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