a smaller battery than you’d want on an 8-inch tablet. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold actually packs a capacity of around 5,015mAh, which is a big battery, but having two displays will drain that juice quickly.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
In our Future Labs battery tests, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold lasted 12 hours and 16 minutes. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 lasted only 10 hours and 44 minutes, but the Pixel Fold comes with an ounce more weight and an extra millimeter around the waistline.
An Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max is thinner than a closed Pixel Fold, weighs more than an ounce less, and managed 5.5 extra hours of battery time – 17 hours and 54 minutes, in fact – in our rundown tests. That’s how long an expensive smartphone should last.
Battery score: 3 / 5
Should you buy the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold?
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold scorecard
Value
Not the most expensive phone you can buy (more like 2nd-most expensive), but it does little to justify its sky-high price tag.
2/5
Design
Doesn’t just have the Pixel 10 Pro’s good looks, it also has IP68-rated durability that means dust and lint won’t ruin the hinge. The Galaxy Fold can’t say that.
5/5
Display
Excellent displays inside and out. The outer display feels like a great Pixel phone, and the inner display is the biggest on any foldable tablet.
5/5
Software
The best Android software makes this a great all-around phone, but not enough features take advantage of the unique dual-display design, or even the bigger inner screen.
3/5
Cameras
Cameras get a big boost from AI processing and it shows when you see them up close. Camera Coach is a fascinating feature, especially when you’re using the big inner display to take pics (like a Boss!).
4/5
Performance
Pixel performance keeps lagging behind the competition. You may not notice, unless you use the camera, or the AI features, or… okay, you’ll notice.
3/5
Battery
Good battery life for a foldable phone, but its the Pixelsnap magnets that push this phone over the finish line every day. Magnetic charging on a foldable tablet - it’s about time.
3/5
Buy it if...
You must have a foldable tablet If you want a big foldable, the Pixel is more refined and nicer to use than the competition, despite its performance drawbacks.
You want to do AI stuff on a bigger screen For AI features like photo editing, live language translations, and talking to Gemini, the Pro Fold gives you the biggest and best experience.
You’ve waited too long for the iPhone Fold to arrive Are you an iPhone fan thinking of converting? All your MagSafe gear will work with this phone, and you might even love the software.
Don't buy it if...
You don’t have enough money to buy two phones This phone costs more than twice as much as most phones I recommend, and it doesn’t work hard to justify that high price tag.
You want to play games on a big phone screen The Pixel Fold has advantages over the Galaxy, but raw performance and graphics aren’t among them. It kind of lags.
You’re already a good photographer looking for the best camera These cameras aren’t great, but Camera Coach might be a cool tool for novice photographers looking to improve.
Also consider...
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 If you want a foldable that actually has great cameras, try the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, though you’ll also pay dearly for that privilege.
Google Pixel 10 Pro If you can skip the big inner display, the Pixel 10 Pro has everything you get on the Fold, plus better battery life and better cameras.
I used the Pixel 10 Pro Fold for a week as my primary work phone, transferring my AT&T eSIM from my Pixel 10 Pro XL to this phone. I used the phone almost equally open and closed, for similar tasks including messaging, reading, playing word games, taking photos, and much more.
I connected the Pixel 10 Pro Fold to my car through Android Auto using USB-C and wirelessly. I connected Bluetooth headsets and my Xbox wireless controller. I also attached the Pro Fold to a large number of MagSafe accessories, including charging docks from Anker, magnetic wallets, and more.
I tested Google AI features using a Google One AI Premium account for Gemini Live Pro 2.5 and other Pro features.
I've been testing phones for more than 20 years, since the days of BlackBerry and Palm OS smartphones and Samsung flip phones. I've tested hundreds of devices myself, and our Future Labs experts have tested hundreds more.
Future Labs tests phones using a mix of third-party benchmark software and proprietary, real-world tests. We use Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, WebXPRT and Mobile XPRT, and 3DMark for performance testing. We test a phone's performance on video editing tasks using Adobe Premiere Rush. We also measure display color output and brightness.
For battery testing, we have proprietary rundown tests that are the same for every phone, which we use to determine how long it takes for the battery to run down.
The Google Pixel 10 takes a winning formula from last year and adds just enough to make it even more compelling, and make this phone a true competitor to the iPhone 16. In the past, Google's phones have been polished and enjoyable, but never cutting edge. With the Pixel 10 family, Google pushes its way to the front, with features you won't find on either the iPhone or the latest Samsung Galaxy phones. That's new territory for Google, and I'm excited to spend more time with this phone after my morning-lon hands-on session.
What can the Pixel 10 do? It can stick to magnets, for one thing. The new Pixelsnap feature – and extension of the Qi2 wireless charging standard – might seem familiar to iPhone owners who’ve enjoyed MagSafe since the iPhone 12 launched in 2020. The Android world is finally catching up.
Magnets may not seem like a major feature, but Pixelsnap will open a new world of accessories and convenience for Android fans. I keep my iPhone 16 Pro Max charging on a magnet stand, and it's the best bedside clock I've owned. Then I slap a magnetic wallet on the back as I leave my house. I'm always using the iPhone magnets, and I'm relieved that Google and Android are hopping on board.
The Pixel 10 on Google's new Pixelsnap charging stand (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Besides Pixelsnap, the Pixel 10 features a real, optical 5x zoom camera. The iPhone 16 doesn't give you any optical zoom, and the Galaxy S25 offers only a 3x zoom lens with a smaller image sensor.
That could give the Pixel a huge advantage in photography, especially if the Tensor G5 chipset, with its new image processor, delivers the goods.
Some of the biggest new Pixel features will rely on AI, of course, and I didn't have time to test most of those, while some of the most interesting, like the Camera Coach, weren't available yet on the demo units I tried.
Some of those AI features seem very cool and potentially useful. I saw a live translation feature in action that was like nothing I've seen – it was almost frightening.
I'm also a Pixel user as well as an iPhone user, so I know the Pixel does the best job of screening phone calls and managing notifications. I'm curious to see how the new Magic Cue features will offer more AI functionality, but I always suspect the AI is being overpromised until I see it in action. Will the Pixel 10 really get to know me? Will it really pull up my flight details at the perfect moment? Time will tell.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
We’ll have a full review of the Pixel 10 coming soon, after the phones have undergone extensive testing in Future Labs. If you have a Pixel 9, I think you can hold off the upgrade for now – the differences are slight, and even Pixelsnap can be mimicked with a case that has MagSafe magnets.
Of course, it’s hard to find a new feature that will stay cutting-edge for long. The Pixel 10 may beat the Galaxy S25 and iPhone 16 when it comes to cameras, but those models are half-a-year to a year old – middle-aged by smartphone standards. The Galaxy S26 will surely have magnets to fit its Qi2 credentials, and who knows what the iPhone 17 will bring.
If you’re coming from an older Android or if you’re a curious iPhone owner, we’ll know soon if the Pixel 10 can hold its own as a camera phone, and whether the new AI features inspire more creativity or existential dread. Has the Google Pixel 10 truly leapt ahead of this year’s best phones, or will it soon fall behind what’s to come? Check out more of my hands-on first impressions below, then come back for our full review.
Google Pixel 10 hands-on review: Price & availability
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Pixel 10 costs the same as last year’s Pixel 9, and the base model features the same 128GB of storage and 12GB of RAM inside, which may be falling behind the requirements of the upcoming AI features. I’d certainly like to see more storage, at least.
The phone is available in black (Obsidian), light blue (Frost), green (Lemongrass), and bright blue (Indigo). The Indigo will be Google’s hero color, but I think the Lemongrass also stands out nicely. The Frost color looks closer to the Pixel 10 Pro’s Moonstone shade than the name suggests.
My big caveat with Pixel phones is that Google’s pricing takes a rollercoaster ride throughout the year, with the first drop coming around the US holiday shopping season. Last year’s Pixel 9 launched in August at $799 in the US, and dropped to $649 in November. It spent more than half the year priced at $150 under the original price, and it dropped to an all-time low of $499 around the last Amazon Prime Day in July.
In other words, if you want the Pixel 10, you may want to wait until it’s available for less – although if you wait too long Google might drop a Pixel 10a on us, just to confuse matters.
Google Pixel 10 hands-on review: Specifications
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Google Pixel 10 uses Google’s Tensor G5 chipset, just like every other member of the Pixel 10 family. It comes with 12GB of RAM, which was a respectable amount in the days before on-device AI processing, but now is probably only just enough.
The Pixel 10 gains a 10.8MP, 5x zoom camera this year in addition to the 48MP wide camera and the 13MP ultra-wide. That’s not just more zoom than the Galaxy S25, it also comes with a bigger sensor, regardless of the megapixel count.
Oddly enough, the Pixel 10 comes with a slightly larger battery than the Pixel 10 Pro, at 4,970mAh vs 4,870mAh. It charges at 30W, just like the Pixel 10 Pro, with Qi2 wireless charging at up to 15W.
