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After a week reviewing the Pixel 10 Pro XL, I wouldn’t give it up for all the iPhones in the world
8:00 pm | August 27, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Google Pixel Phones Phones | Tags: | Comments: Off

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Two-minute review

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

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in Porcelain against a blue background with a green neon Android figurine in the background

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in Porcelain against a blue background with a green neon Android figurine in the background

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro specifications

Dimensions:

162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5mm

Weight:

232g

Display:

6.8-inch Actua display

Resolution:

1344 x 2992 pixels

Refresh rate:

1-120Hz

Peak brightness:

3,300 nits

Chipset:

Google Tensor G5

RAM:

16GB

Storage:

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

OS:

Android 16

Main cameras

50MP wide; 48MP ultra-wide; 48MP telephoto (5x zoom)

Selfie camera:

42MP

Battery:

5,200mAh

Charging:

45W wired; 25W Qi2 wireless (magnetic)

Colors:

Obsidian, Porcelain, Jade, Moonstone

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Design

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in Porcelain against a blue background with a green neon Android figurine in the background

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • 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

Google Pixel 10 Pro in Jade with checkered tile backsplash background

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in Porcelain against a blue background with a green neon Android figurine in the background

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in Porcelain against a blue background with a green neon Android figurine in the background

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Performance

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in Porcelain against a blue background with a green neon Android figurine in the background

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in Porcelain against a blue background with a green neon Android figurine in the background

(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.

Read our in-depth Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max reviewView Deal

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.

Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra reviewView Deal

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Price

$1,199 / £1,199 / AU $1,999

$1,199 / £1,199 / AU $2,149

$1,249 / £1,249 / AU $2,349

Display

6.8-inch Super Actua display

6.9-inch Super Retina display

6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display

Processor

Google Tensor G5

Apple A18 Pro

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy

Battery Results (HH:MM:SS)

14:20:57

17:35:30

18:35:39

How I tested the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL

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.

First reviewed August 2025

I finally found an action camera that captures life from my POV – the new Insta360 GO Ultra goes where my iPhone can’t, and the results are brilliant
4:00 pm | August 21, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Action Cameras Cameras Computers Gadgets | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Insta360 GO Ultra: two-minute review

Get drawn in by the fun magnetic system and tiny size, and be genuinely impressed by the quality of the 4K footage. That’s what happened when I tested the Insta360 GO Ultra, a product that takes the advancements made with Insta360's Ace Pro 2 and GO 3S and turns them into another (really) compact, pocket-sized camera system for adventurous creators.

I've been into action cameras since the first GoPros came out (terrifyingly, almost 20 years ago). But until recently, I've always found their bulky housings less than ideal in adventure-type scenarios (running up a mountain peak, or learning to surf, for example). The whole point of the GO Ultra is to unlock more creative opportunities without sacrificing portability.

Insta360 might be best known for its innovative 360-degree cameras, but it's a brand that’s becoming synonymous with challenging the norms of action cams, too. The GO Ultra is a frankly tiny, pocketable camera (at 1.9 oz / 53g), about the same size as an Apple Watch. It's a natural successor to the GO 3S (released in 2024), but not a replacement. At the time of writing, Insta360 told me that both cameras will remain on sale.

The Insta360 GO Ultra camera held by a female photographer against a green wooded backdrop

(Image credit: Lauren Scott)

Like its predecessor, the magic of the Go Ultra is its modular design that combines a standalone camera and an Action Pod, giving you unique ways to shoot, charge and play. On the surface, the camera simply looks like a square version of the GO Ultra 3S, and powerful magnets on its base mount to the Action Pod (where the screen and buttons are) or numerous accessories and attachments. I even mounted the camera to our car, but that’s a story for another day.

However, inside its dark gray exterior are some notable improvements. The sensor is 221% bigger for better low-light capture, and a new 5nm AI chip delivers benefits to video quality using algorithms. The GO Ultra can shoot 4K60fps video, where the GO 3S was limited to 4K 30fps. And I found the PureVideo mode – that uses said AI algorithms to cut down on noise in low light – delivered good results at sundown, where my previous action cams struggled. The maximum wide 156-degree POV is great for group shots and selfies, vlogs and immersive action alike, and the view can be tailored to avoid a warped perspective.

This is a content companion for people with an active lifestyle rather than professional athletes. I found myself shooting more with the camera overall, simply because in one snap, I could have hands-free recording.

Like the GO 3S, the standalone camera is more rugged than the Action Pod. You can use it in freezing conditions and depths of 33 feet (10 meters) underwater, while the pod is only splashproof, which is a shame. Other rugged points for the camera include a replacement lens cap (helpful if you scratch it during activities) and a push-up cover to keep the memory card slot inside dry.

I love the simplicity of the GO Ultra’s design. Like the Insta360 Ace Pro 2, the flip-up touchscreen on the action pod is an alternative to the front-and-back solution on GoPro, and I found it more intuitive for vlogging. Handling is a three-button operation, with intuitive swipes for key menus on the touchscreen, and the magnetic mounting system is always satisfying and feels secure.

A female photographer in a stripy top wearing the Insta360 GO Ultra using the magnet pendant underneath

(Image credit: Lauren Scott)

The GO Ultra's battery life was a sore point for me, and not as impressive as all-in-one rivals. I got around an hour of 1080p video recording from the standalone camera, but more than double when combined with the Action Pod. USB-C charging takes you from 0 - 80% in around 12 minutes, though, making up for the fact that the battery doesn’t last as long as Insta360 suggests based on their lab tests.

There's no built-in storage for content like the GO 3S has, but microSD cards up to 2TB are compatible, and it's so quick and easy to get footage off the camera using the Insta360 app on a smartphone. I don't think this is a problem (just an extra cost to bear in mind).

Image quality is better than the GO 3S, with photos capped at 50MP instead of 9MP. And you get HDR video mode, too, with the option to apply 'Dolby Vision' to shot footage to give it more contrast and color. The usual video modes like Timelapse and Slow Motion work as expected, while new Toddler Titan mode adds fresh, immersive POVs. There are several new features aimed at families, including AI Family Moments to pull content of loved ones into a virtual album.

