{"id":265583,"date":"2025-11-01T20:06:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T20:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/265583\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T20:06:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T20:06:15","slug":"the-pixel-10-pro-is-the-pixel-ive-always-wanted-google-to-make","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/265583\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pixel 10 Pro is the Pixel I’ve always wanted Google to make"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Someone<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

I find it hard to believe we\u2019ve had ten generations of Pixel already. The event for the original Pixel in October 2016 is still vivid in my mind \u2014 I\u2019d never been as excited for a phone as I was in that moment, and I haven\u2019t felt that excitement since, either. As enamored by the Pixel as I was, I stopped using Pixels for over six years, and with good reason. The Pixel 10 Pro<\/a>, though, is the phone I\u2019ve been waiting for Google to make.<\/p>\n

Is the Pixel 10 Pro finally Google\u2019s perfect phone?<\/p>\n

266 votes<\/p>\n

What went wrong\n<\/p>\n

If I used to be so excited about the Pixel, you may wonder when and why that stopped. Well, by the time the Pixel 3 arrived, the honeymoon period had ended. My time with the early Pixels was plagued with defective phones and issues I\u2019d grown tired of. My Pixel XL, 2 XL, and 3 XL all had to be swapped on warranty at least three times, and the Pixel 3 XL made things worse by being a frustrating device even when it was working as intended.<\/p>\n

While I loved my time with Samsung’s flagships, I always hoped a Pixel would be good enough someday.<\/p>\n

Pixels today might not lead the pack based on a spec sheet, but it was far more noticeable back then. The Pixel 3 XL only had 4GB of RAM, and it clearly needed more. Every time I opened the camera app while playing music, either the camera app or my music player would crash \u2014 usually both. Unlike older Pixels, which felt smooth and fast for at least a few months before slowing down, the Pixel 3 XL always felt stuttery. I\u2019d overlooked the flaws of Pixels\u2019 past because of the benefits of the software and camera experience, but I couldn\u2019t do that anymore. I returned my Pixel 3 XL for a Galaxy S10 Plus, and while I loved my time with Samsung\u2019s flagships, I always hoped a Pixel would be good enough someday.<\/p>\n

The Pixel 10 Pro is what I\u2019ve been waiting for<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Pixels don\u2019t dominate spec comparisons now any more than they used to, but the lack of some cutting-edge specs isn\u2019t the compromise it once was. Tensor G5 isn\u2019t in the same league as a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5<\/a> or Apple\u2019s A19 Pro, but that doesn\u2019t mean it offers a bad experience. Gaming isn\u2019t something I usually do on mobile, and if it is, I play text-based choose-your-own-adventure style games, something G5 can easily handle.<\/p>\n

All I want from Tensor is a phone that flies through social media and work apps, doesn\u2019t overheat, and is efficient enough to get me through the day, and G5 manages that. I\u2019m not trying to excuse Google \u2014 I absolutely think that Tensor should perform better than it does for the price. When you buy a Pixel, though, you\u2019re effectively asking yourself if the obvious downsides are worth it for the Pixel magic, and in this case, I think they are.<\/p>\n

Another thing the Pixel 10 Pro (and the 9 Pro) has going for it is build quality. All of the Pixels I used until now, including almost all of the Pixels in between my 3XL and 10 Pro, felt less than solid. It\u2019s hard to articulate into words, but compared to whatever Samsung I was using at the time, Google\u2019s offerings felt cheaper, less well-made.<\/p>\n

In this Jade color … I like to take it out of its case and just stare at it.<\/p>\n

The Pixel 9 Pro I used earlier this year<\/a>, and by extension, my Pixel 10 Pro, have fixed that. Aside from the polished frame that makes the phone feel slippery, everything about my 10 Pro feels solid and substantial. It doesn\u2019t feel like something\u2019s going to break whenever I pick it up, and in this Jade color, it\u2019s one of the few phones I own that I like to take out of its case and just stare at.<\/p>\n

Finally, there\u2019s the size. A few years ago, I realised I wanted something smaller than the huge Ultra phones I was getting from Samsung, but I didn\u2019t want to miss out on flagship cameras. With last year\u2019s Pixel 9 Pro and now my 10 Pro, Google has given me what Samsung couldn\u2019t. My Pixel 10 Pro isn\u2019t a small phone, but it isn\u2019t unmanageably large, either. It\u2019s comfortable to use with one hand, doesn\u2019t hurt my wrist, and I have all of the important features from the larger phone.<\/p>\n

\"Pixel<\/p>\n

Zac Kew-Denniss \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

I do have some concerns, though. Over the last few years, Google has had issues with batteries<\/a> across various models that I find troubling. My Grandfather\u2019s Pixel 6a was one of them. The battery swelled so much that it popped the display out of the phone\u2019s frame, damaging the display connectors in the process. This is appalling and absolutely shouldn\u2019t happen, and it does give me pause when it comes to recommending a Pixel to others. The reason I still bought a Pixel 10 Pro is down to my buying habits and Google\u2019s customer support in the UK. I tend to replace my phone every 1-2 years, long before an issue like this would arise. If I do encounter a problem, I have confidence that Google will look after me. The 6a I mentioned earlier was well out of the two-year warranty, but Google dispatched a refurbished 6a to me in less than 24 hours, which had a new battery and display, effectively making it a brand-new phone.<\/p>\n