Google Pixel 10 Specifications
Dimensions:
152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6mm
Weight:
204g
Display:
6.3-inch Actua display
Resolution:
1080 x 2424 pixels
Refresh rate:
60-120Hz
Peak brightness:
3,000 nits
Chipset:
Google Tensor G5
RAM:
12GB
Storage:
128GB / 256GB
OS:
Android 16
Wide camera:
48MP; f/1.7; 0.5-inch sensor
Ultrawide camera:
13MP; f/2.2; 0.33-inch sensor
Telephoto camera:
10.8MP; f/3.1; 0.31-inch sensor
Selfie camera:
10.5MP; f/2.2
Battery:
4,970mAh
Charging:
25W wired; 15W wireless Qi2
Colors:
Indigo, Frost, Lemongrass, Obsidian
Google Pixel 10 hands-on review: Design
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Pixel 10 looks just like last year’s Pixel 9, aside from some minor changes to the color, materials, and finish. That’s not a bad thing at all – the Pixel 9 was one of my favorite new phone designs, and it was the biggest refresh we saw among all the major flagship phones last year. I’m happy the Pixel 10 isn’t a huge departure.
After all, the Pixel 9a was somehow a butt-ugly cheap relation of the Pixel 9, and I was worried that its flat design foreshadowed this year’s flagship phones. Never fear! The Pixel 10 keeps the same pill-shaped camera bump as last year’s model, with the same improved durability. It’s a great phone design, and it even looks good in a case.
There is still room for improvement. Did Google not see the iPhone 16’s Camera Control button? I suspect future Pixel phones might have a matching button in the future. They already got MagSafe, why not go all the way?
Speaking of magnets, the Pixel 10 with Pixelsnap held a very strong connection to all of the accessories I tried. You couldn’t shake the phone off of the wireless charging puck, which is a hidden part of the new wireless charging stand. I’ll be excited to use Google’s new phones with all of my MagSafe accessories, like my wallet and my magnetic photo tripod.
Google Pixel 10 hands-on review: Display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Google quietly makes the best displays you’ll find on any smartphone, and I’m shocked the company doesn’t spend more time bragging about it. The Actua displays on previous Pixels have always been among the most bright and colorful screens I’ve used, and the Pixel 10 seems like another improvement, if only a subtle one.
The Pixel 10 has a variable refresh rate from 60-120Hz, which means things should look nice and smooth when you’re scrolling through long menus or social feeds. Unfortunately, that also means it won’t get the full-color always-on screen you’ll find on LTPO phones like the Pixel 10 Pro.
I’ll need to spend a lot more time with the Pixel 10 to decide if the screen is as great as it seems. I’m hoping the long-term experience will be just as pleasing.
Google Pixel 10 hands-on review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Google is, for now, leaving us with more questions than answers when it comes to Pixel software. Gemini works in more places – the onward march of AI progress – but there are many other features that are going to require a deep dive.
I’m very curious about the Magic Cue features available during phone calls. Google says the Pixel 10 will pull up details about your travel plans when somebody mentions AirBnB, for instance. I’m curious how far it will go, and whether this feature will seem like a privacy invasion or a useful sidekick.
There are also new camera features to try, which I’ll discuss below, but Google is moving beyond editing and generating images to offering tips and instructions. I like this direction. I would rather have a phone that can anticipate my needs, and offer helpful suggestions, than a phone that makes nightmare images of copyrighted cartoon characters committing crimes, as past Pixel phones have done.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
One of the most impressive new features is the live translation. While other phones, like Samsung’s Galaxy S25, can live-translate a foreign language speaker during a conversation, the Pixel 10 family has a new trick: it makes the translation sound like the voice of the speaker.
If I speak to you in English while you speak Hindi back to me, the Pixel 10 will translate my words into Hindi, and it will make the Hindi speaker sound like a version of me. The TechRadar team got a demo of this feature with our Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff speaking, and at the other end what we heard was a Spanish-speaking version of Lance sounding like a native-born speaker. It was uncanny.
Google also says this process happens mostly on the device, which should settle some privacy concerns. Still, I’m wary of a computer that can instantly talk in a voice that sounds like mine; even though it only happens in a foreign language, it still gives me pause.
Google Pixel 10 hands-on review: Cameras
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I’m most excited to try the new camera features on the Pixel 10, because the cameras sees like the biggest improvement on this phone. First of all there’s the new 5x telephoto lens, which is paired with a respectable 0.33-inch image sensor. That’s bigger than the zoom sensor on the Galaxy S25, and is closer to the telephoto camera on the iPhone 16 Pro.
Second, the Tensor G5 chipset has an all-new image signal processor, and that component is often the silent partner in making the best camera phones. A new ISP usually means faster processing – so higher-resolution video recording and better night photography. It could also mean other image enhancements.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Google is talking up the Super Zoom features, but we’ve seen AI zoom before. It may save an otherwise useless 30x zoom pic, but it’s not going to help the Pixel 10 create long-distance images you’ll want to hang on the wall.
Google Pixel 10 hands-on review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
How will the Tensor G5 perform? Undoubtedly, it won’t be winning any benchmark races, but that’s never been the point of Google’s Tensor chips. Google builds accelerated chips that work better with its own AI and machine-learning features, like the Magic Editor in Google Photos and the AI transcriptions in the Recorder app.
This time around, Google says the Tensor G5 enables features like the aforementioned live translation that sounds like the person speaking, along with a host of new photography features like the Camera Coach.
The good news is that Google processes more of its machine-learning tricks on the phone than most other phone makers. That means you aren’t burning fossil fuels to feed a server farm for those AI features. It also means you have a better chance of protecting your privacy when it comes to your AI demands.
Google Pixel 10 hands-on review: Battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I can almost forgive whatever battery life I get from the Pixel 10 because I’m excited to use the Pixelsnap feature to keep the phone charged. I have MagSafe chargers that I use next to my bed with my iPhone, but Apple’s device will now get the USB-C cord while my Pixel 10 takes over the magnetic stand. It isn’t a fast way to charge, but my phone will be there all night, so I don’t need to hurry.
I’m curious to see if the Tensor G5 chip will offer any battery life improvements. Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset has been a powerhouse not only in terms of performance but also efficiency. Every Snapdragon 8 Elite phone has been able to last much longer than the generation before, and I hope I see the same benefits from the Tensor G5 when I conduct a thorough review.
The Google Pixel 10 is Google’s best Pixel yet, and the most competitive Pixel so far if you’re considering switching from an iPhone to Android. The design is cool and refined inside and out, from the great colors to the sharp design to the appealing interface and easy software. This is a great Pixel that nails everything Pixel phones do well.
The display on the Pixel 10 is spectacular. It’s really one of the best displays you’ll see on any smartphone, and I don’t think Google brags enough about the bright, clear screens on all of its Pixel phones. The Pixel 10 was easy to use in any conditions, and the bright display is especially helpful for seeing the screen when I’m taking photos in bright sunlight.
The Pixel 10 also takes fantastic photos, and Google has done a great job of tuning the cameras on this less-expensive Pixel, to the point where it takes photos that look remarkably like images captured with the Pixel 10 Pro XL – which is one of the best camera phones you can buy, and maybe the best overall.
There are new AI features, and some of them are simply mind-blowing. Like the Pixel 10 Pro, the Pixel 10 has the new Live Translation feature that not only translates your voice into another language, but makes that translation sound like your original voice. This feature works shockingly well, even though the processing is all handled on the Pixel 10 itself, and none of your conversation or the sound of your voice are kept on Google’s servers.
There’s also Magic Cue, which is Google’s quiet attempt to insert AI into many, many more screens in the Android interface. When it works, it's imminently useful, and it might save you a load of frustration and time. Unfortunately, like most AI features phone companies have made extravagant claims about over the past couple of years, Magic Cue doesn’t deliver on everything it’s supposed to do; and if it isn’t consistent (and may not be accurate), why does it exist?
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Of course, this isn’t the best Pixel you can buy this year; however, despite this being the cheapest handset in Google's lineup I'm disappointed that it misses out on so many of my favorite Pixel 10 Pro features.
Phone calls on the Pixel 10 Pro get some great AI assistance, like call screening for numbers you don’t recognize, and Call Notes that will transcribe notes during a call – great for talking to the doctor, or getting an athletic practice schedule over the phone. The Pixel 10 gets none of those features, which is troubling in more ways than one.
It's not just that I miss those features. What troubles me is the Pixel 10 is supposed to get seven years of major Android OS updates, but it’s already being left behind. If the Pixel 10 can’t even handle AI call-screening features like the Pixel 10 Pro, what happens in four years when my phone’s AI is even more amazing? How much farther behind will the Pixel 10 be?
If you like the Pixel 10, you’d be wise to hold off on buying if you can, because Google tends to drop the price of its base-model Pixel phone throughout the year. The Pixel 9 and Pixel 8 often saw discounts of $150-$300 in the US, and both spent about half of their first year on sale at a discounted price.
The Pixel 10 is a great phone with a unique look that's durable and functional, and it’s one of the easiest Android phones to use and enjoy. It takes great photos, and it has some (but not all) great AI features that make AI seem useful, not frightening.