The camera's audio quality was surprisingly crisp in most scenarios, and voice-specific modes picked up my rambling very clearly, while a wind-reduction mode helped while running in a breeze. Although I haven't tested them, GO Ultra is also compatible with several external microphones designed for high-quality sound, including Insta360's Mic Air, and third-party Bluetooth mics like the DJI Mic Mini and AirPods Pro 2.

The Insta360 GO Ultra is hugely versatile, and I filmed in so many places, with so many perspectives, that wouldn't have been safe or possible with my iPhone alone. If you're a family wanting more creative holiday snaps, a creator feeling stuck with what you can shoot with a smartphone, or just someone with an active lifestyle, the GO Ultra feels like the ultimate lightweight and fun solution.

Insta360 GO Ultra: specs

Insta360 GO Ultra specs

Sensor

1/1.28-inch

Max Resolution

50MP (8192x6144) photos
4K, 60fps

Weight

1.87oz / 53g (camera) 3.8oz / 109g (action pod)

Dimensions

1.8x 1.8 x 0.7 inches / 46 x 46 x18mm (camera)
2.8 x 1.9 x 1.3 inches / 70 x 49 x 33mm (Action Pod)

Gyroscope

6-axis

ISO Range

100–6400

Aperture

f/2.85

Connectivity

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB-C 2.0

Storage

microSD card, up to 2TB

Waterproofing

33ft (10m)

The box contents of the Insta360 GO Ultra including a USB-C and lens protector on a wooden floor

(Image credit: Lauren Scott)

Insta360 GO Ultra: Price and availability

  • Launched worldwide on August 21 2025
  • Standard bundle costs $449.99 / £369 / AU$759
  • Creator bundle costs $499.99 / £409 / AU$839

The Insta360 GO Ultra was announced on August 21 2025 (after being teased on August 18) and is available to order now from DJI’s online store and major retailers like Amazon.

It comes with two different bundle options. The Standard Combo includes the camera, quick-release cord, magnet pendant, magnetic clip and a USB-C charging cable. It costs $449.99 / £369 / AU$759.

The Creator Combo bags you all of the above, plus a Mini 2-in-1 Tripod 2.0, Quick Release Mount and Pivot Stand. It costs $499.99 / £409 / AU$839. Although a lens cap is provided, you'll need to buy a separate pouch or case, as neither bundle includes one – and this feels a bit mean.

The pricing puts the GO Ultra at just a fraction more than the Іnѕtа360 X3 in the US and UK (when it's not on offer), which is now three years old, but that does offer 5.7K 360-degree capture over the GO Ultra's 4K. It's roughly the same price as the Insta360 Go 3S, but you get double the frame rate with 60fps video capabilities.

I think the GO Ultra is fairly priced. The GoPro Hero 13 Black is a strong competitor at around $359.99/£305, particularly if you want a traditional action camera and don't mind a bulkier design. There's no built-in storage, so factor in the cost of buying a microSD card before you can start filming.

  • Price score: 4.5/5

Insta360 GO Ultra: Design

  • Standalone camera is waterproof, operates down to -20C / -4F
  • Strong magnetic base connects to Action Pod and range of handy mounts
  • The camera weighs 1.87oz / 53g and is similar in size to Apple Watch

The Insta360 GO Ultra resembles a square version of its former self, the GO 3S (its only real rival). Where its predecessor was pill-shaped and about the size of a thumb, the GO Ultra is square and more than half as deep as it is wide, sitting neatly between your forefinger and thumb for quick handheld shots. That’s only half of the product, though. Without the Action Pod, the GO Ultra is one of the lightest action cameras you can buy at 1.87oz / 53g (14g heavier than the GO 3S). Using the Action Pod turns the GO Ultra into more of a traditional GoPro-style action camera.

The main difference is that there’s one flip-up LCD touchscreen, rather than a screen at the front and back. As an owner of the GoPro Hero 12 Black, this flip-up screen was a revelation to me, and I found it so helpful when filming walking shots and talking to the camera, or to see how a shot was framed when shooting with the standalone camera remotely.

No doubt it contributes to the Action Pod’s lack of waterproofing, though. The IPX8-rated camera can be fully submerged underwater, but the Pod is only resistant to splashes, limiting where you can take it. On this, I was always careful to dry the camera before popping it back into the Pod.

As far as durability goes, the camera is also freeze-proof down to -4 degrees °F (-20°C), so it’s ripe for snowsports. And a screw-on lens protector added peace of mind for me against lens scratches, given that a replacement is around $20/£20. I’ve known so many action cameras in the past to fog up when filming underwater or changing temperatures quickly, but the lens guard has an anti-fog coating that avoided this particular pain point well.

I found the operation of the camera simple, which is a great thing because it lets you focus on the fun part of creating. The Action Pod has just three buttons: red up top for recording, a power button and a Q button to quickly switch modes on the right. There’s a raised button to release the standalone camera from its magnetic mount on the left (above a USB-C charging point), and I never found myself pressing this accidentally.

You really have to tug the standalone camera to release it from the Pod's magnets, which avoids unwanted drops. Underneath the Action Pod, there are two holes to fit the GO Ultra’s specific Quick Release Mount (sold separately, but very solid), for a secure fit to accessories like the brand’s Pet Harness. Attaching the camera to a pet harness was decidedly old school, with an action mount and screw system. But this kept it firmly in place, even after a lot of doggo rolling.

Navigating the camera’s menus is easy, too. When you first turn on the GO Ultra, you get a walkthrough of what gestures bring up which settings. It took me a few hours to remember which did which (old dogs), but it soon became second nature. A right swipe brings up playback for footage, and a right swipe lets you dial in more settings and switch between Auto and Manual Mode.

The touchscreen is bright, colorful and responsive, which makes changing settings – even with wet or cold fingers – straightforward. You can buy the Insta360 GO Ultra in either Midnight Black (model tested here) or Arctic White, but either way, the construction is from a rigid, matte plastic that seems scratch-resistant, and like it could take a few knocks and drops. It’s sensible action camera fodder.

  • Design score: 4.5/5

Insta360 GO Ultra: Performance and features

  • Quick AI-edited videos via the Insta360 app
  • Standalone camera charges 80% in 12 mins
  • Compatible with microSD cards up to 2TB

The GO Ultra is designed to work alongside the free Insta360 app, which pairs to the camera via its own WiFi network for remote operation. From here, you can also download, preview and edit videos on your smartphone. Other than installing some new firmware (released just before the camera), I was paired and ready to shoot from the app in under 10 minutes.

