Google Pixel 10 Review: The New Upgrades Make This an Almost Perfect 10

With the competition heating up in the flagship space, Google has gone all in on their new Pixel 10 series. Pixel devices are always known for their software, but with the new hardware upgrades, the Pixel 10 series becomes one of the most improved devices by Google in the past 2 years. The decision to finally make the jump to TSMC for the custom-made Tensor G5 and adding a triple camera setup to the base Pixel 10 shows that Google means serious business. Along with this, the addition of new AI magic makes the base Pixel 10 more appealing. But are these upgrades just to make the phone appear shinier on paper, or do they really translate to real-life performance? Are there any heating and throttling issues, and does an extra camera actually make a difference? Let’s take a deep dive and find out if the Pixel 10 truly lives up to the flagship hype. Also Read: Google Pixel 10 Series Launched Globally With Better AI Features: Check Prices In India, Specifications, Features, More

Pixel 10 Build Quality and Design 

Starting with the design, the Pixel 10 remains almost unchanged and carries the same look as its predecessors. The camera visor pops out at the back and is slightly larger, thanks to the new telephoto lens. The phone overall feels really premium and comes in four colours: Indigo, Frost, Lemongrass, and Obsidian. One interesting observation was that as soon as I picked up the device, it felt heavier. Even though the weight increase is minimal, the phone feels a lot more hefty in hand. This could be because of the new telephoto lens addition, as well as the bigger battery and PixelSnap. But once you get used to the weight, the boxy design with aluminium frames gives a great in-hand feel, which makes the device a treat to use.  Another downside I felt was the glossy back, as it’s a fingerprint magnet and gets dirty really quickly. But that one con aside, the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection on both the front and rear makes this device super durable and protects it from scratches. I personally used this device for 15-20 days without any screen protector or case, tossed it in my pockets with keys and sharp objects, and still found almost no scratches on the display at all.  Also Read: Google Pixel 10 Vs Pixel 9: 7 Major Differences That You Must Know Before Your Next Buy

Pixel 10 Display

Now let’s dive into the world of pixels, and I must say the Pixel 10 truly shines in this department. The display looks super bright and produces really great colours. The bezels are thin, and the 6.3-inch OLED display makes binge-watching a great visual experience. On top of that, the 120Hz panel makes everything feel super snappy and keeps app switching seamless. I even tried using this phone on a super sunny day, and the 3000 nits of peak brightness came to the rescue, keeping the display perfectly visible in such conditions as well. The display is also HDR10+ certified, which makes the colours look more accurate and vibrant. I tried watching the latest Wednesday S2 on this device, and the colours along with the deep blacks elevated my watching experience.

Enhancing the multimedia experience, the stereo speaker setup delivers clear and well-balanced audio, making movies, music, and gaming even more immersive. Talking more about music, the speakers might not be the loudest in the market, but the vocals and lyrics are clear with good instrument separation. Additionally, the spatial audio toggle makes the audio feel more expansive, giving an almost surround-sound-like effect straight from the phone.

Pixel 10 Performance and Software 

So, now let’s address the elephant in the room, which is the new Tensor G5 chip made by TSMC. On the benchmark side, the Tensor G5 scores a decent 13,32,960 in AnTuTu. In Geek bench it scores 2,301 in the single-core test and 6,154 in the multi-core test. The scores clearly indicate that it might not rival the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, but it definitely performs better than its predecessor, the Tensor G4. In day-to-day tasks, the phone runs smoothly without any issues even while multitasking. The main heating and throttling issues found in previous Pixel devices have also been resolved. Considering that performance was never the strong pursuit of pixel devices, the Pixel 10 is a breath of fresh air and could be the blueprint for future pixel devices. 

Gaming on the device was decent. It’s great for casual and light gamers but not for pro-level gamers. While playing BGMI on Smooth + Ultra Extreme, the phone did get really warm, especially around the camera bar, but there were no throttling or hiccups in the gameplay. So, for hardcore gamers, this might not be the flagship that can handle 2-3 hours of long gaming sessions. 