The Pixel 10 Pro is the better phone to buy, not just for its better cameras but also because it already seems more future-proofed, but it’s much more expensive. If the Pixel 10 is on sale for a great price, I’d recommend buying it with confidence; but if you can swing the Pixel 10 Pro instead, that’s the phone that will pay off in the years to come.
Google Pixel 10 review: Price & availability
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,349 for 128GB and 12GB of RAM
Bright colors include Indigo and Lemongrass, alongside black and white
The Pixel 10 starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,349, which is the same price as last year’s model. That’s a relief, as phone prices have crept up this year. The phone still packs only 128GB of storage at this price, which is enough if you don’t load too many apps or games, and you keep your photos and videos stored in the cloud.
You can get the phone with 256GB of storage, though for only a bit more you can get the Pixel 10 Pro model, and that’s the upgrade you really want (unless you want bright colors, in which case I’d stick with the Lemongrass Pixel 10, like my review unit, or the Indigo color that most Googlers I met were carrying).
The Pixel 10 price is fine, but I like this phone better at a discount, and every Pixel phone before has dropped in price around the November US holiday shopping season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a $150 discount later this year – so if you don’t need a phone immediately, you may want to wait.
Google Pixel 10 pricing
Storage
US Price
UK Price
AU Price
128GB
$799
£799
AU $1,349
256GB
$899
£899
AU $1,499
Value score: 3 / 5
Google Pixel 10 review: Specifications
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Pixel 10 gets a big boost over last year’s Pixel 9 – on paper at least. The phone gets magnetic charging built-in with the new Pixelsnap feature. It has a larger battery than before, and it even gets a new camera, a telephoto option that you won’t find on the competing iPhone 16.
This year’s Pixel phone features a 5x zoom camera, a third lens in addition to the wide and ultra-wide cameras. Unfortunately, all of the cameras are shrunk a bit to make room, both in terms of megapixels and sensor size. In my experience, the photos were still very good, but if you want the absolute best Pixel photos get the Pro model.
Google Pixel 10 specifications
Dimensions:
152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6mm
Weight:
204g
Display:
6.3-inch Actua display
Resolution:
1080 x 2424 pixels
Refresh rate:
60-120Hz
Peak brightness:
3,000 nits
Chipset:
Google Tensor G5
RAM:
12GB
Storage:
128GB / 256GB
OS:
Android 16
Wide camera:
48MP; f/1.7; 0.5-inch sensor
Ultrawide camera:
13MP; f/2.2; 0.33-inch sensor
Telephoto camera:
10.8MP; f/3.1; 0.31-inch sensor
Selfie camera:
10.5MP; f/2.2
Battery:
4,970mAh
Charging:
25W wired; 15W wireless Qi2
Colors:
Indigo, Frost, Lemongrass, Obsidian
Google Pixel 10 review: Design
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Sleek and durable, just like last year’s Pixel 9
Actually, it’s exactly the same as the Pixel 9 – and that’s good!
The Pixel 10 is a sleek, attractive phone that keeps the same design as last year’s model. Actually, it’s pretty much the same as last year’s Pixel 9 and this year’s Pixel 10 Pro – so close that you can use the same case for each of those phones. That’s not a problem – the Pixel 10 has a great design, and it’s one of the more appealing smartphones you could carry.
The biggest difference between last year’s model and the Pixel 10 are the magnets inside the new phone. You can’t see the magnets, and the Pixel 10 isn’t thicker, but you can feel them. Google has made its Pixelsnap feature with very strong magnets, and Googlers demonstrated the phone’s ability to hold fast to the various Pixelsnap accessories, even if you shake it around a bit.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Surprisingly, the Pixel 10 isn’t thicker than the Pixel 9, but it did gain 6g of weight. It’s a heavy phone. The Pixel 10 is more than an ounce heavier than the iPhone 16, and an ounce-and-a-half heavier than the Galaxy S25.
The Pixel 10 also has a slightly larger display and a larger battery than the iPhone 16 or Galaxy S25, but the larger battery doesn’t equate to longer battery life, so I can’t give Google credit here.
Google will be marketing the bright blue Indigo color heavily, but I prefer the bright green Lemongrass, which was the color of my review sample. The Frost color is more of a very light blue than a white; kind of a friendlier version of the Pixel 10 Pro’s Moonstone color.
Design score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 review: Display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Incredibly bright and very clear
Not as sharp or colorful as the Pixel 10 Pro display
The Google Pixel 10 has a remarkable display, one of the brightest you’ll find on any smartphone today. In our Future Labs tests, the Pixel 10 was brighter by far than the iPhone 16 or Galaxy S25, and in my real-world time with the phone it was incredibly easy to read in every situation, especially when I was taking photos in bright outdoor sunshine.
Google’s Pixel displays have quietly taken the crown as the best screens you’ll find – at least on the day they're launched. Screens are getting brighter with every new phone, but for now Google’s Pixel 10 phones have the brightest, most pleasing displays you’ll see.
The Pixel 10 Pro does have an edge in our testing: it was more colorful than the Pixel 10, and it’s more sharp with a higher pixel density. The Pixel 10 is still no slouch, and the display is a standout feature on this phone. If you mostly read and watch videos with some gaming on the side, the Pixel 10 would be a great choice for you.
Display score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
New Magic Cue has promise, but isn’t fully baked
Pixel 10 misses out on some important AI features
Software on the Pixel 10 isn’t just about AI, though there is more AI working on this phone than you might think. From the start, the latest Pixel 10 phones are about simplicity, and more elegance than you’d expect from an Android phone. Google has been improving Android for its phones, and unlike some competitors it hasn’t been afraid to remove useless features and unnecessary bloat to make the experience better (I’m looking at you, Samsung).
The home screens are easy to set up with app shortcuts and plenty of great-looking widgets. I love that Google’s widgets now color-coordinate to the theme of your phone, and can even change color to darker hues as the sun sets and night begins.
Settings menus are still a mess, with a jumble of disorganized features popping up in long lists of options. You can avoid most of it, but not every feature Google talks about is turned on from the start, so you might miss out on some AI tools if you don’t dig through the Settings menu, for better and for worse.
Every Pixel 10 phone gets the latest Google AI, of course, and that includes the fascinating new Magic Cue feature. When it comes to AI assistants, every phone maker starts with this same basic promise: the phone will now read your messages and listen to your conversations so that it can help you recall important information about your life.
Mostly these features have flopped. Apple ran advertisements for its version starring the actor Bella Thorne, then had to pull the ads because the features didn’t exist. Other phone makers like Motorola and OnePlus rely heavily on screenshots and other information gathering.
Google, with its access to your Gmail, your Google Calendar, and many other Google tools, has a unique advantage… as well as a unique challenge. Thankfully it doesn't read all of my Gmail. I think I’ve had my account for 20 years – that’s a lot of messages.
In practice, Magic Cue is kind of… charming? For an AI, at least. I’m used to AI features that are pushy and obtrusive – many of the Google Gemini features get in the way by constantly asking if I want to revise my email or ask questions about my own photographs. Magic Cue is quiet, almost anonymous. You may use it without knowing you’ve used an AI feature at all, and that should be the goal of every AI feature.
What can Magic Cue do? The list of things is growing, but you don’t have to do anything at all. Magic Cue will simply make suggestions in a small oval window in a place you can see them. They won’t be in the way. They will light up with a rainbow for a second or two, then they will sit quietly.
If a friend sends you a text message asking about a dinner reservation you made, it might offer you a button that opens the email you got from OpenTable, or a link to Google Maps where it will locate the restaurant’s address.
If your friend John wants to meet your friend Susan, Magic Cue will give you Susan’s phone number and contact card to send to John, if you wish. It will save you some steps.
In some ways, Google may have overpromised Magic Cue’s abilities. Google said it would offer relevant information about travel, but when I had a conversation about an upcoming trip, I got no suggestions from Magic Cue. I asked Google about this, and Magic Cue experts told me it only looks through a month or so of my email. My travel reservations were made three months back – perhaps if I forward the email from Vrbo.com back to myself, Magic Cue might pick it up again and start offering that information. We shall see.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Even if it isn’t perfect, I’m not mad about it because it isn’t in the way. It isn’t rewriting my News headlines with fake news, or summarizing my notifications in hilariously inaccurate ways. It’s just giving me a button here or there that I can press to recall more information, or take a quick action that would normally involve opening a second app.
I expect Magic Cue's capabilities will expand dramatically, to the point where it will someday be a major part of the Android interface. My hope is that it will work so reliably well that I won’t ever need to know what it can do; I'll just assume that it will offer me the information I need and help with the actions I want to take.
Unfortunately, the Pixel 10 doesn’t get all of the software features that the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL phones can run. The biggest disappointment for me was losing all of my favorite calling features. I will often use my Pro Pixel to screen calls from numbers I don’t recognize, or take notes during important work conversations. The Pixel 10 Pro can also do these things, but the Pixel 10 cannot.
This has me worried. The Pixel 10 is scheduled to receive seven years of major Android OS updates and security patches. I’ve always wondered what those updates would look like – will the Pixel 10 still get the same version of Android as the Pixel 15? Or the Pixel 17? I worry about what features will be missing, and whether it will still be recognizable as Android.