The standalone camera and Action Pod pair via Bluetooth when they're apart. I found the connection seamless, with no lag when changing settings or in the real-time view on the screen. Range can be an issue, though, both from the camera to the phone and from the camera to the pod. More than about five meters away, or underwater, the connection would dip out, and the camera would stop recording. It's not a dealbreaker, but it might limit more complex setups, especially if you're shooting somewhere wet.

The GO Ultra has a 6-axis gyroscope to measure the camera's movement and rotation, and through an algorithm, makes the video more stable and gives you a more even horizon. Image stabilization isn’t bad, but I found fast-moving objects needed a bit of extra help. When trail running, I got my best results by activating the Jitter Blur Reduction mode, plus Tilt Fix, which corrects uneven mounting by up to 10 degrees. It took me a while to discover both of these, and my first clips with the camera clipped to a hat (including this swimming clip below) were fairly wonky. Once activated, though, the results evened out nicely, and even clips of my dog lolloping at full speed looked stable.

The camera has a built-in microphone, and four modes for picking up sound – Stereo, Voice Enhancement, strong and weak wind reduction. I found the audio quality really impressive while walking in good conditions. My voice was picked up clearly when talking to the camera, and even in a busy city, the camera was able to isolate the sounds nearby rather than heavy traffic noises. If you use the camera in water, the audio will drop out, and the camera will need to dry enough before the clarity returns.

Like most action camera mics, there's an issue with wind noise disrupting the clarity (especially when running in breezy conditions), but the wind reduction setting did noticeably reduce this. It's a big advantage for serious creators to be able to boost the sound quality with an external mic like the Insta360 Mic Air, DJI Mic 2 and AirPods 4. Although without testing, it's hard to comment on the performance this would bring specifically.

I found all the camera's shooting modes and presets easy to get good footage with, partly because the camera does such a good job of explaining what each one does, without the advice feeling intrusive on the screen. It was also easy to control the camera with voice commands, "turn the camera off", "mark that" and hand gestures like making a peace sign to trigger a photo. I found that the standalone camera gets very hot after filming. Even after low-resolution clips, I felt it burning a hole in my shorts pocket, but this didn't cause any interruption in recording, so I don't think it's a major issue.

Once my clips were captured, I was ready to start editing my videos. Much like GoPro and DJI's accompanying editing apps, Insta360's version also features AI-assisted editing tools to pick out clip highlights. There are tonnes of presets to choose from – with funky names like Vibe City and Tunes and Travel – which do a fair job of creating quick, shareable clips by adding transitions and music.

There are helpful default export settings for platforms like WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, although you can customize export parameters. I enjoy editing manually, but the Insta360 app is so intuitive that I can see even total beginners getting creative right away. Some of these end up being a bit cheesy, but you can tailor the music and effects to suit your tastes. I've included an example of an AI-edited video below, with clips of my dog wearing the pet harness on walkies.

The GO Ultra's biggest downfall – and something we struggled with while testing the GO 3S – is battery life. The standalone camera has a 500mAh capacity, and the action pod 1,450mAh capacity – noticeably smaller than the 2,400mAh capacity on the Insta360 X5, but an improvement on the GO 3S' 310mAh and its 38-minute life. Also, unlike action cams with replaceable batteries, when you run out of juice, that means content creating is on hold until you can find a way to recharge.

Insta360 says you can get 70 minutes of footage out of the standalone camera. Adding the Action Pod gives you 200 minutes. But that's with Endurance Mode on, the LCD and Wi-Fi off, and for 1080 24fps video – conditions I don't think most normal shooters are going to replicate. When I tried shooting a video in 1080 30fps from full power, without all the caveats on the specs sheet, I got around 150 minutes with the pod and 45 minutes without. I don't think that's dreadful for a camera this small, and it's worth noting that a 10-minute charge took me from about 0-75% so I was ready to shoot again. But it's something to consider if you're away from power for long periods, or looking to shoot continuous cycles, runs and hikes for longer.

  • Performance score: 4/5

Insta360 GO Ultra: Image quality

  • New 1/1.28-inch sensor with AI chip
  • Captures 4K video up to 50fps and 50MP photos
  • Low-light video mode with PureView

Insta360 has given the GO Ultra a bigger 1/1.28-inch sensor than the GO 3S, the idea being that this is capable of capturing more detail in low light. The GO Ultra also supports video capture up to 4K 60fps and 1080 240fps for slow-motion, plus new HDR that can be applied to clips and stills. Unsurprisingly (because this is a super user-friendly camera), there's no option to shoot in a flat profile for more color grading scope during post-production. But that's no problem, as I think most users will stick to editing in the Insta360 app anyway. Beyond the specs, what do the results look like in real life?

Going into testing the GO Ultra, I think my expectations were too low for a camera of this size. I found video quality to be brilliant in all 10 modes, but footage was sharpest and most vibrant in abundant sunshine. In the camera's Standard color preset (there are 8 in total, including Vibrant and Urban) videos were still colorful and had decent detail in the shadow and highlight areas, although the contrast ratio wasn't good enough to expose a very bright sky like a sunset, and a dark foreground, in one shot.

It's easy to switch the GO Ultra to Manual exposure mode, where you can take control of the shutter speed, ISO (100–6400) and white balance yourself. I found this most helpful for stationary shots, but wouldn't recommend it to beginners. In short – and unlike my mirrorelss camera – Auto mode saw me through all shooting scenarios, and I rarely felt the urge to take over. The joy of this camera is in its simple opration.

The camera adapts quickly to rapid changes in light, such as coming out of a shady forest into an open field. And I found that useful when I was running in the countryside, moving quickly, where i didn't want the picture to be shrouded in darkness for a few seconds. Being summer, I did a lot of shooting in direct and dappled sun, and found that lens flare was handled well, too.

Big talking points of the GO Ultra’s video capabilities are the new additions of Active HDR and PureVideo. Like SuperNight on the DJI Osmo 360, it's designed to enhance the quality and sensitivity of low-light shooting. It's somewhat limited to automatic settings and 4K 30fps, but you can shift the exposure up and down in increments. Walking around a city at night, I was able to pick up plenty of detail in the buildings, street lights and the sky, although I think there's some aggressive denoising AI going on inside the camera, as the footage did look a bit muddy at times.

