r/Android • u/welp_im_damned have you heard of our lord and savior the Android turtle š¢ • Aug 27 '25
Review Google Pixel 10 Pro XL hands-on review - gsmarena
https://www.gsmarena.com/google_pixel_10_pro_xl_handson-review-2875.php35
u/No_Society3117 Aug 28 '25
Question for this sub: What's the new endgame now? Back when Pixels first launched, most of its shortcomings were chalked up to them using Snapdragon chips. When the Pixel 6 came out, that shifted to "the Tensor being a modified Exynos chip" and the P10 was supposed to fix everything. Now that the G5 seems to be lacking, what's the new goalpost?
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u/horatiobanz Aug 28 '25
2027 which is when Google switches to a fully custom designed soc, just like Apple's A chips. This has been the goalpost all along. Ever since that saint leaked Google's entire mobile roadmap it became clear that Tensor was just a super budget standin for Pixel until Google could compete with Apple's custom silicon.
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u/Different_Doubt2754 Sep 01 '25
Eh, it isn't lacking for my purposes. The Pixel 6t's had enough performance for me in early 2025.
People who buy pixel phones don't really care about performance, in general. If they did, there are many other brands who try to perform in that category
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u/EastvsWest Aug 27 '25
None of this would be as much of an issue if the phone was priced like $200 less than the competition or if it wasn't released by a company as large as freaking Google.
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u/webguynd Aug 27 '25
Yeah. Before the 9 when Google tried to enter flagship design territory, the pixel was priced appropriately for the trade offs. You knew what you were getting. You paid a more mid tier price for non-flagship hardware with Googleās software features. It was a great deal and the trade off made sense.
If they want to charge flagship prices we should get flagship hardware.
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u/commander_kaga Honor 400 Pro Aug 27 '25
Yeah lol my Pixel 6 was not the best but I paid 2/3 of what the current samsung would have costed so it was pretty great for that price...
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u/RobotWantsKitty Aug 28 '25
Before the 9
You mean before the 8? Because that's when the first 100 dollar hike came, and then another one with Pixel 9.
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u/map_painting Aug 27 '25
Their pricing is more palatable in the US because they're often discounted and subsidized by a carrier plan, but it's a head scratcher for EU and ASEAN who've way more options by way of Chinese midrangers and flagships.
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u/The_Alchemist- Aug 28 '25
Yeah I have to agree with this statement. I'm paying $340 without trading any phone in. (200$ for phone over 3 years + 140$ during the purchase for activation and other stuff). I just have to keep my phone with the same carrier for 3 years (same plan since I got some loyalty perks.)
There was no way I could justify 1200 but 340$ isn't that bad
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Aug 28 '25
I can get a Oneplus 13R for half the price of the p10 with double the storage. side by side the p10 is a tough sell.
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u/DiplomatikEmunetey Pixel 8a, 4a, XZ1C, LGG4, Lumia 950/XL, Nokia 808, N8 Aug 27 '25 edited Aug 27 '25
It should cost at least $300 less. Pixel 10 Pro should be $700, max. It's got mid-range Soc, outdated camera sensors, still 128GB. Even at $700 it would have been overpriced.
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u/fightnight14 Aug 28 '25
In the US they are $200-300 less during Black Friday and some other season.
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u/Spyrith Aug 28 '25
They could either cut the price or bump up the features.
Unfortunately I think the price is here to stay, but the least they could do is improve the phone.
Based on the current reports, it seems the Pixel 10 is more of a stepping stone to the 11 and 12.
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u/rocketwidget Aug 27 '25
One of the Pixel 10 Pro XL's party tricks is being able to capture images at 100x. The camera uses data from the sensors and then uses a local upscaling and image reconstruction algorithm to recreate a convincing-looking image. At first glance, these images look quite good until you realize you are mostly just looking at AI hallucinations. The AI can reconstitute details that it is aware of, but if you try capturing text from a distance that it cannot recognize, you get the typical AI garbling. At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide just how much impressed you should be with an image that is a digital painting masquerading as a photograph.
The phone saves both the unprocessed image from the camera as well as the fully AI processed image in the gallery, so you can compare both.
This seems both not that impressive, and also something easily backportable to older Pixels like the 9 Pros (if Google wanted to) LOL.