The Pixel 10 has already been left out. It can use Magic Cue and the amazing new live translation features, but it can’t do everything. The Pixel 10 can’t listen to phone calls that might be a scam and warn you when it thinks you’re being conned. It can’t take notes during a call with my doctor.
These features don’t seem that advanced – so why can’t my Pixel 10 do these things? I worry about what it won’t be able to do in the future, and how Google’s seven-year promise might change over time.
Software score: 4 / 5
Google Pixel 10 review: Cameras
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Takes photos that look almost as good as those from the Pro Pixel phones
Camera Coach offers useful tips… but where are they from?
The Pixel 10 isn’t the best camera phone of the new Pixel bunch, but you might not notice the difference. Google has done a great job of tuning its least-expensive Pixel so that it takes photos that look just like similar shots from the Pro models. You don’t get the same resolution, but the color and lighting on these photos looks remarkable, and nearly identical to the balance you’d get shooting with a Pixel 10 Pro.
There’s a fascinating new Camera Coach button in the Pixel 10’s camera app, in addition to an improved version of last year’s Add Me feature, which can add the photographer back into a group photo using some AI cut and paste tricks.
The Camera Coach is more passive than I expected. I thought it would interrupt my photography with useless AI tips, but that’s not what it does at all. When you line up your shot, if you press the Camera Coach button instead of the shutter button it will create a step-by-step process to help you improve your shot, and your photography in general.
First, it will suggest a theme for your scene. Take a photo of a flower and it might ask if you want a close-up on the flower’s details, or a photo that highlights the flower growing amongst the roadside clutter, or a photo that skips the flower and focuses on the blooming buds the AI noticed at the bottom of your frame.
Then it thinks for a few seconds, and soon suggests steps. Move your camera there. Aim up instead of down. Zoom in close, or get farther away. After four or five steps, it leaves you to take the photo… and that’s it. Then it goes away until you press the button next time.
Camera Coach guiding me to take a better photo (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I actually liked the Camera Coach, but as with all generative AI features, I have to wonder about the cost. Sure, it might make interesting suggestions for framing, or teach me to use the zoom lens on my phone more often, but where did it learn those tips?
Camera Coach doesn’t offer links to its sources, and I have to wonder if experts at sites like TechRadar unwittingly fed their tips to a generative AI that's now being used to replace them. I could have read an article about taking better flower photos, but instead I let the Camera Coach tell me what to do, and the expert doesn’t get my clicks.
So I’ll pass on Camera Coach, but I won’t judge you for using it. It really does work, and it sometimes offers suggestions I hadn’t considered. I’ll bet our Cameras Editor considered them, though.
Camera score: 4 / 5
Google Pixel 10 review: Camera samples
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Google Pixel 10 review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Slow performance, on par with phones from a couple years back
Not slower than the Pixel 10 Pro in our benchmarks
The Pixel 10 is a slow phone by benchmark standards, but most users will never notice. For daily tasks and navigating the phone’s menus, it felt plenty fast to me, even zippy. It opened apps quickly, and the menus and home screens flashed by as I swiped through them.
There was some slowdown when playing intense games that require a lot of graphics or processing power. The Pixel 10 stutters if you try to play Call of Duty Mobile with all of the performance settings maxed out, or if you run through Vampire Survivors with hundreds of enemies on the screen at once. If you don’t play a lot of games, I promise you won’t notice any performance problems.
Google’s AI features load more snappily on this phone than on previous ones, and that’s probably because the Pixel 10 is running many more machine-learning models on the device itself – using Google's Tensor G5 platform – than we’ve seen on previous Pixels. The more the phone can rely on its own power instead of tapping the cloud for help, the faster the phone will feel.
Strangely, the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL did not outperform the Pixel 10 in our benchmark tests, even though they have 16GB of RAM instead of 12GB, and they use a faster storage technology. In some cases, the Pixel 10 was actually faster than both of those phones. There are other tangible benefits to buying the Pro models, but it makes me wonder why Google held back great features, like the call-screening tools that I use every time I get a spam call, from the Pixel 10.
Too many AI features are only available on the Pixel 10 Pro, even though benchmarks suggest that the Pro model has no apparent benefit… yet. That extra RAM may come in much more handy over the next seven years of software updates as more AI features are added – so if you care about the longest long term, you may want to go Pro instead of buying the Pixel 10.
Performance score: 3 / 5
Google Pixel 10 review: Battery
Battery life is fine, but not excellent
Qi2 is very convenient for keeping the phone charged
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
If you buy a Pixel 10, do yourself a favor and get a magnetic Qi2 (or MagSafe) charging stand. It’s so easy to simply pop your phone on and off a magnetic stand that you’ll make a habit of it, and you won’t worry about the disappointing battery life or slower charging speeds you might otherwise experience.
The Pixel 10 battery life is fine – it usually lasted through a full day of testing, unless I was hitting the Camera app extra hard. Excessive AI use didn’t seem to drain the phone any faster than normal.
In our Future Labs tests, the Pixel 10 was about average, but other recent Android phones have been exceptional. Every phone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset inside has lasted hours longer than the generation before, while the Pixel 10 shows no improvement over last year’s Pixel 9.
In Future Labs tests, the Pixel 10 lasted around 13 hours and 15 minutes, which was a few minutes less than the Pixel 9 managed. The Samsung Galaxy S25, which has a smaller battery inside, lasted two hours longer than the Pixel 10. At least the Pixel 10 beat the iPhone 16 by over an hour, because the iPhone has a much smaller battery inside.
Why do iPhone fans accept paltry battery life? Because MagSafe makes it easy to top off your phone throughout the day and forget about long charging sessions. You don’t need to worry about how long the battery lasts if you charge it for 15 minutes twice a day – you’ll have more than enough power to last.
Battery score: 3 / 5
Should you buy the Google Pixel 10?
Google Pixel 10 scorecard
Value
The Pixel 10 isn’t bad value, but Google has a strong history of discounting its Pixel phone around the US holidays, so maybe wait for the best deal. The Pixel 9 was discounted for half of its first year.
3/5
Design
Not much has changed since the Pixel 9, and that’s a good thing because the Pixel design is stellar. The brighter Indigo and Lemongrass colors are especially appealing. Hidden magnets add weight but not thickness.
5/5
Display
One of the best smartphone displays you’ll see (until you see the Pixel 10 Pro). This screen is very bright and sharp, and a joy to use. Google should brag more about its screens.
5/5
Software
The interface design is crisp and colorful without looking silly, and many of the latest AI features are actually useful without being annoying. Watch out, Apple – Google is delivering on software promises the iPhone couldn’t keep.
5/5
Cameras
The Pixel 10 isn’t the best Pixel camera, but it takes photos that could have come from a Pro model (if you don’t zoom in too close). Camera Coach offers a unique and helpful tool, but I worry it’s putting experts out of work.
4/5
Performance
Not a top performer, though the Pixel 10 does all the Pixel stuff very quickly. The interface and features are super-snappy, but don’t expect to dominate mobile games that require a heavy graphics load.
3/5
Battery
Battery life should be much better – there’s no improvement over the Pixel 9. Thankfully, Pixelsnap (and MagSafe) charging make a big difference and will help you keep this phone powered up all day and then some.
3/5
Buy it if...
You liked the Pixel 9 but wish it were more iPhone-y With magnetic charging and its sleek, simple interface, the Pixel 10 should be the first stop for iPhone switchersView Deal
You see it discounted The Pixel 10 is competitive at this price, but Google often gives its base-model Pixel phones strong discounts throughout the year – we’ll keep you posted if we see a good deal.View Deal
You want Pixel cameras for less money The Pixel 10 doesn’t have the resolution of the Pro Pixel cameras, but it takes photos that look very similar to shots the Pro phones take.View Deal
Don't buy it if...
You can afford the Pixel 10 Pro instead The Pixel 10 Pro is a big step up, and not just in terms of camera hardware. It gets some very useful AI features that the Pixel 10 lacks.View Deal
You have a Pixel 9 already The differences between last year’s model and the Pixel 10 are minor, and you can copy the magnet features with a magnetic case.View Deal
You play a lot of hardcore mobile games I didn’t have a big problem with the Pixel 10’s lackluster performance, but if you’re looking for the top performer, keep looking.View Deal
Also consider...
Apple iPhone 16 The iPhone 16 is about to be superseded, but it's still a great iPhone, with all the best iOS 26 features coming.
Samsung Galaxy S25 The Galaxy S25 gets better battery life and performs faster than the Pixel 10, so if you want a gaming powerhouse, I’d check out Samsung’s latest.
I tested the Google Pixel 10 for a week, alongside the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL. I used the Pixel 10 as my primary work phone for half of that time, and as a backup phone and camera for the remainder. I loaded the phone with more than a hundred apps, and multiple Google accounts.
I used the Pixel 10 as a camera, testing every photography feature. I used AI features to ask questions and generate sample images. I connected Magic Cue to all of my personal Google account information, and I fed the Pixel 10 a regular diet of screenshots of all of my personal dealings for the Screenshots app.