Photos from the camera have a seemingly high megapixel count (the maximum resolution is 50MP or 37MP with a 16:9 aspect ratio), which is a big bump up from the GO 3S' 12MP in 4:3 (9MP in 16:9). In practice, I'd say that's more than adequate for slotting into videos, or uploading to social platforms, but I wouldn't want to make big prints from them. At the camera's widest field of view, you get a 14.27mm equivalent in 35mm terms – expansive enough to get groups in the frame, or to shoot yourself while walking. If you're not a fan of the warped action camera look, a Linear POV does a great job at giving you a more natural wide-angle, good for vloggers.

Overall, I'm impressed by the quality of GO Ultra's footage. It's in line with an action cam that's this portable, and the addition of HDR to video as well as photos (with Dolby Vision for an extra boost) delivers polished videos you can safely deliver to friends, family and your social channels.

If I were a professional creator, I wouldn't rely on this camera to cover all my video needs. But it excels at what it's designed for – being small, getting places other cams can't, and remaining user-friendly for beginners. The battery life is lacking for extended shooting durations, and night footage is still overcooked with PureVideo mode. But GO Ultra's video is good in most areas, and does appear to be an improvement over the 3S in low light (I haven't tested them side by side, so can't say for sure). With its kid and pet-friendly design, I think Insta360 has found the right balance for casual creators with an active lifestyle.

  • Image quality score: 4/5

Insta360 GO Ultra: testing scorecard

Insta360 GO Ultra

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Price

Similar cost to the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 and Insta360 Go 3S, but the quality of the package is worth it.

4.5/5

Design

A nearly seamless experience with the Action Pod, plus waterproofing and a protective lens on the standalone camera.

4.5/5

Performance & features

Gets hot, and the battery drains quickly. The Insta360 app makes light work of image transfers and AI edits and there are plenty of tricks and modes.

4/5

Image quality

HDR is a great addition, but it's still not a class-leader in low light. You sacrifice some quality for portability.

4/5

Should I buy the Insta360 GO Ultra?

Buy it if...

You want to balance performance with portability
Video quality is high, but not the best of all action cameras out there. But the GO Ultra can also go places other action cameras can't, at least without tonnes of extra mounts.

You don't mind shorter battery life
I spent time shooting shorter clips on the GO Ultra, and recharging it little and often. If you plan to capture all-day events or sustained activities like rides or hikes, the battery life might be a limiting factor.

Don't buy it if...

You want the smallest action camera
The Insta360 Go Ultra is small, but not quite as tiny as the GO 3S. At almost 15g less, the Go 3S might unlock even more possibilities.

You want a fully waterproof solution
The Action Pod is only splashproof, a fact that made me uncomfortable while shooting. If you shoot a lot of wet content, I'd go for a fully waterproofed model.

Also consider

How I tested the Insta360 GO Ultra

  • I tested a full production model for three weeks
  • I mounted the camera on my hat, handlebars, and even my dog
  • I recorded videos during the day, sunset and after dark

Insta360 sent me a review sample of the GO Ultra Standard Bundle about three weeks before the official release date. This gave me enough time to test all the camera's modes and mounting options, including those with and without the Action Pod, as well as with the magnetic clip on my hat and the magnetic pendant on hikes in the countryside.

Insta360 also supplied a large version of their pet harness, and I attached the camera to my dog out on walkies to see what footage looked like from the POV of a bouncy Flatcoated Retriever.

I used the GO Ultra wild swimming in a local river to test the waterproofing, tried it running, and even attached it to our car as we drove along a country lane. I shot in bright sunshine, at sunset and night – essentially, in all the lighting conditions I could think of for creators. I edited content straight from the camera to the Insta360 mobile app on my iPhone 15 Pro, as well as manually taking footage from the built-in SD card and editing it on my iMac.

  • First reviewed August 2025
Google Pixel Watch 4 review: Big design changes make for a great smart companion
7:00 pm | August 20, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Health & Fitness Smartwatches | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Google Pixel Watch 4: One-minute review

Google Pixel Watch 4

(Image credit: Blue Pixl Media)

Google's latest crop of hardware, released at its Made by Google 2025 event, including phones, earbuds, and of course, the Google Pixel Watch 4. Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 or Apple Watch Series 10, the latest generation of the Pixel Watch 4 is less about earth-shattering changes and more about refinements to a working formula.

Google is sticking with the now-iconic and really quite lovely polished pebble circular build that comes in two sizes – the addition of a 45mm option alongside the 41mm model was the big change last year. That means more choice for you if the Pixel Watch sparks your interest, and ultimately lets you get the one that’s the right size for your wrist.

Google is also mostly sticking with the same prices as last year (there's a small increase for the 45mm version in Australia). And despite the outward similarities there are some significant upgrades here, including a healthy dose of AI smarts powered by some new silicon, a forthcoming AI coach that’s part of a larger Fitbit rollout, replaceable parts, a refreshed user interface, and a new domed display that’s physically raised to the touch.

It's a slick piece of kit, and one we really like using for the most part. It looked great, although it was thick on the wrist it was comfortable, and the Material 3 Expressive software design is a joy to use. Fast charging works as described, and the battery on our 45mm unit stands up to its 40-hour claim with moderate use. The Fitbit app, which got a redesigned this year, is intuitive and works very well, although it's irritating that some features are locked behind the Premium paywall.

Testing the PW's heart rate against a chest strap during a workout showed a small amount of inaccuracy: not enough to bother those who just want an estimate of how well they're doing during the day, but enough to make serious athletes looking for pinpoint accuracy slightly wary of trusting the Pixel Watch 4 in the same way they do Apple or Garmin when looking at heart-based metrics.