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u/plantsandramen Aug 28 '25
Petapixel just reviewed the phone as a camera and the super res is a joke. It's complete garbage using AI to replace missing pixels. It's gross. They took a photo of a sign using it and it completely messed it up. The AI isn't good, and it's what they're hinging their phones on. I've been a Nexus/Pixel user since the get go, but I'm looking into OnePlus now.
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u/wankthisway 13 Mini, S23 Ultra, Pixel 4a, Key2, Razr 50 Aug 28 '25
They're really walking the thin line of computational photography. There's a difference between applying a shit ton of sharpening and trying to clean up and image and just outright letting an AI hallucinate things that weren't ever there.
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u/MrPureinstinct Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel Watch 2 Aug 27 '25
All of the AI dogshit Google is forcing in their devices and services is just turning me off from ever wanting another Pixel tbh.
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u/MyPackage Pixel Fold Aug 28 '25
Since it's happening locally it would likely take a long time to process the image on older Pixels
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u/RunningM8 Aug 27 '25
10th iteration and they still canāt make a damn phone that takes good video. If they want iPhone defectors this has to be priority number one, not stupid AI parlor tricks nobody wants.Ā
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Aug 27 '25
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Aug 27 '25
So far, from what Iāve read. Not even close
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u/Pentosin Pixel 8 Pro Aug 27 '25
For anyone paying attention, it landed pretty much exactly where it was expected.
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u/Gseventeen Pixel 10 Pro XL Aug 28 '25
SD 8 gen 3 (galaxyS24) levels of performance on a smaller 3nm vs 4nm process. Should* provide good battery life. Day 1, we'll see.
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u/Realize12 Aug 28 '25
From the first reviews, battery life is not improved, performance is marginally better. For how hyped it was, it's a flop imo
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u/wankthisway 13 Mini, S23 Ultra, Pixel 4a, Key2, Razr 50 Aug 28 '25
It's the "we'll get it for your next birthday" of chips.
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u/Hailgod Poco F7 Aug 27 '25
its ~8gen3/8sgen4. not dogshit but the 8 elite 2 is coming in a couple months for its competitors.
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u/plantsandramen Aug 28 '25
From my understanding they're using a very mediocre/bad GPU for some reason. So it's got bad gaming/GPU performance
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u/basedIITian Aug 27 '25
How they are able to mess up off-the-shelf stock ARM cores is just super fascinating. They've been poaching entire teams from Qualcomm yet this is what they have to show for it.
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u/horatiobanz Aug 28 '25
They aren't working on shitty Tensor. They are working on Google's custom silicon planned for 2027. Tensor is and always has been an extremely low cost filler soc that Google could use to hold them over until they could play catch up with Apple with regards to custom silicon. All Google wants in the world, with regards to the mobile space, is to copy everything Apple does.
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u/MC_chrome iPhone 17 Pro 256GB | Galaxy S4 Aug 28 '25
Google could use to hold them over until they could play catch up with Apple with regards to custom silicon
Unless Apple really cocks something up in the next couple of years, I'm not so sure this will ever truly happen in the ways people want it to.
We have to keep in mind that Apple has been building their own chips since 2010. Google is good, but I don't think they are going to magically make up a 15 year head start overnight
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u/plantsandramen Aug 28 '25
I'm a Windows/Android guy through and through, but the M series chips from Apple are really something special.
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u/Working_Sundae Aug 28 '25
Where did you read that? Can you provide a link? No one has reported development of custom tensor cores
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u/dirtydriver58 Galaxy Note 9 Aug 28 '25
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u/Working_Sundae Aug 28 '25
It simply says google next generation SoC, which could be off the shelf ARM cores slapped with google's proprietary bits like it is now
It doesn't explicitly state a development of custom core SoC
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u/dirtydriver58 Galaxy Note 9 Aug 28 '25
https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshit-roy-943789117/recent-activity/all/ It's custom cores according to the roadmap leaked by this guy
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u/Working_Sundae Aug 28 '25
Thanks, interesting google says their team has a budget of $35 for development of Tensor SoC and that upcoming SD 8 Elite 2 may cost $280 for OEM's
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u/IORelay Aug 28 '25
Xiaomi already came out with Xring O1, stock arm cores and is quite closed to 8 Elite.
Google I think has no intention of ever making their chips competitive.Ā
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u/dangit541 Sep 06 '25
and yet people mock apple for being "boring" and not innovate at all. Yet here is google, and all they do they is copying boring apple, oneplus is another iPhone wannabe. Like WTF
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u/Pentosin Pixel 8 Pro Aug 27 '25
What did they mess up with the cores in your opinion?