I connected the Pixel 10 to my Pixel Watch 3, my Pixel Buds Pro, and various other Bluetooth headsets and devices. I used Android Auto in my Kia and my friends’ Acura and Subaru cars, and connected to Bluetooth in an older BMW.
I've been testing phones for more than 20 years, since the days of BlackBerry and Palm OS smartphones and Samsung flip phones. I've tested hundreds of devices myself, and our Future Labs experts have tested hundreds more.
Future Labs tests phones using a mix of third-party benchmark software and proprietary, real-world tests. We use Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, WebXPRT and Mobile XPRT, and 3DMark for performance testing. We test a phone's performance on video editing tasks using Adobe Premiere Rush. We also measure display color output and brightness.
For battery testing, we have proprietary rundown tests that are the same for every phone, which we use to determine how long it takes for the battery to run down.
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL hands-on review: Price & availability
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL hands-on review: Specifications
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Google Pixel 10 uses Google’s Tensor G5 chipset, just like every other member of the Pixel 10 family. It comes with 12GB of RAM, which was a respectable amount in the days before on-device AI processing, but now is probably only just enough.
The Pixel 10 gains a 10.8MP, 5x zoom camera this year in addition to the 48MP wide camera and the 13MP ultra-wide. That’s not just more zoom than the Galaxy S25, it also comes with a bigger sensor, regardless of the megapixel count.
Oddly enough, the Pixel 10 comes with a slightly larger battery than the Pixel 10 Pro, at 4,970mAh vs 4,870mAh. It charges at 30W, just like the Pixel 10 Pro, with Qi2 wireless charging at up to 15W.
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL Specifications
Dimensions:
152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6mm
Weight:
204g
Display:
6.3-inch Actua display
Resolution:
1080 x 2424 pixels
Refresh rate:
60-120Hz
Peak brightness:
3,000 nits
Chipset:
Google Tensor G5
RAM:
12GB
Storage:
128GB / 256GB
OS:
Android 16
Wide camera:
48MP; f/1.7; 0.5-inch sensor
Ultrawide camera:
13MP; f/2.2; 0.33-inch sensor
Telephoto camera:
10.8MP; f/3.1; 0.31-inch sensor
Selfie camera:
10.5MP; f/2.2
Battery:
4,970mAh
Charging:
25W wired; 15W wireless Qi2
Colors:
Indigo, Frost, Lemongrass, Obsidian
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL hands-on review: Design
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Pixel 10 looks just like last year’s Pixel 9, aside from some minor changes to the color, materials, and finish. That’s not a bad thing at all – the Pixel 9 was one of my favorite new phone designs, and it was the biggest refresh we saw among all the major flagship phones last year. I’m happy the Pixel 10 isn’t a huge departure.
After all, the Pixel 9a was somehow a butt-ugly cheap relation of the Pixel 9, and I was worried that its flat design foreshadowed this year’s flagship phones. Never fear! The Pixel 10 keeps the same pill-shaped camera bump as last year’s model, with the same improved durability. It’s a great phone design, and it even looks good in a case.
There is still room for improvement. Did Google not see the iPhone 16’s Camera Control button? I suspect future Pixel phones might have a matching button in the future. They already got MagSafe, why not go all the way?
Speaking of magnets, the Pixel 10 with Pixelsnap held a very strong connection to all of the accessories I tried. You couldn’t shake the phone off of the wireless charging puck, which is a hidden part of the new wireless charging stand. I’ll be excited to use Google’s new phones with all of my MagSafe accessories, like my wallet and my magnetic photo tripod.
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL hands-on review: Display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Google quietly makes the best displays you’ll find on any smartphone, and I’m shocked the company doesn’t spend more time bragging about it. The Actua displays on previous Pixels have always been among the most bright and colorful screens I’ve used, and the Pixel 10 seems like another improvement, if only a subtle one.
The Pixel 10 has a variable refresh rate from 60-120Hz, which means things should look nice and smooth when you’re scrolling through long menus or social feeds. Unfortunately, that also means it won’t get the full-color always-on screen you’ll find on LTPO phones like the Pixel 10 Pro.
I’ll need to spend a lot more time with the Pixel 10 to decide if the screen is as great as it seems. I’m hoping the long-term experience will be just as pleasing.
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL hands-on review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Google is, for now, leaving us with more questions than answers when it comes to Pixel software. Gemini works in more places – the onward march of AI progress – but there are many other features that are going to require a deep dive.
I’m very curious about the Magic Cue features available during phone calls. Google says the Pixel 10 will pull up details about your travel plans when somebody mentions AirBnB, for instance. I’m curious how far it will go, and whether this feature will seem like a privacy invasion or a useful sidekick.
There are also new camera features to try, which I’ll discuss below, but Google is moving beyond editing and generating images to offering tips and instructions. I like this direction. I would rather have a phone that can anticipate my needs, and offer helpful suggestions, than a phone that makes nightmare images of copyrighted cartoon characters committing crimes, as past Pixel phones have done.
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL hands-on review: Cameras
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I’m most excited to try the new camera features on the Pixel 10, because the cameras sees like the biggest improvement on this phone. First of all there’s the new 5x telephoto lens, which is paired with a respectable 0.33-inch image sensor. That’s bigger than the zoom sensor on the Galaxy S25, and is closer to the telephoto camera on the iPhone 16 Pro.
Second, the Tensor G5 chipset has an all-new image signal processor, and that component is often the silent partner in making the best camera phones. A new ISP usually means faster processing – so higher-resolution video recording and better night photography. It could also mean other image enhancements.
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL hands-on review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
How will the Tensor G5 perform? Undoubtedly, it won’t be winning any benchmark races, but that’s never been the point of Google’s Tensor chips. Google builds accelerated chips that work better with its own AI and machine-learning features, like the Magic Editor in Google Photos and the AI transcriptions in the Recorder app.
This time around, Google says the Tensor G5 enables features like the aforementioned live translation that sounds like the person speaking, along with a host of new photography features like the Camera Coach.
The good news is that Google processes more of its machine-learning tricks on the phone than most other phone makers. That means you aren’t burning fossil fuels to feed a server farm for those AI features. It also means you have a better chance of protecting your privacy when it comes to your AI demands.
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL hands-on review: Battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I can almost forgive whatever battery life I get from the Pixel 10 because I’m excited to use the Pixelsnap feature to keep the phone charged. I have MagSafe chargers that I use next to my bed with my iPhone, but Apple’s device will now get the USB-C cord while my Pixel 10 takes over the magnetic stand. It isn’t a fast way to charge, but my phone will be there all night, so I don’t need to hurry.
I’m curious to see if the Tensor G5 chip will offer any battery life improvements. Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset has been a powerhouse not only in terms of performance but also efficiency. Every Snapdragon 8 Elite phone has been able to last much longer than the generation before, and I hope I see the same benefits from the Tensor G5 when I conduct a thorough review.
The Google Pixel 10 Pro is the phone I never expected Google to make – a smartphone that is more desirable than the best iPhone. In almost every way, Google’s flagship smartphone takes aim at its biggest competitor (and business partner) and hits the mark. It looks stunning, it takes stellar photos, and it’s a joy to use, with surprising features that make life easier. The Pixel 10 Pro delivers on promises Apple has failed to keep, and iPhone fans should take note – it might be time to consider an Android.
The Pixel 10 is also a nice phone, but the Pixel 10 Pro is a big step up in every way, inside and out. You don’t just get better hardware; even Google’s software is more capable on the Pixel 10 Pro, and the bonus features are ones I use all the time.
I’ve only had the Pixel 10 Pro for a week before this review posted, but I say all the time because I’ve been using the Pixel 9 Pro as my primary work phone for most of the past year. It doesn’t have all of the features or customization you’ll find on a Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, but it offers the most useful tools I’ve found – and they actually work.
Remember when that used to be the saying for Apple: it just works? Not any more. My Pixel 10 Pro is the phone that makes my life easier. It screens my calls effectively, takes notes on important calls, and even translates my voice into another language seamlessly – in a voice that sounds eerily like my own! It really works – I tried it and it blew me away.
The new Magic Cue tries hard to be helpful. Mention a dinner reservation in a text message and a small, totally unobtrusive bubble will link to your OpenTable email. If somebody asks you for a friend’s phone number, Magic Cue will bring it up from your contact list in a small window, right in Messages.
You might not even notice it’s happening, and that’s the way AI on a phone should be. It should happen in the background and make my life easier. It shouldn’t make silly photos or rewrite my notifications. It should be helpful, but limited. So far, that’s Magic Cue.
I’ve seen more extravagant AI promises from Apple, Samsung, and even Motorola, but Google is delivering the most useful AI to help me get things done with my phone. I’ve talked to Google about how Magic Cue will improve in the months ahead, and I think it might be one of the most useful AI tools you’ll use – even if you won’t always know you’re using it.
The Pixel 10 Pro on Google's Pixelsnap charging stand (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Pixel 10 Pro isn’t just a software powerhouse; it delivers on the best Pixel hardware features. I don’t think Google gets enough credit for its amazing phone displays, and the Pixel 10 Pro somehow improves over last year’s Pixel 9 Pro with a display that's brighter and more sharp than any other phone screen you’ll see. It looks great in all conditions, even when I'm taking photos outdoors in bright sunshine.