Google Pixel Watch 4: Specifications

Component

Google Pixel Watch 4

Price

Starting at $399 / £349 / AU$579

Dimensions

41 x 41 x 12.3mm / 45 x 45 x 12.3mm

Weight

31g / 36.7g without straps

Caze/bezel

Recycled aluminum

Display

320ppi always-on display AMOLED with up to 3,000 nits brightness

Operating System

Wear OS 6.0

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor with an ML coprocessor

Memory

2GB of RAM

Storage

32GB

GPS

GPS (Dual-Frequency), Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS

Battery life

Up to 72 hours with battery saver enabled or up to 40 hours with always-on display enabled

Connection

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE

Water resistance

WR50, IP68

Google Pixel Watch 4: Price and Availability

  • From $349 / £349 / AU$579 for the 41mm
  • From $399 / £399 / AU$669 for the 45mm
  • Cellular connectivity costs extra as usual

If you’re looking to upgrade from, say, a Pixel Watch 2 or 3, maybe another Android smartwatch, or even getting your first one, there is a wait for when you’ll actually receive a new Pixel Watch.

Unlike other gadgets that have seen price hikes year over year, the Pixel Watch 4 sticks with the same price as the Pixel Watch 3. Meaning it’s priced at $349 / £349 / AU$579 for the 41mm Pixel Watch 4 with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, or $449 / £449 / AU$749 for cellular connectivity. The larger, 45mm Pixel Watch 4 is $399 / £399 / AU$669 for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, or $499 / £499 / AU$839 for connectivity.

Beyond accessing the internet with the cellular connectivity model, you’ll also need to spend more to get emergency satellite functionality on the Pixel Watch 4. There isn’t an extra monthly or annual cost – at least for two years, that’s what Google provides out of the box – but it needs to make use of the bands found in the cellular version of the watch. That could be a reason alone to get it right there.

  • Value score: 4.5/5

Google Pixel Watch 4: Design

Google Pixel Watch 4 hands-on

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)
  • Domed display
  • New Material 3 Expressive software look
  • Redesigned charger

The first thing I noticed during my hands-on time with the Pixel Watch 4 was that the display itself is not flat like on the Pixel Watch 3. Sure, we’ve seen smartwatches on which the display slopes down the sides towards the watch case, such as the Apple Watch Series 10, but the glass display here is actually domed to the point where, as you swipe across the screen, you’ll feel the surface rise or lower.

This makes the sides of the display and the graphics appearing on the edges even more sloped, a feature the new Material 3 Expressive interface uses in its animations. However, it also noticeably increases the thickness on your wrist. The domed 360 Actua display still looked rich and vibrant with crisp text or numbers, and it got considerably brighter in the demo room, which wasn't brightly lit. Google says it can hit up to 3,000 nits, a jump of 1,000 nits compared to the Pixel Watch 3.

The third-generation Pixel Watch got a larger display than its predecessor, and the fourth-gen model goes bigger again, with 16% smaller bezels and 10% larger active display area, which Google says is made possible by the domed display.

Google Pixel Watch 4 hands-on

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

We think the physical touch and interaction with the watch might take some time to get used to, but the new design delivers a theoretically more durable surface – as is the case with some dome shapes – and more space to hit touchpoints or see items presented on your wrist is certainly a win. It enhances what we described in our Pixel Watch 3 review last year as the 'polished pebble' effect of the Pixel Watch’s looks.

The Pixel Watch 4 still boasts Corning Gorilla Glass to protect against drops or scratches, and the rest of the build here is aerospace-grade aluminum. It’s also water-resistant up to 50 meters. Another major change this year is a redesigned back, which has resulted in the moving of the charging ports in order to make this smartwatch repairable and serviceable.

Yes, you’ll notice several screws, which allow the battery to be replaced for a more sustainable design. This isn’t something that's common for major smartwatch brands, as most devices are sealed units, so it’s a welcome step in the right direction from Google.

Google Pixel Watch 4 hands-on

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

This also means a pretty significant change in charger design, as you’ll no longer place this on a proprietary puck with prongs as you would the Galaxy Watch, Apple Watch, or any Pixel Watch before this. The Pixel Watch 4 charges on its side in a dock, and if you’re charging it on a nightstand this should make it easier to use the smartwatch as a small alarm clock – it’s even perfectly positioned so that you can tap the crown to snooze.

Google is also taking advantage of these charger and design changes to speed up refueling. You can now charge the Pixel Watch 4 from 0% to 50% in just 15 minutes, and Google is promising longer battery life for both sizes – up to 30 hours for the 41mm and up to 40 hours for the 45mm. Your mileage will, of course, vary depending on usage, but it’s a good step beyond the Pixel Watch 3.

  • Design score: 5/5

Google Pixel Watch 4: Features

Google Pixel Watch 4 hands-on

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)
  • On-wrist Gemini
  • Usual suite of health and fitness features
  • Tons of third party apps

Gemini powers a ton of new features. Google’s new Smart Replies feature looks like a welcome innovation, especially if you’re tired of suggested replies that often lack context and are unsuited to the conversation. The Pixel Watch 4’s silicon can power an on-device large language model to generate appropriate suggested replies based on what a message says.

We’ve already seen Gemini arrive on-wrist courtesy of the Galaxy Watch 8, but Google is serving up something special for its watch, and that’s a ‘raise to talk to the AI assistant’ functionality. Simply raise your wrist, and a glowing bar appears at the bottom of the display, which indicates that Gemini is listening and that you can start your request. You don’t need to say ‘Hey Gemini' – Google has us pretty well trained in that department – and it worked well in practice, quickly pulling up the weather.

Google Pixel Watch 4 hands-on

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

Google’s shipping the Pixel Watch 4 with a familiar suite that includes general activity, heart-rate, blood oxygen (SpO2), and sleep tracking. You can also take an ECG or Electrocardiogram, and there’s an improved Skin Temperature sensor for more accurate readings. You can also track over 40 workouts with the Pixel Watch 4.

The real big potential leap, though, is a promised ‘personal AI health coach’ that’s powered by Gemini and set to arrive at some point in October as a preview in the United States at first. It should go beyond ‘Workout Buddy’ on the Apple Watch and some AI features on the Galaxy Watch, but we don’t know exactly what it entails just yet. Google is promising it to be a coach of sorts that bases recommendations on your health data and that you can chat with, maybe something similar to that of Oura Advisor.

While the Pixel Watch 4 doesn’t usher in a tremendously radical redesign, it’s mostly about polishing and the addition of a healthy dose of AI functionality – something that Google is a big fan of. It’s likely that you don’t need to rush out for it if you already have a Pixel Watch 3, as you'll get many of the same features and the same smorgasbord of third-party app availability there.