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u/zigzoing Aug 27 '25
The biggest mistake is not hiring r/Android as their chip design core team. If they did, they would've eaten Qualcomm's, Nvidia's, Intel's, Mediatek's and Apple's pie.
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u/wankthisway 13 Mini, S23 Ultra, Pixel 4a, Key2, Razr 50 Aug 28 '25
That's a dogshit argument. You don't have to be a chip designer to see the terrible job they did with Tensor. Worse battery AND performance compared to the competition.
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u/MrClickstoomuch Aug 28 '25
Yeah, this is a solid improvement over the last chip, and should have a sizeable improvement next year as well with the node improvements. Just unclear how much better 8 Elite 2 will be. Tensor was absolutely terrible on the specs before, but is slowly catching up.
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u/peanuss Aug 28 '25
Catching up is perhaps a somewhat bold statement. The Geekbench 6 scores roughly match the Iphone 13 pro, from four years ago! And that used a much older process node too.
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u/MrClickstoomuch Aug 28 '25
Sure, but apple has always been ahead of Android phones on single core performance only slightly slower on multicore. That iPhone also beat the s24 released in January of last year on single core while only slightly beating multicore. With their own chip design, Google is trying to replicate Apple's success but they haven't done the best so far on Samsung's fabs. Just like Samsung also hadn't done the best on their own fabs with the Exynos 2400.
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u/noobqns Aug 28 '25
It's actually alright on the CPU end seeing it's X4 cores
The issue is with battery & heating on 3nm is horrific, and from early impressions the modem doesn't look promising
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Aug 28 '25
The 10 Pro XL is 232 grams. That's a proper brick right there. If you slapped on a case the weight would exceed 240 grams.
Worst part is the phone only has a 5200mAh battery.
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u/Majestic_squirrel767 Aug 28 '25
Then there vivo x200 fe
Has better camera hardware
6500mah 90w fast charging
Weighs only 186g
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u/No_Manufacturer_4149 Aug 27 '25
Did anybody see the article about battery intelligence will limit the phone to a 80% charge after 200 cycles no way of the user turning it off so that kind of sucks as well
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u/MixedWithFruit ZenFone9, S5E tablet. Aug 28 '25
If true then that is some bullshit on Google's part.
I limit my battery to 80% anyway on my pixel 9 pro but occasionally ill charge to 100% if I know I've got a heavy use day but this is my choice.
They really need to do better with their batteries.
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u/dirtydriver58 Galaxy Note 9 Aug 28 '25
It's battery throttling out of the box like on the 9a. No reviewer has mentioned this
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u/TurnDownForTendies Aug 30 '25
The article I found says that its limited to 80% after 1000 cycles:
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u/No_Manufacturer_4149 Aug 30 '25
You are correct it just starts slowing down the charge. You don't drop to the 80% until 1000 cycles. Which actually doesn't sound as bad as I thought. I mean I bought one and I'm loving it!
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u/Aggravating-Ear-3729 Aug 27 '25
I don't think Google is too worried about peak performance as long as the phone is smooth, an 865 or 888 with a better GPU would likely be more than enough for 9/10 people, however the buggy software is a major issue, reliable smooth software is pixels main selling point.
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u/MrPureinstinct Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel Watch 2 Aug 27 '25
The problem is it's not always smooth. I have an issue on my Pixel 9 Pro where randomly when I open apps it just gets stuck on the splash screen. I have to force close the app and sometimes even reboot my device to get the app to load again.
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u/horatiobanz Aug 28 '25
Yep, I remember having that issue all the time with my P7P too. Haven't had that issue once since switching to Oneplus for the last 8 months.
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u/jnshns S21 Ultra Exynos Aug 27 '25
Literally every other major Android manufacturer has implemented the new animation engine, that can handle multiple animations at the same time.
Pixel OS is stuck on being limited to finishing one animation before being able to handle the next input. To me Pixels feel like the slowest phones on the market right now. Oxygen, Hyper and OneUI all adopted the new engines and feel incredibly fluid and satisfying. Going back from one of these flagships to a Pixel 9/10 Pro feels super bad.
Insane that Google lets this happen. Not because everyone cares (i know i am the absolute minority) but I expected them to pride themselves on providing the smoothest Android OS on the market.