Those photos will look fantastic as well, and the Pixel 10 Pro (and the Pixel 10 Pro XL, which has the exact same cameras) might be the best camera phone you can buy. I tested the Pixel 10 Pro against the iPhone 16 Pro Max in my review period, and the Pixel took photos that were just as colorful and often more detailed. It handled low-light night photography like it was broad daylight, creating the clearest nighttime photos I’ve ever taken.
I haven’t even gotten to the magnets! I love the magnets in the Pixel 10 Pro, and I used the magnet Pixelsnap features every day during my testing. Google sent along a Pixelsnap charger in addition to the phones, and I used that charger on my desk, but I have plenty of other MagSafe chargers for my iPhone, and the Pixel 10 Pro worked with all of these.
It’s a delight to snap my Pixel 10 Pro onto my fancy Anker MagSafe charging stand, then pull it off and attach my UAG kevlar wallet when I leave. If I run out of battery when I’m out, I can use a MagSafe battery pack – even the original Apple MagSafe battery works with the Pixel 10 family.
It feels like a good time to be a Pixel owner, and the Pixel 10 Pro is definitely a better choice than the base-model Pixel 10. I still think the Pixel 10 Pro XL offers enough extra benefits, with its larger display for great photography work, and its slightly faster charging, that I’d opt for Google’s biggest Pixel if money was no concern. But the Pixel 10 Pro is just as capable in all the ways that count, and it’s the most refined and appealing Pixel phone I’ve ever used.
Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Price & availability
Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL (left to right) (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Starts at $999 / £999 / AU $1,699 for 128GB of storage and 16GB RAM
Available in muted, professional-looking colors
The Pixel 10 Pro starts at $999 / £999 / AU $1,699 for 128GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. It's avaiable to order immediately. You can get the Pro models with up to 1TB of storage inside, but that capacity is only available on the (boring) black Obsidian model.
While I like the Pixel design very much, I do miss the days when Pixel phones came in unique color combinations, with two-tone options and unique shades. Today’s Pixel 10 Pro comes in a nice Lemongrass green, the color of my review sample, as well as a bunch of muted tones. Googlers seemed to like the Moonstone color best.
Unlike the Pixel 10 Pro XL, the Pro model starts with only 128GB of storage inside, and I’d recommend an upgrade – especially if you shoot a lot of photos and videos. You can get away with 128GB if you mostly use cloud storage and don’t download large gaming apps, but the Pro model should really start at 256GB. The 1TB model would surely be overkill unless you really have a need for that much storage, like video production.
Thankfully the Pixel 10 Pro has 16GB of RAM inside, though I didn’t see a huge performance boost over the 12GB Pixel 10 model. I suspect that RAM will be even more useful down the road, as AI features that bounce between the phone’s chipset and the cloud for computing tend to use a lot more RAM than basic apps.
The Pixel 10 Pro is priced competitively considering it has almost all of Google’s best features (I wish the charging speed was faster). It costs the same as an iPhone 16 Pro, and it’s less expensive than a Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge or Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Google Pixel 10 Pro pricing
Storage
US Price
UK Price
AU Price
128GB
$999
£999
AU $1,699
256GB
$1,099
£1,099
AU $1,849
512GB
$1,219
£1,219
AU $2,049
1TB
$1,449
£1,440
AU $2,399
Value score: 4 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Specifications
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
After the Pixel 9 Pro overhauled the Pixel design last year, I didn’t expect a major spec bump this year. Instead, we get minor, meaningful improvements like the Pixelsnap magnetic features, which a great upgrade, even if they don’t make the phone faster.
The camera lenses and sensors have remained unchanged, but Google says the new Tensor G5 chipset features an improved image signal processor, which results in better photos and a better shooting experience.
Compared to other phones at this price, the Pixel 10 Pro holds its own. The iPhone 16 Pro also has three cameras, but it uses smaller sensors on the ultra-wide and telephoto lenses. If you really care about specs, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus gives you a bigger, sharper display, and all the cameras and features you might want – that doesn’t make it a better phone, though.
Nearly identical to the Pixel 10, which is a good thing
Keeps things simple (with one little exception) – also a good thing
The Google Pixel 10 Pro has a polished, solid feeling that exudes a premium quality. With every generation of Pro Pixel phone the edges seem more polished, the gaps between components more tightly aligned.
I’m using the case that Google supplied with the Pixel 10 Pro – a lemongrass case perfectly matched to my green Pixel 10 review sample. The same case fits both phones, and in fact even my older Pixel 9 case fits the Pixel 10 Pro perfectly. It’s a good design, and I’m happy to see it stick around for another year or so.
The Pixel 10 Pro seems unfussy compared to the latest iPhone 16 Pro. There’s a volume rocker button and a main button that activates Google Gemini, or opens the camera with a double-press. There’s no Action Button, no wonky Camera Control. When did the Pixel become the exemplar of ease and simplicity, and the iPhone the epitome of excess?
To be fair, the Pixel 10 Pro still has the temperature sensor, which is one of the most useless bits of hardware on any smartphone today. It does not work properly. I heated a pan in my oven to various temperatures and checked with a cheap infrared thermometer as well as the Pixel 10 Pro. The Pixel 10 Pro never got the temperature right, and the $15 thermometer was always more accurate.
At least I can ignore that sensor, unlike the extra buttons on my iPhone 16 Pro. I hope Google some day adds a real shutter button to its Pixel phones to complement the excellent cameras – I also hope Google does it right, unlike Apple’s overwrought Camera Control.
Design score: 4 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Excellent display is very bright and colorful
Even more sharp than the Pixel 10 Pro XL
I can’t recommend the Pixel 10 Pro display strongly enough – it exceeds expectations and makes the Pixel 10 Pro one of the top phones for screen quality. Whether you’re watching clips, taking photos in bright sunlight, or just scrolling through menus and doom, the Pixel 10 Pro is one of the best displays you’ll use.
I do prefer the Pixel 10 Pro XL overall, because I just want more display on my Pixel, but the Pixel 10 Pro has its advantages. Google has packed more pixels per inch onto the 10 Pro, making the display technically more sharp than the Pro XL's screen. I didn’t really notice the difference, though, and both displays are very crisp.
The Pixel 10 Pro also performed admirably in our Future Labs tests, and roasted the competition with its display power. All phone makers brag about a theoretical peak brightness: Google claims the Pixel 10 Pro can hit 3,300 nits, Samsung claims its phones can peak at 2,600 nits, while Apple says the iPhone 16 Pro can reach 2,000 nits. None of those numbers are real.
Under our most stringent lab conditions, we got the Pixel 10 Pro to blast more than 2,500 nits of brightness from the display. That’s far from the 3,300 claim, but much brighter than the competition. The Galaxy S25 Ultra couldn’t reach 1,900 nits, and Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro was stuck at just above 1,500 nits.
In other words, it wasn’t just my eyes seeing a brighter screen on the Pixel 10 Pro; our tests prove that Google’s Super Actua display is the brightest smartphone screen among all the best phone makers.
Display score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Useful AI features you won’t find elsewhere (not even on the Pixel 10)
Magic Cue seems useful, or you can just ignore it
The Pixel 10 Pro has a polished interface that complements the thoughtful hardware design. It’s very easy to set up the phone and use every feature. Google continues to enhance and improve its Pixel version of Android in subtle but meaningful ways, like the surprisingly fun AI wallpaper maker, and the dramatic themes that slowly change the colors of your widgets and app icons as the day progresses.
Google’s latest AI feature is Magic Cue, a tool that offers helpful suggestions with information straight from your Google apps. It will read your messages, your email, your calendar, and many other sources you specify. Then, when you need a specific phone number, or you need the address of the restaurant where you have a reservation, Magic Cue will offer a quick button to that info. You can tap the button or ignore it, that’s that.
Magic Cue works directly on your phone, so you don’t have to share anything with Google – it scans your Gmail, and other apps and data, but the AI modeling is handled on your phone. That means it consumes less power and less cellular data, and it keeps your information private.
I wish it all worked as advertised. Unfortunately, a few of the promised Magic Cue features never worked for me – it could never find my hotel reservations for an upcoming trip. Google thinks I might have made those reservations too long ago – Magic Cue only searches the last month or so of your Gmail, not your whole history.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Is Magic Cue a big feature? I think it’s one of the biggest steps forward for a phone interface that integrates AI, and the best thing about it is that you may never know you’re using it. Unless you long-press on one of its suggestions, you won’t even see the name ‘Magic Cue,’ or have to open a Magic Cue app to make it work. It happens quietly, and it offers useful tools. I think this is the future of smartphone AI, and I’m excited to see where it goes.
In addition to Magic Cue, the Pixel 10 Pro and the Pixel 10 Pro XL get some AI features the Pixel 10 doesn’t have, and I find these invaluable. I've been using a Pixel 9 Pro as my primary work phone this past year, and I let it answer and screen all of the calls from phone numbers I don’t recognize.