  • Features score: 4/5

Google Pixel Watch 4: Performance

Google Pixel Watch 4

(Image credit: Amanda Westberg)
  • Zippy and fast day-to-day
  • Battery charges fast and lasts as described
  • Heart rate accuracy fine, but not as accurate as an Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Garmin Venu 4

The Pixel Watch 4 felt like a modern-day smartwatch that was responsive and zippy fast. Under the hood it’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Wearable Platform and a next-gen ML CoProcessor, both of which ensure that the new Material 3 Expressive interface design runs well here. It was easy enough to swipe between tiles, and we especially liked the more vibrant nature of the colors, which you can, of course, customize. Overall, this watch feels speedy compared to previous years.

We tested Gemini with a message that referenced delays on my local train service, and the Pixel Watch 4 delivered an appropriate response. It took a few seconds, but it’s much better than the list found on previous Pixel Watches, the Galaxy Watch, or the Apple Watch. However, we also had a couple of mishaps: it once directed me to a disused train station, not the closest operating one.

We tested the heart rate tracking against an accurate chest-mounted heart rate monitor, the Polar H10, during a four-mile run. The Google Pixel Watch 4 had an average heart rate difference of around 13bpm during our tracked test. Not awful, but the Garmin Venu 4 had a 5bpm difference, while the Apple Watch Ultra 3 had just 1bpm difference to the chest strap.

It's more accurate than the Garmin Instinct 3, which had 18bpm difference, but worth understanding that during our test, the Pixel Watch 4 was more in 'ballpark' territory rather than 'pinpoint accuracy', and perhaps best used as a guideline for activity-based metrics rather than gospel.

However, the watch was extremely comfortable to wear despite its thickness, very useful day-to-day, easy to navigate and a joy to use. Battery performed as described, and charging was very fast. I loved the redesigned charger, especially as the watch feels like it now has a nightstand place.

  • Performance score: 4/5

Scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

Same price as last year, a win!

4.5/5

Design

Iterates on the iconic pebble with smart choices, like the domed screen & new charger.

5/5

Features

All the third party apps you want, workout tracking and AI.

4/5

Performance

Some early glitches & accuracy quibbles, but generally a joy to use.

4/5

Google Pixel Watch 4: Should I buy?

A close up of the Pixel Watch 4 being unscrewed for repairs

(Image credit: iFixit)

Buy it if...

You want the best Wear OS watch

Love Android? This is going to give you the best Wear OS experience.

You're a Fitbit user

This automatically shot to the top of our pick for "best Fitbit watch" thanks to its use of Fitbit integrations.

You're an AI pioneer

Love Gemini? You've now got it on your wrist to perform tasks like smart replies.

Don't buy it if...

You need athlete-level tracking

The Google Pixel Watch 4 wasn't as accurate at measuring our heart rate during a workout as a Garmin Venu 4 or Apple Watch Ultra 3.

You use an iPhone

It sounds silly, but unless you're planning a switch to Android, there's no need to buy this watch.

Also consider

OnePlus Watch 3 on wrist with rotating digital crown

(Image credit: Future)

Component

Google Pixel Watch 4 (41mm)

OnePlus Watch 3 (43mm)

Garmin Venu 4 (41mm)

Price

From $399 / £349 / AU$579

From  $499 / £269.99 / AU$TBC

From $549.99 / £469.99 / AU$949

Dimensions

41 x 41 x 12.3mm

43.2 x 43.2 x 11mm

41 x 41 x 12 mm

Weight

31g without straps

37.8 without straps

46g with band

Caze/bezel

Recycled aluminum

Stainless steel

Stainless steel/Polymer

Display

320ppi always-on display AMOLED

466 x 466px 1.3-in AMOLED display

390 x 390px 1.2-in AMOLED display

Operating System

Wear OS

Wear OS

Garmin OS

GPS

GPS (Dual-Frequency), Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS

Beidou, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS

GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS, SatIQ

Battery life

Up to 72 hours with battery saver enabled or up to 40 hours with always-on display enabled

Up to 60 hours, 7 days in power saver

Up to 10 days

Connection

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

Water resistance

WR50, IP68

5ATM

5ATM

OnePlus Watch 3

An excellent WearOS alternative, in 43mm and 47mm sizes.

Read our full OnePlus Watch 3 review

Garmin Venu 4

One of the best smartwatches for fitness tracking.

Read our full Garmin Venu 4 review

How we tested

We wore the Pixel Watch 3 for days, tracking our sleep, performing ECG tests and working out with a chest-mounted heart rate monitor. We also tested AI systems like smart replies and on-device Gemini searches. We loaded our favorite third-party apps onto the watch, like Strava and Spotify, drained the battery down and examined the speed of its fast charging.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a fine Pixel phone but less than the sum of its parts
7:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Google Pixel Phones Phones | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold: Two-minute review

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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold HANDS ON

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

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold HANDS ON

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

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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

Weight:

258g

Inner Display:

8-inch 120Hz OLED

Outer Display:

6.4-inch 120Hz OLED

Chipset:

Google Tensor G5

RAM:

16GB

Storage:

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

OS:

Android 16 (7 years of Android OS updates)

Main cameras

48MP wide; 10.5MP ultra wide; 10.8MP 5X telephoto zoom

Selfie camera:

10MP

Battery:

5,015 mAh

Charging:

30W wired; 15W Qi2 wireless

Colors:

Moonstone, Jade

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Design

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • 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

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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.

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

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review: Performance

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold in Jade green outside at a flower garden on a sunny day

(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.

Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review

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.

Read our in-depth Google Pixel 10 Pro review

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

Google Pixel 10 Pro

Price

$1,799 / £1,749 / AU $2,699

$1,999.99 / £1,799 / AU$2,899

$999 / £999 / AU $1,699

Display(s)

6.4-inch OLED
8-inch OLED

6.5-inch LTPO AMOLED
8-inch LTPO AMOLED

6.3-inch Super Retina

Main Camera

48MP, f/1.7, 0.5-inch sensor

200MP, f/1.7, 0.76-inch sensor

50MP, f/1.7, 0.76-inch sensor

Battery Test Results (HH:MM:SS)

12:16:31

10:44:44

13:43:30

How I tested the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold

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.

First reviewed October, 2025

First reviewed October, 2025

I reviewed the Google Pixel 10 and it’s the closest Google has come to hitting the iPhone bullseye
7:00 pm |

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Google Pixel 10: Two-minute 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?