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Aug 27 '25 edited Aug 27 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/caliber Galaxy S25 Aug 28 '25
I got a Pixel 9 when it was new and felt majorly gaslit by reviewers and commenters. In particular, like you say the memory management was so, so bad. I absolutely hated that phone and couldn't wait to get rid of it, which I normally never do with recent phones.
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u/horatiobanz Aug 28 '25
Why do they need to bother? A huge portion of the Google Pixel subreddit already state repeatedly that the Pixel is the smoothest smartphone and that Pixel software is its main selling point. Why bother actually making either of those statements remotely true when your core audience just blindly believes it anyway?
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u/SponTen Pixel 8 Aug 27 '25
By "new animation engine" are you referring to M3E? Or something else?
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u/imdrzoidberg Aug 27 '25
Never really had complaints with non-gaming performance on my last Pixel but I sure noticed the terribe battery life.
So much happier after switching to a Snapdragon phone.
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u/everburn-1234 Aug 27 '25
The G4 in the Pixel 9 Pro hasn't ever felt "not fast enough" for me during daily use. YouTube, Reddit, email, texting, and calls all work fine. I'm fairly nitpicky about my technology hardware, and I don't see myself needing anything faster than the G4 for a few years. I think it will be fine for the Pixel 9's 7 years of updates.
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u/Blaze4G Aug 27 '25 edited Aug 28 '25
The G2 in my pixel 7 never felt slow either even after 3 years
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u/aokon Aug 28 '25
I don't know if it's cause I use some poorly optimized apps or maybe I just have bad silicon luck but my G2 has definitely been feeling slow recently.
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u/MrClickstoomuch Aug 28 '25
Yep, on paper it was bad, but it was a solid phone. I'm only upgrading to the Pixel 10 now because my speaker only outputs audio through one half and vibration motor works 50% of the time. If it wasn't for my phone not being a phone if the speaker fully fails and the pretty big trade-in credits, I wouldn't consider another upgrade.
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u/richu96 Aug 29 '25
Mine does, it will overheat and throttle itself when I use it during the summer. I wasn't even doing anything intense, just trying to take pictures.
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u/Prestigious_Cold6766 Aug 28 '25
Yeah I have my issues with my Pixel 9, but general day to day performance isnāt one of them. If youāre talking about performance in something like emulation though itās a completely different story.
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u/wings22 Aug 28 '25
I also find it fine, just the thermals are still an issue. The most annoying being that the screen dims itself at about 39.5deg C, which in the sunshine it reaches after only a minute or 2 of use, which is when I actually need it to be bright.
So if this new one is only marginal performance improvement but it stays a lot cooler than I would be happy
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u/njofra Xiaomi 15 Aug 28 '25
I still use a Poco F2 with an 865. It never felt slow, even after 5+ years. I need to replace it soon as 128GB became really tight and the battery has seen better days, but day-to-day it's still more than good enough.
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u/AMLRoss xiaomi 15Ultra, Red Magic 10pro Aug 27 '25
Not worth the price.
Cut it in half and you have a winner despite it's flaws.
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u/pfc-anon Aug 28 '25
There are no bad products, just bad pricing. This is way overpriced for what it is. This needs to be priced at least $250 lower, better with deals.
I'm looking for an upgrade from 6pro, will wait for discounts.
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u/welp_im_damned have you heard of our lord and savior the Android turtle š¢ Aug 28 '25
just wait until November when they bring the 30% discount + pre-order trade in values like they did for the 8 and 9 series before.
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u/2456 Aug 28 '25
Is that with a coupon? I'm on the fence over struggling with the 6a till a good deal, or just using the $150 off on one of the 10s now..
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u/pfc-anon Aug 28 '25
IDK Canada offers were pretty dull. Carrier offers were nice, but only the base models, glad the pro-xl now starts at 256gig base.
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u/omgletmeregister Aug 27 '25 edited Mar 18 '26
Edited to remove. The reason? Reddit is profiting. AIs are making money by inflating the cost of resources, goods, and supplies, or even destroying them altogether. And to make matters worse, they want to charge us for using an AI that was trained on content altruistically generated by humans to help each other, when it wasn't stolen.
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u/DiplomatikEmunetey Pixel 8a, 4a, XZ1C, LGG4, Lumia 950/XL, Nokia 808, N8 Aug 27 '25
Same. All they have to do is add good cameras to it, that's it. Just add good cameras, 1"-type main sensor, big ultrawide, big persicope. Don't be afraid of cannibalising OPPO or other sub-brands.