The Pixel 10 Pro has the same great call-screening feature, as well as an effective note-taking tool that will transcribe your phone conversations as easily as it transcribes a business meeting. It warns everybody on the call that it’s taking notes, so there are no privacy concerns.
Google’s Pixel 10 Pro is packed with features, but unlike on Samsung’s Galaxy S25 devices these don’t get in the way. While Samsung literally has pop-up windows and slide-in panels that appear from nowhere and take up screen space, I appreciate that you can take or leave most of Google’s latest features, and they won’t bug you too much. Even Apple can get tiresome with its Journal app reminders, while the new Google Journal app didn’t seem to bother me as often.
Software score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Cameras
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Cameras make better images than my iPhone 16 Pro
New AI features are interesting, but have too many drawbacks
The Pixel 10 Pro features some of Google’s best cameras ever on a Pixel phone, which makes this one of the best camera phones you can buy. I tested this phone against my iPhone 16 Pro, and it usually produced images that were just as colorful but more detailed than what the iPhone cameras could manage.
For low-light photos, there was no contest. The Pixel simply blew the iPhone away with more visibility, sharper focus, and better colors at night.
The Pixel 10 Pro has a 5x optical zoom lens, and you can use AI to zoom in much further. If you switch to the 12MP resolution, the Pixel 10 Pro will zoom in to 100x, which is honestly farther than the phone can handle – at that range, there was not enough image stabilization to keep my subject in frame while my hands shook slightly.
The Pixel 10 Pro created zoomed images that looked more clear with less noise than similar shots taken with the iPhone 16 Pro and its 5x lens and 25x digital zoom.
Sometimes the Pixel 10 camera went too far and smoothed textures I would have liked to keep, but the end results were always more pleasing and more impressive for sharing than my iPhone and Galaxy shots, in spite of what was lost.
You can edit in Google photos using natural language thanks to AI (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
There’s a new Camera Coach feature that uses an AI tool to analyze your shot and offer suggestions to make it better. I talk about this in much more detail in my Pixel 10 review, but the upshot is that it’s an interesting teaching assistant that can give you some useful photo framing tips. The usual AI warnings and caveats about stealing human knowledge without attribution still apply.
Google has also improved its editing tools in Google Photos. Instead of editing a photo yourself, you can use natural language to describe to Google’s AI what you want done to your photo. You might say “remove that bystander” or “make the sky more dramatic,” and Google will do its best to match your request. In my experience, it got two-thirds of my edit suggestions right.
The final results are still very good, but if you have any experience with photo editing you can probably perform simple edits and tweaks faster yourself. The delay waiting for the edits was frustrating when the final results weren’t what I wanted.
Camera score: 5 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Camera samples
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Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Performance lags behind all other phones at this price
It’s not even faster than the Pixel 10? Not so Pro…
Like every Pixel for the past five years or more, the Pixel 10 Pro will disappoint smartphone buyers looking for the fastest phone around. The Tensor G5 chipset inside is frankly a bit slow, and while it doesn’t make a difference in most use cases, there are times when the Pixel 10 Pro suffers.
Browsing the new Material 3 Expressive interface designs, swiping through long menus of apps and lists, and launching my apps were all remarkably fast. I was expecting more delay, but the Pixel 10 Pro navigates its own interface like a race car.
The only real delay I saw was when using the more advanced camera features. Shooting basic photos at 12MP resolution, I had no trouble, but when I upped the resolution to 50MP, or if I added more features like Top Shot or motion photos, there was often a long delay.
After I pressed the shutter button, I couldn’t take another shot for a few seconds, which feels like a lifetime when I’m trying to snap the perfect picture. I definitely missed shots because of this delay.
This isn’t a new thing for Pixel phones. I noticed the same problem on my Pixel 9 Pro last year, though it happened more frequently on last year’s phone. Maybe Google’s performance is improving, but if the Tensor G5 isn’t even fast enough to keep up with the Pixel 10 Pro’s camera, then Google needs to seriously rethink its processor strategy. It’s time to ask Qualcomm for some help, or maybe even MediaTek. Anything would be better than another Tensor chip in a Pixel phone.
The strangest performance anomaly is the Pixel 10 Pro’s benchmark scores compared to the Pixel 10 base model. With less RAM – 12GB instead of the 16GB on the Pro model – the Pixel 10 still beat the Pixel 10 Pro in many benchmark tests.
On CPU tests like Geekbench 6.4, and on graphics tests like the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited test, the Pixel 10 scored higher than the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL. That seems like terrible tuning on Google’s part. There should be no reason why the less expensive phone beats the Pro models with more RAM, faster storage technology, and other supposed benefits.
Performance score: 3 / 5
Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Battery life should be much better – I blame the Tensor chips
Magnetic charging helps a lot, but charging is still a problem
The Pixel 10 Pro lasted through a full day of use on most days in my week testing the latest Pixel phones. There were only two days when I needed to charge the phone before bed time, and those were both days with lots of video shooting, such as my day at the Orange County, New York air show – shooting airplane videos drains the battery faster, apparently.
What makes this so frustrating is the Pixel 10 Pro hasn’t improved much over the Pixel 9 Pro. In Future Labs battery tests, the 10 Pro lasted about 15 minutes longer than last year’s Pro model. I expected much more improvement.
Why? Because every other Android phone has improved dramatically this year, if they are packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite inside. Phones like the Galaxy S25 or OnePlus 13 that upgraded to Qualcomm’s latest chip also saw hours of battery life improvements.
Qualcomm changed my expectations for what a new chipset could offer, and if I was already disappointed by the Tensor G5’s performance then the mediocre battery life is just the double whammy that should put the nail in the Tensor coffin. Let’s try something new next year, okay, Google?
Having magnetic charging helps, mostly because I also have an iPhone and I’ve been collecting MagSafe chargers and accessories for a few years. They all work perfectly with the Pixelsnap magnets in the Pixel 10 Pro, so it was easy to keep my phone topped up with power throughout the day. I just popped it onto my desk charger, or connected to my bedside charging stand.
I have these magnetic stands everywhere, and the convenience outweighs the slower charging they offer. Stock up when they go on sale, you’ll be thankful when your phone always seems to have just enough juice.
Battery score: 3 / 5
Should you buy the Google Pixel 10 Pro?
Google Pixel 10 Pro scorecard
Value
A more refined and interesting phone than similar flagships like the iPhone 16 Pro or Galaxy S25 Plus, but there is plenty of scope for Google to offer more (or drop the price for the holidays).
4/5
Design
Excellent design refines the Pixel look even further, with great materials and color options that are classy and durable. No need to change anything here; the Pixel was already a great-looking phone.
4/5
Display
The Pixel 10 Pro’s standout feature. Google’s phone displays are always a knockout, and this screen is brighter and more sharp than any other display I’ve seen (and I’ve seen them all).
5/5
Software
A mix of useful new tools and questionable AI additions. The Pro model is worth the upgrade, thanks to AI features you won’t find on cheaper Pixel phones, but some new features like Magic Cue didn’t work the way Google promised.
5/5
Cameras
Some of the best camera you can buy on a smartphone, with unique AI tools and helpers. The AI goes too far sometimes, but the end results are more impressive than what your friends are shooting.
5/5
Performance
Lackluster performance from the Tensor G5 chip. Most features run fast enough, but I found lag in the camera between shots, and the chipset wasn’t as fast or efficient as any other recent Android flagships.
3/5
Battery
Battery life was fine, but every other Android phone saw major gains with faster chips inside, while the Tensor-powered Pixel was left behind. Pixelsnap and magnetic charging help bridge the gap, and keep the phone charged enough to last you a day.
3/5
Buy it if...
You want to be productive with your Pixel The Pixel 10 lacks some of the best Pixel 10 Pro features, like AI call screening that takes notes and makes sure you don’t miss detailsView Deal
You can’t be seen with a brightly colored phone These days, Pro means subdued, and the Pixel 10 Pro comes in colors that are appealing but not as bright as the Indigo or Lemongrass Pixel 10View Deal
You want the best camera phone… maybe The Pixel 10 Pro took photos that were better than the shots my iPhone 16 Pro took… most of the time. We’ll do a lot more testing before we call this the best, though.View Deal
Don't buy it if...
You don’t plan on buying any magnetic accessories Pixelsnap charges slower, but the convenience makes the Pixel 10 Pro a much better experience, especially considering its poor battery showing.View Deal
You play a lot of mobile games with intense graphics I didn’t have too much trouble with the slow performance of the Tensor G5 chipset, but serious gamers may want a Snapdragon instead.View Deal
You really want the best camera phone The 10 Pro has the same cameras as the Pro XL, but the XL’s larger screen and battery make the bigger phone the better camera pick.View Deal
Also consider...
Pixel 10 Pro XL For a bit more moolah, you get a bigger display and battery, faster charging, and more storage inside. The XL is my first choice for Pixel fun.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Apple has stiff competition, but if all your friends carry iPhones, you’ll miss the iOS-specific features that keep the cult of Apple together.
I tested the Google Pixel 10 Pro for a week, alongside the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro XL. I used the Pixel 10 Pro as a work phone with my high-security work accounts. I loaded the phone with more than a hundred apps, and multiple Google accounts.