But, now talking about AI performance like transcription tasks, quick image editing and more work flawlessly. Even the new pixel studio is great at generating images with quick prompts on the device directly on the pixel studio. Also, new additions like camera coach and the new journal are great additions. The camera coach might be a little cumbersome to use but is a great way to get a good portrait clicked of yourself when the person clicking photos is bad at photography. It is a good tool for your parents and grandparents. Believe me this can be a life saviour. 

Moving on to the software, the Pixel 10 comes with Android 16 and a new look which Google calls Material 3 Expressive. All the apps have a fresh look, adding more character to the phone. The translucent quick settings panel and the new settings app give the phone a revamped feel. Even the lock screen is more customizable with fresh new fonts for displaying the time on the always-on display, and it also gives options to add two shortcuts on the bottom left and right of the lock screen. 

Google has also added a few new apps like Pixel Screenshots and Journal, which are surprisingly good. The Screenshots app clubs all the screenshots in one place, and the Journal app uses AI to analyse your progress and gives motivating messages based on your journal. This gives the user a more personalized experience, which makes Pixel phones stand out from the lot. Additionally, the tight integration of Gemini makes it feel more accessible, and Pixel Studio creates images super quickly with a realistic touch.

Pixel 10 Camera 

Photography has always been one of the best in the Pixel series. With their software optimisations, Google has always given the best output. But this year, the vanilla Pixel 10 also gets a pro treatment with a new added telephoto lens. The Pixel 10 has a triple camera setup with a 48MP main sensor, a 13MP ultrawide, and a 10.8MP telephoto that has up to 5x optical zoom reach. On the front, the Pixel gets the same 10.5MP lens as on its predecessor.

The main camera takes some really detailed shots and the colour accuracy is great. The photos feel true to life with no extra saturated look, which is a breath of fresh air. The post-processing also makes sure that the photos retain shadow details and highlights are not blown away. In daylight, the photos look crisp and the colours feel natural. The details are also well maintained with great dynamic range, capturing the sky colours and even distant buildings in the background. 

The wide-angle camera is also great as it maintains the same colour profile, making shots feel more consistent. Along with the colour reproduction, the output in terms of the overall look is similar to the primary lens with an eye-pleasing look. But, the new 10.8MP telephoto is the one lens that really changes the whole game. Till now, the telephoto capabilities were reserved for the Pro models, which made the camera on the vanilla Pixel devices not as versatile. The photos from the telephoto feel great, and with the software magic of Google, the shots feel usable till 10x. Still everything is not perfect with the camera, as sometimes the shadows feel exaggerated and it blows out the details. 

Even in low light shots, Pixel 10 remains consistent, producing great-looking shots. In most cases the photos don’t feel over-bright or oversaturated like most phones do in night mode photos. Especially in the wide-angle, the phone struggles to capture good details under low light but, for a normal user, the photos look more than usable. On the other hand, the primary 48 MP lens captures great low light shots with a little in some cases. In most cases, the night photography on this phone feels great with good-looking output for most users. Overall, the camera now feels like a true flagship, thanks to the versatile lens setup and the impressive output it delivers. 

Pixel 10 Battery 

On the battery side, the Pixel 10 features a 4970mAh battery with 30W wired and 15W wireless charging. The phone also gets support for Qi 2 charging with a new PixelSnap, which is similar to MagSafe on the iPhones. The magnets are pretty strong, and all the MagSafe accessories work really well with this phone. Talking about the battery backup, the phone easily lasts a day and a half on casual usage with light browsing, social media consumption, and more. But if you’re a heavy multitasker with multiple apps open in the background and even indulging in casual gaming sessions, then this might just pull through the day. 

Pixel 10 Verdict 

The Pixel 10, with its new upgrades, looks like the perfect direction for the Pixel series. The new telephoto camera makes the setup feel more like a Pro phone, and the Tensor G5 solves heating issues while bringing only minimal performance improvements. Day-to-day tasks feel smooth, and the AI features run perfectly on this device. This could be a solid pick for your bucket list if you’re looking for a reliable Android flagship with great cameras and don’t care much about benchmarks or gaming. The Pixel 10 starts at Rs 79,999 and comes in a single variant with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.

Overall, the Pixel 10 refines the software experience while bringing in some much-needed hardware upgrades for its price point, but still misses in terms of raw performance that could have made it a more appealing flagship.