The Pixel 10 Pro is one of the top smartphones available today, offering impressive performance and innovative AI features like a 100x zoom. However, its design remains lackluster, resembling its predecessor and lacking the premium feel. Despite this, the phone excels with its camera capabilities and AI functionalities, making it a strong contender in the market.
Pixel 10 Pro: A Powerful Yet Uninspiring Smartphone
Pixel 10 Pro: A Powerful Yet Uninspiring Smartphone
The Pixel 10 Pro is one of the best smartphones on the market today. However, it closely resembles its predecessor, and the design feels uninspired.
✓ Performance that exceeds expectations. ✓ Exciting new AI feature for "100x zoom." ✓ Google's answer to Apple's Magsafe.
Pixel phones are more popular globally than in iPhone-dominated Sweden. Approximately 56% of Swedes own an iPhone, with Samsung in second place at around 30%, and the rest shared among other brands.
The appeal of Google's phones lies in offering a pure Android experience and being the first to feature Google's new functionalities, which currently focus heavily on AI.
Same Design as Before
The Pixel 10 Pro looks like last year's model. To be honest, it's a rather dull design. Except for the camera island, the Pixel 10 Pro resembles an iPhone 13 Pro, only thicker and more plasticky.
There is a larger variant called XL, featuring a bigger screen and battery, beefier speakers, and faster fast charging.
Capable Processor
Under the hood, we find Google's Tensor G5 chip. It's not as powerful as the Snapdragon chips found in many other Android flagships, but rest assured, it suffices unless you're an extremely demanding mobile gamer.
The screen measures 6.3 inches and is of the OLED type. The refresh rate is 120 Hz, and the resolution is 2,856 x 1,280 pixels. It's a very impressive display with deep blacks, vibrant colors, and high brightness.
Familiar Camera
The cameras are also familiar from the Pixel 9 Pro. Well, more or less. A main sensor of 50 megapixels, along with a wide-angle and a periscope camera, both at 48 megapixels.
It's an incredibly good camera setup, and currently, no other manufacturer offers such fine camera hardware in our part of the world. We're talking about a substantial dynamic range, excellent color reproduction, and elite-level autofocus.
Image stabilization has also been improved since last time, making video recordings truly impressive.
Impressive AI Features
The new AI-based zoom function is enormously impressive. After 30x zoom, AI steps in to help produce sharp(!) images with up to 100x zoom. Sure, it's entirely artificial, but it works incredibly well. It almost feels like the classic zoom scene in the movie "Bladerunner," if you're familiar with it.
The image below shows a rooftop restaurant on a building in the Liljeholmskajen district of Stockholm. Believe it or not, it was taken with a Pixel 10 Pro through a window at Expressen's office in Marieberg, 2.6 kilometers away.
Speaking of AI, there are quite a few such features missing in the EU version of the Pixel 10 Pro. Magic Cue, for example. It's about context-aware AI. If you call a travel agency and book a trip, the booking details appear on the screen. It's a shame that parts of the added value of Pixel phones are lost in our part of the world.
But there are plenty of AI features when it comes to, for example, image processing and sound enhancement. Additionally, Google's excellent live translation is also available to us.
Pixel Snap – Google's Magsafe
The 4870 mAh battery easily lasts a whole day and then some, but we'll have to see how it performs over time.
The phone can fast charge up to 29 watts, taking it from 0 to 55% battery capacity in about half an hour. Wirelessly, it's 15 watts.
Finally, we must mention the Pixel Snap concept, which is a kind of counterpart to Apple's Magsafe. It allows you to magnetically attach various accessories to the phone, such as an extra battery.
Falls Short on Design
This is an insanely good phone. But it doesn't feel particularly premium to hold, and the design doesn't stand out at all. However, the performance impresses, the cameras are excellent, and the AI features are outstanding. And that AI zoom will surely impress everyone you show it to. Maybe it works for you?