Do I think we should all ignore these issues? Absolutely not, but it was a calculated risk I was willing to take this time around.<\/p>\n

Pixel features have no replacement<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

Andy Walker \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Pixel 8a<\/p>\n

The improvements to hardware and build quality mean that I can finally make use of the Pixel features I\u2019ve been jealous of. The last year has been a non-stop barrage of spam calls and texts, and it\u2019s been unbearable. Since I swapped to the Pixel 10 Pro nearly two months ago, I\u2019ve only had a single call. The automatic spam filtering on a Pixel is so good that I don\u2019t even realise how many scammers have tried to get hold of me unless I check the filter.<\/p>\n

The one spam call that did make it through that filter, though, didn\u2019t reach me. I used call screening to intercept it, and the transcript gave me enough to reject the call without speaking to anyone. That alone is almost enough to make using a Pixel worth it for me, but the phone call-related features don\u2019t end there. I changed broadband providers recently, and navigating the phone tree with Direct My Call and having my Pixel sit on the line for me with Hold For Me made it a more seamless and pain-free experience.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Now Playing isn\u2019t a new feature \u2014 it debuted on the Pixel 2 series, which I owned. It is something I missed far more than I ever imagined, though. It\u2019s a simple feature that subtly keeps track of music it hears playing in the environment, displaying the current song on the lock screen and notification shade while also keeping a history. Unlocking your phone and manually searching for a song that\u2019s playing isn\u2019t difficult, but Now Playing is special. It searches for music via an on-device database of popular songs, so the recognition isn\u2019t dependent on an internet connection, and it works faster than any normal song search. Now Playing is something greater than the sum of its parts; a useful feature that is more useful than anyone who hasn\u2019t used it could imagine.<\/p>\n

Exceptional cameras with room to improve<\/p>\n

\"iPhone<\/p>\n

Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Pixel cameras have always been great, and many would consider the Pixel 3 XL a better camera phone than the Galaxy S10 Plus I traded it for, but I disagree. Sure, regular 1X photos looked better on the Pixel, but the 3 XL only had a single rear camera, while the S10 Plus had an additional 2X telephoto and 123-degree ultrawide camera. That versatility more than made up for any difference in overall quality, and I was more than happy with the photos I took with my Galaxy S10 Plus.<\/p>\n

To be fair to Google, it caught up with Samsung and other manufacturers long before the Pixel 10. The Pixel 6 Pro finally added a true flagship camera that could go toe to toe with Samsung\u2019s best, but at that point, my other issues with Pixels stopped it from being a contender for me. Now that I have a Pixel again, I\u2019m reminded why people love these cameras. They\u2019re reliable, consistent, and rarely deliver a photo that isn\u2019t worth keeping.<\/p>\n

A Photographic Styles competitor would give the Pixel camera app a needed shot of personalisation.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still room for improvement, though. I tried an iPhone 16 Pro for a few months last year, and while the overall experience wasn\u2019t my cup of tea, there were things about the camera software I\u2019d like to see Google borrow. ProRes would give the Pixel\u2019s video suite a needed boost, but what I want most is Photographic Styles. The iPhone has a collection of these styles that can be dialed in, saved, and automatically applied to new photos. If you don\u2019t like how it looks or want a different style for a particular photo, they can be removed, edited, and swapped even after the picture is taken.<\/p>\n

Google has the bones for something like this. The editor in Google Photos has 20 filters that can be applied and tweaked after a photo is captured, but you can\u2019t save any of them as a preset. Edited images are saved as a copy in addition to the original, which causes clutter, and you have to apply these filters to each photo yourself. A true Photographic Styles competitor would give the Pixel camera app a needed shot of personalisation.<\/p>\n

\"Pixel<\/p>\n

Zac Kew-Denniss \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Put simply, the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL are the best phones Google has made and finally eliminate the issues that stopped me from buying them for the last six and a half years. It won\u2019t be for everyone. People who play more intensive games or want the absolute best hardware for the money will be disappointed in Tensor G5. For me, though, Google is delivering the perfect Pixel package that I\u2019ve waited years for.<\/p>\n

Is the Pixel 10 Pro your perfect Pixel, or has Google failed to better an older model that remains your favorite? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n

Google Pixel 10 Pro<\/a>\"Google\"AAGoogle Pixel 10 Pro<\/a><\/p>\n

Top-tier specs with small display \u2022 Excellent cameras \u2022 Powerful AI tools \u2022 Top-notch software<\/p>\n

More power in the smaller form-factor<\/p>\n

The Google Pixel 10 Pro has everything you could want in a flagship Android phone crammed into a truly compact body with a 6.3-inch display. Google’s new Tensor G5 chip is more powerful, the 100x Pro Res Zoom is truly impressive, and there are loads of helpful AI features. Not to mention, you still get seven years of Android updates.<\/p>\n

Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Maring \/ Android Authority I find it hard to believe we\u2019ve had ten generations of Pixel already.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2635,2884,165,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-265583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-google-pixel","9":"tag-google-pixel-10","10":"tag-mobile","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}