I used the Pixel 10 Pro as a camera, testing every camera feature. I used AI features to ask questions and generate sample images. I connected Magic Cue to all of my personal Google account information, and I fed the Pixel 10 Pro a regular diet of screenshots of my personal dealings for the Screenshots app.
I connected the Pixel 10 Pro to my Pixel Watch 3, my Pixel Buds Pro, and many other Bluetooth headsets and devices. I used Android Auto in my Kia and my friends’ Acura and Subaru cars, and connected to Bluetooth in an older BMW.
I've been testing phones for more than 20 years, since the days of BlackBerry and Palm OS smartphones and Samsung flip phones. I've tested hundreds of devices myself, and our Future Labs experts have tested hundreds more.
Future Labs tests phones using a mix of third-party benchmark software and proprietary, real-world tests. We use Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, WebXPRT and Mobile XPRT, and 3DMark for performance testing. We test a phone's performance on video editing tasks using Adobe Premiere Rush. We also measure display color output and brightness.
For battery testing, we have proprietary rundown tests that are the same for every phone, which we use to determine how long it takes for the battery to run down.
The Aukey Spark Mini 20000 has simple yet elegant looks, with its soft edges helping to make it more sleek. Aside from grey and silver, there’s also a pink colorway if you want something a little more vibrant.
However, the materials don’t look especially premium, and it’s not as solid as some of the best power banks, with considerable flexing in the front panel, which can even trigger the power button if pressed too hard.
Thankfully, the bottom section is much sturdier, as well as looking more refined thanks to its matte finish and slightly soft texture. This is also the thickest and heaviest part of the unit, but thanks to its overall compactness, the Spark Mini 20000 is quite portable – although carrying it in your pocket might prove a little too onerous.
There’s no real interface, aside from a power button and five small LED dots: four to indicate remaining charge and one to indicate that charging is active. This is quite useful, as it allows you to check whether your device is actually charging with a mere glance.
The Spark Mini 20000 features just two charging ports: one USB-C and one USB-A, the latter of which serves as an output as well as an input for charging the bank itself. This limited selection is a little disappointing, as there are many other 20K power banks with three or four ports to choose from.
At least simultaneous charging is supported, and each port provides enough power for fast charging. The USB-C port supports the PD standard, providing 20W of power for charging the best iPhones and other smartphones quickly, while the USB-A port provides 22.5W of power. A USB-C-to-C cable is included in the box, but it’s quite short, so you’ll need your device close to the bank when charging.
The Spark Mini 20000 managed to charge my Google Pixel 7a from empty to full in about two hours, which isn’t a spectacular performance, but is still within the bounds of what you would expect given its power delivery. However, charging the bank itself from empty to full took over five and a half hours, which is pretty slow going, even for a power bank of this capacity.
About average for a power bank with this size, the Spark Mini 20000 costs $35.99 / £26.37 (about AU$55). However, there are power banks with similar prices that offer more features, such as the INIU Carry P51L-E1 Power Bank 22.5W 20000mAh.
This bank has the same 20,000mAh capacity, but includes an integrated USB-C cable in addition to two ports. It also features a digital display and a flashlight, but still manages to be about the same size as the Spark Mini 20000.
(Image credit: Future)
Aukey Spark Mini 20000 review: price & specs
Price
$35.99 / £26.37 (about AU$55)
Capacity
20,000mAh
Total wattage
22.5W
Number of ports
2
USB-C
1
USB-A
1
Wireless charging
No
Weight
11.4oz / 322g
Power-to-weight
62mAh/g
(Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Aukey Spark Mini 20000?
Buy it if…
You want something simple The Spark Mini 20000 is a simple case of plug and go, and the LED to indicate charging is active is a simple but useful touch.
You want something compact The Spark Mini 20000 makes for a great travel companion thanks to its small dimensions, even if it’s a little thick.
Don't buy it if…
You have more than two devices to charge With only two ports, the Spark Mini 20000 is limited compared to similarly capacious power banks, which can include three or four ports – and even integrated cables.
You want more features With no digital display or integrated cables and the like, the Spark Mini 20000 is about as simple as it gets – and similarly priced rivals offer more.
Aukey Spark Mini 20000 review: Also consider
INIU Carry P51L-E1 Power Bank 22.5W 20000mAh The P51L-E1 has a similar capacity and power output to the Spark Mini 20000, but has an integrated USB-C cable, which also functions as a carrying loop. It also has a flashlight and a digital display, although the latter is a little sparse in the information it provides, but is clear to see. It’s also about the same price as the Spark Mini 20000, so ultimately it makes for better value. Read our full INIU Carry P51L-E1 Power Bank 22.5W 20000mAh review.
The Ugreen Nexode Power Bank has 165W of power and a 20000mAh, as well as a few features aimed at improving convenience.
In line with the range in which this power bank sits, the Nexode has a dark grey finish with black accents, making it slightly more interesting to look at than other power banks. The smooth matte finish also adds a hint of elegance, giving the impression that this is a premium product.
However, this belies the actual build quality of the Nexode. Despite its heaviness, some of the panels can flex slightly; they aren’t as solid as those you’ll find on many Anker power banks, for instance, which are some of the best power banks around in terms of construction.
Still, the Nexode should suffice for travel purposes. What’s more of an issue when traveling is just how bulky it is. It might have a relatively short length but it’s quite thick, and personally I would’ve preferred the compromise to be the other way around, as a thinner bank is easier to tuck away into a bag.
However, I did appreciate the rubber feet on the back panel. I haven’t noticed their absence on other power banks before, but seeing them here has made me realize how useful they are for protecting the bank and supporting surfaces from scratches. They also prevent the bank from sliding around.
The Nexode also has a large display, although unfortunately the readout is considerably smaller than the space appears to allow for. It’s also quite dim, which, combined with the reflective screen, can make it even hard to see.
The information it does provide, though, is quite useful. As well as the battery life percentage, there’s also estimated charging times for connected devices or the bank itself, as well as an indicator showing which connections are currently active and their wattage. Pressing the power button takes you to a second screen, where you can view the voltage and amperage of each connection, too.
Perhaps the standout feature of the Nexode, though, is the retractable USB-C cable. This is easy to use, although it does have a tendency to twist around, which can make it awkward to put back in. It’s also quite thin and doesn’t feel particularly hardy, but Ugreen does claim it can endure over 25,000 retractions and over 10,000 bends.
In addition to this cable, you also get two USB ports: one Type-A and one Type-C. Like the retractable cable, the latter port is both an input and an output, while the former is output only. Both USB-C interfaces are capable of receiving and delivering 100W each, although if both are used at the same time, the port will drop to 65W. The USB-A port delivers 33W maximum.
The Nexode also supports three-way charging, but in such cases the two USB ports drop to 10W, while the retractable cable retains its 100W capability. There’s also a trickle charging mode for charging smaller devices with more sensitive batteries, such as wireless earbuds and smartwatches, activated by holding the power button for five seconds.
Using the retractable USB-C cable, I managed to charge my Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 4, which has a 57Wh battery, from 5% to 90% in under 90 minutes, before the Nexode depleted completely. This is quite fast, but it’s a shame it ran out before making it to 100%, and means you can’t even get one full charge out of it. Charging the bank itself from empty to full took about one hour and 40 minutes, which again is a respectable time.
The Nexode is expensive for a power bank, even one with this much power, retailing for $99.99 / £79.99 (about AU$150). The Anker Laptop Power Bank is about the same price, but has a greater capacity and two integrated cables. It’s also slightly thinner and better made than the Nexode.
We have seen it around for less than its original price, though, and if you can catch it in a sale, the Nexode might still prove a solid pick for charging your large devices.
(Image credit: Future)
Ugreen Nexode Power Bank 20000mAh 165W review: price & specs
Price
$99.99 / £79.99 (about AU$150)
Capacity
20,000mAh
Total wattage
165W
Number of ports
3
USB-C
2 (1 x built-in)
Wireless charging
No
Weight
18.9oz / 535g
Power-to-weight
37.4mAh/g
(Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Ugreen Nexode Power Bank 20000mAh 165W?
Buy it if…
You want plenty of power Most modern laptops don’t need 165W to charge quickly, and the fast two- and three-way charging times are also welcome.
You want useful charging information Aside from the usual battery percentage, the display on the Nexode also provides wattage, voltage, and amperage figures for each active connection.
Don't buy it if…
You want something thin Personally, I prefer a power bank to be as thin as possible, as this makes it easier to pack away. Unfortunately, though, the Nexode is quite thick.
You want full laptop charges The 20,000mAh capacity doesn’t cut it for multiple charges of large devices – sometimes not even one full charge, in my experience.
Ugreen Nexode Power Bank 20000mAh 165W review: Also consider
Anker Laptop Power Bank If you’re after another high-power, high-capacity power bank, the Anker Laptop Power Bank is a stellar alternative. Not only does it feature a retractable USB-C cable like the Nexode, but it also features another integrated USB-C cable that acts as a carrying loop when not in use. It also has a better display and build quality, as well as being thinner, which I find makes it easier to transport. Read our full Anker Laptop Power Bank review.