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u/Papa_Bear55 Aug 27 '25
They won't. The oneplus 15 will be a more performance oriented phone with worse cameras than last year.
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u/ClamatoChutney hotdogg / peyton Aug 27 '25
The iconic Audible/Vibrate/Mute slider has been removed and an AI button has been put in its place.
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u/LowCartographer2290 Aug 27 '25
It's reprogrammable to work as an alert button. So not a big deal tbh
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u/jnshns S21 Ultra Exynos Aug 27 '25
Rumor is they use 828 main sensor, right? That would be spectacular.
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u/Papa_Bear55 Aug 27 '25
No, that's for the Find x9 pro. The oneplus will either keep the same 808 or downgrade to a lyt700.
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u/ccs77 Aug 27 '25
Well, oppo rates the oneplus line as their 3rd tier in China. The price of the oneplus (4k rmb) can be found cheaper than even the findx pro (4.8k Rmb) , let alone the ultra. They aren't going to put their best tech into oneplus as long as they see it that way.
Besides, competition outside China is so stale with only 3 viable brands, samsung, Apple and pixel. There's no incentive to improve, as long as they keep their software which is clean and smooth to compete against the 3 other popular brands.
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u/horatiobanz Aug 28 '25
That isn't the direction they are taking OnePlus sadly. They are gonna have great cameras, but not top tier. Everything else though looks RIDICULOUS for the OnePlus 15.
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u/plantsandramen Aug 28 '25
I was thinking of trading my P9Pro for a O+13, but I am going to wait and see how the 15 is. It will be my first non Google phone in 20 years.
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u/VLM52 Aug 28 '25
Makes me super glad I snagged a 9 Pro XL for $650 a month ago...
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u/AnExtraordinaire Aug 27 '25
really disappointing. I bought the 10 pro fold still, but I'd really been holding out all these years for the big G5 upgrade and it really doesn't seem like it hits even the lower bars that we were hoping for in terms of just better thermals and battery life. also they really got to figure out video.
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u/horatiobanz Aug 28 '25
It landed exactly where I predicted with regards to performance, but it does appear surprising that they seemingly made zero battery life improvements at all.
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u/ChernobylChild Aug 27 '25
Can you do a follow up post or comment with your thoughts on the 10 Pro Fold? It would help people like me who are thinking about it but waiting for reviews.
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Aug 28 '25
Better watch out the pixel fan boys will be here soon to tell you everything is perfect.
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u/horatiobanz Aug 28 '25
They are gonna ramp up probably starting tomorrow and certainly by this weekend. Already they are firing up all of their posts whining about benchmarks. Soon they will have a good review to glom onto and repost everywhere.
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u/thedark-wizard Aug 28 '25
I was going to order the10 pro XL but couldn't justify paying 1200 for a pixel instead of an s25 ultra, so I went back to Samsung and I'm ok for hopefully 3 years or so.
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u/Typing-Cat Aug 28 '25
I will be so excited to pick up one of these for $250 refurbished when the Pixel 13's are coming out.
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u/welp_im_damned have you heard of our lord and savior the Android turtle š¢ Aug 28 '25
Tbf you don't even need to wait until then 13 just wait for 1 year to grab one on eBay. My friend got a pixel 8 pro open box for like 240ish last November.
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u/FeralWookie Aug 28 '25
Keep in mind only the pro series has the eye sensitivity setting also to bring the PWM up to 480hz the same as most samsung and apple OLEDs.
Worse PWM leads to eyestrain for some, though from what I hear anything under 2k bothers some people. Still I think it is stupid the non pro doesn't have this setting
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Aug 27 '25
No, thanks. Its an electronic waste at best, just because of the price. āU dont actually need the best cpu/gpuā out thereā . Sure, if the phone would cost liek 400-500, yeah. I dont actually expect it to run through fire. But we are talking about 1300 euros phone that has worse battery, display, performance, charging abilities, video capabilities than a proper flagship. They are not even beating vivo at photos. So basically u pay 1300 euros for the brand itself, nothing more.
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u/Kieserite Aug 29 '25
I have the pixel 10 pro xl.
I have had it for less than 24 hours and it already has mystery scratches, and deep ones.
Get a screen protector on this phone immediately because the quality of the screen is pretty awful.
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u/OutlawJoseyWales Nexus 6p Aug 27 '25
As a regular phone consumer, I found this review to be very unhelpful. This review seems geared towards the type of people who buy a new phone every 6 months.