Google Pixel 10 in Lemongrass against a bubbly backsplash

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in Porcelain against a blue background with a green neon Android figurine in the background

(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

Google Pixel 10 in Lemongrass against a bubbly backsplash

(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

Google Pixel 10 in Lemongrass against a bubbly backsplash

(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.

Google Pixel 10 in Lemongrass against a bubbly backsplash

(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

Google Pixel 10 in Lemongrass against a bubbly backsplash

(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

Google Pixel 10 in Lemongrass against a bubbly backsplash

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro

(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

Google Pixel 10 in Lemongrass against a bubbly backsplash

(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.

Google Pixel 10 in Lemongrass against a bubbly backsplash

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

Google Pixel 10 review: Performance

Google Pixel 10 in Lemongrass against a bubbly backsplash

(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

Google Pixel 10 blue showing USB-C port

(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.

Read our in-depth Apple iPhone 16 reviewView Deal

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.

Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy S25 reviewView Deal

Google Pixel 10

Apple iPhone 16

Samsung Galaxy S25

Price

$799 / £799 / AU$1,349

$799 / £799 / AU$1,399

$799 / £799 / AU$1,399

Display

6.3-inch Actua display

6.1-inch Super Retina display

6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display

Cameras

48MP wide, 10.8MP 5x zoom, 13MP ultra-wide

48MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide

50MP wide, 10MP 3x zoom, 12MP ultra-wide

Battery Results (HH:MM:SS)

13:13:01

12:13:28

15:22:06

How I tested the Google Pixel 10

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.

First reviewed August 2025

I spent a week testing the Pixel 10 Pro and it’s worth the premium over the Pixel 10 thanks to bonus AI features I didn’t expect to love
7:00 pm |

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Google Pixel 10 Pro: Two-minute 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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro

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

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in Porcelain against a blue background with a green neon Android figurine in the background

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

Google Pixel 10 Pro in Jade with checkered tile backsplash background

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro 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 / 512GB / 1TB

OS:

Android 16

Main cameras

50MP wide; 48MP ultra-wide; 48MP telephoto (5x zoom)

Selfie camera:

42MP

Battery:

4,870mAh

Charging:

30W wired; 15W Qi2 wireless (magnetic)

Colors:

Obsidian, Porcelain, Jade, Moonstone

Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Design

Google Pixel 10 Pro in Jade with checkered tile backsplash background

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • 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

Google Pixel 10 Pro in Jade with checkered tile backsplash background

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro in Jade with checkered tile backsplash background

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro in Jade with checkered tile backsplash background

(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.

Google Pixel 10 Pro in Jade with checkered tile backsplash background

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

Google Pixel 10 Pro review: Performance

Google Pixel 10 Pro in Jade with checkered tile backsplash background

(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

Google Pixel 10 Pro in Jade with checkered tile backsplash background

(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.

Read our in-depth Google Pixel 10 Pro XL reviewView Deal

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.

Read our in-depth Apple iPhone 16 Pro reviewView Deal

Google Pixel 10 Pro

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Price

$999 / £999 / AU $1,699

$1,199 / £1,199 / AU $1,999

$999 / £999 / AU $1,799

Display

6.3-inch Super Actua

6.8-inch Super Actua

6.3-inch Super Retina

Charging

30W wired; 15W wireless

45W wired; 25W wireless

30W wired; 25W wireless

Battery Results (HH:MM:SS)

13:43:30

14:20:57

14:07:53

How I tested the Google Pixel 10 Pro

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.

First reviewed August 2025

Apple is working on AI robots with Siri personality
11:14 am | August 19, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: | Comments: Off

This is not the first time we have heard about Apple working on AI robot assistants at home. There was a report back in May suggesting that the company is working on two smart robots, one of which has a robotic arm. The new report from Bloomberg builds upon the earlier leak. The new findings confirm that Apple is working on not one, but several robot projects. The one that's going to be particularly interesting to the end consumer is an iPad-like device with a robotic arm that can naturally respond to human interaction. It can even turn to the person speaking to it. The small robot...

Minisforum AI X1 – Ryzen 9 AI mini PC review
11:01 am | August 18, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Introduction and unboxing If you're looking for a powerful Windows mini PC, the Minisforum AI X1 is definitely worth consideration. Coming in at just 0.6 kg and configurable up to a 4nm AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 CPU with 64 GB or even 96 GB of DDR5 RAM, and priced below $900/€1,000 it sounds impressive on paper. Minisforum is a PC maker with a good track record and a diverse product lineup. You can find its products on Amazon in the the US , the UK , and Germany, which is very good. The AI X1 is in its flagship class of mini PCs. It ships with an HDMI cable, a power supply, a mounting...

LogicMonitor review
1:50 pm | August 15, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Tags: , | Comments: Off

If you’re searching for a network monitoring platform that can handle hybrid, cloud, and on-premises IT environments without breaking a sweat, LogicMonitor deserves some serious consideration. We’ve spent weeks comparing the best network monitoring tools of 2025 and LogicMonitor consistently leads the pack for the enterprise crowd.

At TechRadar Pro, our reviewers dive deep into every major IT platform, evaluating features, integrations, and real-world usability. We look for the things that IT teams actually need, beyond the elevator pitch and the blown-up promises.

For 2025, LogicMonitor is our pick among network monitoring tools. Its AI-powered suite can automate many day-to-day IT workflows, reducing manual effort and helping teams focus on what matters. If your organization values proactive issue detection, automated insights, and seamless scalability, LogicMonitor is well worth a closer look.

LogicMonitor: Features

LogicMonitor is loaded with features for modern IT teams managing complex hybrid environments. It’s best suited for medium-to-large organizations that need precise visibility, automation, and scalability. Execution is generally excellent, with AI-driven insights and 3000+ integrations being a major upside.

But we’d still like to see more intuitive onboarding for new users and some advanced analytics that competitors like Datadog already offer. Given its features, the price feels justified, but only if you plan to use all the features.

Infrastructure monitoring

LogicMonitor tracks the health and performance of all your devices, like servers, storage, VMs, and more, across both on-premise and cloud environments. It automatically discovers devices and provides detailed metrics for each one.