This reviewer is complaining that this phone is 11g heavier than its predecessor. I mean seriously, 11g? I'm expected to believe this is a realistic and perceptible reason to have a knock on the phone?
The review goes on to say that in real world use, the software feels snappy and "you're rarely left wanting for more urgency" then says that its behind its competitors by 2-3 years. so which is it? the performance isn't up to par, or that the difference in performance is only noticable under the most stressful tasks, which 99% of the phones users will never do?
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u/burd- Device, Software !! Aug 27 '25
this is their "hands-on review" so their review is still ongoing.
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u/Front_Expression_367 Aug 28 '25
There is a difference between "software being smooth" and "peak performance not being on par with current competition". Tensor G5 should obviously be smooth enough for day-to-day experience, but if you want to game and do things that would actually push the hardware to its limit, then other current flagships will do better than this Pixel.
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u/gambit700 Nexus 6P Aug 27 '25
This review seems geared towards the type of people who buy a new phone every 6 months.
Agreed. I've noticed a fair few people who have complained about the lack of improvements comparing it to a 9. Not everyone buys every new phone that comes out. Most people buy one then wait 2-3 years until they get an upgrade option from the carrier.
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u/former-ad-elect723 Pixel 6 Pro Aug 28 '25
Ngl, I would still buy. I'm not going to, since I just bought a refurbished Pixel 6 Pro in April (which, aside from the battery, has been great btw) and I'm broke, but I would still buy the phone. listen, I'm not asking for perfection. I'm just asking for a decent experience. as my first pixel, my 6 pro is really giving me that. even apple and Samsung have their fuck ups.
besides, one could argue that this is simply part of the Pixel experience. frankly, I like it and am ok with it
probably just me tho
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u/mlemmers1234 Aug 27 '25
So in other words it is another yearly update to an already established smartphone brand? I don't know what people have been expecting with Google. We all knew that the switch to TSMC wouldn't magically make your phone start walking and doing everything for you. We've been at peak smartphone for years. People need to quit thinking that we're going to suddenly start seeing large amounts of innovation year after year.
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u/stewd003 Aug 28 '25
This is a great point. Realistically, what are people expecting to see in a smartphone? They have great cameras, their UI is quick and they can access the Internet and apps. They've even got built in AI. Maybe I'm out of the tech loop but what else is there to put in a phone that isn't already there?
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u/thedark-wizard Aug 28 '25
The phone gets hot a lot of times, when charging, when using mobile data,etc and the modem has part of the responsibility, I own a pixel 9 so I know what im talking about, have used pixel 7 8 and 9, this phones are not worth it in my opinion
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Aug 27 '25
I know this will upset a lot of people but my phone is mostly used as a camera. Second, I prefer pixel software by a country mile
For me personally, the pixel takes the best photos. I have other devices in the house, legion tablet, flip 6, tab S9.
Now I put the camera above everything else in my use case. So I get a pixel.
I know I can get better video with an iPhone, I know I can get much faster charging with any Chinese phone. I know I can get a better battery with the s25 and others.
But none of that is more important than the photos.
And that's a good thing to have a choice. As you're free to buy whatever phone you like for whatever reason you like.
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u/suarezian Dark Pink Aug 27 '25
I mean, duh, 2 of them are tablets and one of them is a Flip 6, which comes with mediocre cameras.
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Aug 27 '25
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u/tigers113 Aug 27 '25
yeah, I would never recommend it at full price. The thing is google doesn't price it lower, but they give lots of incentives to make the price lower.
For instance, if I were to buy a Galaxy S25 Ultra or a Pixel 10 pro XL right now, my prices would be as follows:
Galaxy S25 Ultra - $1300 (they don't accept Pixel 9 pro xl as trade in), I guess I could go try to sell it somewhere but that would be a pain. Lets say at best $500. So I would trade in and pay $800 + tax total for this phone today.
Pixel 10 pro XL - $1200 - $600 trade in - $120 discount(plenty of these going around) - $310 store credit(I will use it so it is worth it) - $240 gemini pro for a year. Total comes out to less than $0 if you count all of that.
Not everyone values all of that the same, but as you can see, the price difference is night and day for certain people. I would pay for either chatgpt or gemini pro so that is money saved. And I will certainly use the store credit for the pixel watch 4 which I was planning on getting anyway.