Network monitoring

Their platform continuously monitors network traffic, device status, and bandwidth usage. It auto-discovers devices, maps network topology, and uses intelligent alerting to notify you of anomalies in real time.

Log analysis

LogicMonitor centralizes log data from across your infrastructure, correlating it with metrics to give you context for troubleshooting. Flexible retention options let you choose how long to keep your data.

Synthetic monitoring

You can simulate user interactions and monitor website uptime and performance, helping ensure a smooth end-user experience.

AI and automation

LogicMonitor’s AI features automate anomaly detection, event correlation, and alert prioritization. This reduces alert fatigue and helps teams focus on what matters most.

Dashboards and reporting

Customizable dashboards and automated reports make it easy to visualize trends, share insights, and keep stakeholders informed.

Integrations

With over 3,000 integrations as of right now, LogicMonitor works with nearly every major device and cloud service, so you can monitor your entire stack from one place.

LogicMonitor

(Image credit: LogicMonitor)

LogicMonitor: Ease of use

LogicMonitor’s interface is modern and intuitive, especially after its recent UI overhaul. The new design focuses on usability, with resource-level dashboards, streamlined navigation, and a consistent look across the platform. The resource explorer and enhanced topology mapping make it easier to manage complex environments and troubleshoot issues quickly.

However, there’s still a learning curve, especially for users new to network monitoring. Some advanced features and customizations require time to master, and a few UI elements can feel clunky or buried under menus. While onboarding guidance has improved, junior engineers may still need extra training to get comfortable. On the plus side, LogicMonitor offers live training webinars and plenty of documentation to help teams ramp up faster.

LogicMonitor: Pricing

Plan

Starting price (paid annually)

What’s included

Infrastructure Monitoring

$22/resource/month

Standard events and metrics, 900+ integrations, servers, VMs, SD-WAN, storage, network devices, cloud

Cloud IaaS Monitoring

$22/resource/month

AWS EC2, Azure VM, cloud infrastructure, standard integrations

Wireless Access Points Monitoring

$4/resource/month

Juniper Mist, Cisco Meraki devices, wireless network monitoring

Cloud PaaS & Container Monitoring

$3/resource/month

AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, MongoDB Atlas, Docker

Log Intelligence

$2.50–$7/GB/month

Log analysis, 7-day to 1-year retention

Edwin AI

Contact sales

AI automation, advanced analytics

*All prices USD/month, billed annually. “Per resource” means each monitored device or instance.

LogicMonitor’s pricing is resource-based, which can add up quickly for large environments. The entry-level plans cover most standard monitoring needs, but advanced features (like AI automation or extended log retention) may require add-ons or higher-tier plans.

Compared to competitors, LogicMonitor is on the expensive side, but the depth and breadth of features help justify the investment for organizations that need them.

LogicMonitor: Customer support

LogicMonitor is known for responsive, knowledgeable customer support. Most users consistently praise the team for proactive communication, regular check-ins, and genuine advice. Support is available via live chat, email, and phone, and there are live training webinars every other week for ongoing education.

Support packages come in tiers: Standard support is included for all customers, while Premier and FedRAMP plans add proactive monitoring, health checks, and remediation assistance. Premier customers get regular account reviews and early alerts about potential issues, plus priority access to senior engineers. The main caveat is that some advanced support features are only available at higher tiers, so small teams may not get the same level of hands-on help.

LogicMonitor: The competition

LogicMonitor sits at the high end of the network monitoring market, best suited for organizations that need deep, automated insights across hybrid and cloud environments. It’s a top pick for enterprises, managed service providers, and fast-growing IT teams who want to future-proof their monitoring stack.

Main competitors include Datadog, Dynatrace, and New Relic. Datadog offers similar AI-powered monitoring and a broader analytics suite, but at a comparable or higher price. Dynatrace is praised for ease of use and tight cloud integrations, making it a good fit for teams focused on cloud-native infrastructure. New Relic stands out for its flexible pricing and developer-friendly tools, but may lack some of LogicMonitor’s enterprise features. For smaller organizations or those with simpler needs, these alternatives might offer a better balance of features and cost.

LogicMonitor: Final verdict

LogicMonitor is a powerhouse for network monitoring, offering unrivaled visibility, automation, and AI-driven insights. Its real-time alerting, deep integrations, and automated topology mapping make it an invaluable tool for IT teams managing complex environments. While the learning curve and premium pricing may give some pause, the overall value is hard to beat if you need best-in-class monitoring.

For 2025, LogicMonitor is our pick for the best network monitoring tool, especially for organizations ready to invest more for reliability and consistency. If you want to automate IT workflows with full transparency, LogicMonitor is well worth the investment.

FAQs

Is LogicMonitor suitable for small businesses?

LogicMonitor is designed for mid-sized to large organizations. Its pricing and feature set may be overkill for small businesses, but it can be scaled down if you only need to monitor a handful of resources.

What kinds of devices can LogicMonitor monitor?

LogicMonitor supports a wide range of devices, including routers, switches, firewalls, servers, wireless access points, storage systems, and cloud resources. It integrates with over 3,000 vendors and protocols.

Does LogicMonitor offer a free trial?

Yes, LogicMonitor offers a free trial so you can test the platform before committing. This lets you explore features and see how it fits your environment.

How does LogicMonitor’s AI help IT teams?

LogicMonitor’s AI automates anomaly detection, alert prioritization, and event correlation. This reduces manual effort, cuts down on alert noise, and helps teams focus on critical issues.

What support options are available?

Standard support is included, with live chat, email, and webinars. Premier and FedRAMP customers get proactive monitoring, health checks, and priority access to senior engineers.

HTC Vive Eagle announced with 12MP camera, AI translation and 36-hour battery life
5:34 pm | August 14, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: | Comments: Off

HTC made a big bet on VR years ago when it launched its Vive series headsets, and the maker is now entering a new frontier with its Vive Eagle AI glasses. These are a competitor to the Ray-Ban Meta with the goal of looking like regular glasses but simultaneously offering a FPV camera, on-device AI features and stereo speakers. HTC Vive Eagle Vive Eagle comes in several translucent colors, including Black, Berry, Coffee, and Grey. They sport a 12MP ultra-wide camera, which captures 3,024 × 4,032 px photos and 1,512 × 2,016 px video at up to 30fps. The right frame features an LED...

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