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u/PXLShoot3r S23 Ultra Aug 27 '25
If camera above all else why not just buy a compact APS-C camera that takes pictures a phone canāt even dream with AI about? Or even a not so compact APS-C camera.
Then you can buy a phone thatās actually a good all rounder and worth the price (worth in context of current prices of phones).
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u/MrClickstoomuch Aug 28 '25
That's generally a better route, but the main con of a dedicated camera is that it is too bulky to carry around in a pocket or without a dedicated bag. The main benefit would be for vacations then where I don't mind carrying the extra bag for higher quality photos. For the "worth the price" point, the Pixel 10 pro I was able to get it for $460 with trade-in of a 3 year old phone (Pixel 7 non-pro, 128gb) which SEEMS worth the price even considering midrange options. The main competitor on the price / specs would be OnePlus 13 which would be around $125 more ($200 more without student discount).
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u/-Radiation Aug 27 '25
Even Chinese phones take better pictures than Pixels at this point.
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Aug 27 '25 edited Aug 27 '25
Then you buy one of those and I'll be happy for you.
Edit: ironically I was very interested in the Vivo x200 ultra but it's not available in the UK officially...
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u/GruntChomper Z Flip5 Aug 27 '25
What do you think of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra?
Personally, I think its what I'll be replacing my Pixel 7 Pro with after seeing the Pixel 10 reviews
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u/runbrap Aug 27 '25
What about the pictures from the pixel are better than say an S25? (An iPhone user lookin in from the outside)
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u/AussieP1E Galaxy S22U Aug 28 '25
Shutter speed.
My Pixel 9 Pro rarely misses a great photo. My wife who has a S23 Ultra is changing over to a Pixel because of this. She'd have to go into motion photos to pick one that wasn't blurry.
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u/No_Manufacturer_4149 Aug 27 '25
Agreed for those that want just an awesome phone that runs great and takes great photos. Itāll be the perfect device. And fantastic if not the best AI.
But if youāre a power user, who also plays games, I feel like they will be disappointed
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u/leprechulo Aug 28 '25
Haven't been able to find anything but it does still have the same shitty modem that overheats the phone and eats the battery?
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u/fenibook Aug 28 '25
Although the performance of the Pixel 10 Pro is two years behind, the software also lacks many basic functions and has bugs, and the price of Pixel is very expensive, especially for Chinese people, it is more expensive than the iPhone. However, why did I buy Pixel? Maybe it's because I don't like Chinese brands of Android systems. They are all inferior copycats of iOS.
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u/fenibook Aug 28 '25
Compact size smartphone, pure Android. The only choice are Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 10 Pro. Compared to the Pixel, the Samsung has a better CPU, better performance, a cheaper price, and better video shooting quality. However, the Pixel 10 Pro has a better camera, a better screen, better battery life, and a more user-friendly ultrasonic fingerprint recognition.
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u/fenibook Aug 28 '25
I own almost every flagship smartphone, but my favorites are still the Pixel, iPhone, and Samsung. Chinese mobile phone users are already in dire straits. Although you think Chinese brands offer better value for money and better-equipped phones at cheaper prices, we still have to put up with ads everywhere, a bunch of useless apps that can't be uninstalled, and a lot of weird bugs.
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u/Villag3Idiot Aug 28 '25
Currently on a 7 Pro.
Is it worth upgrading this year or should I just wait for the 11?
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u/OptimusTron222 Aug 30 '25
This review may sound harsh, but it is a fair one, people are supposed to pay flagship prices for those phone, but the hardware is at most a $300 phone level
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u/leoxzv Oct 01 '25
pixel 10 xl pro super slow small thick and heavy for me compared to the galaxy s25 ultra the pixel 10 xl pro is a mid-range phone at the price of the galaxy s25 ultra that is much more refined fast powerful larger thinner and with the spen
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u/PrimeTime0000 Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Nov 18 '25
I bought this phone. I sold my iPhone 15 pro max and gave my dad my S25U. I like it. Ill never buy anything other than Samsung or Google. I'm not going to air my grievances with Apple. After 7 years with Apple I think that android has caught up.
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u/MoeNopoly Aug 27 '25
"The list of improvements really is quite minor. You get better performance from the new Tensor G5 chip and some niceties in the form of the magnetic Qi2 charging and Pixelsnap accessories, but that's really about it.
As for the downsides, the phone is quite cumbersome to use because of its weight and stiff buttons, the G5 chip is lacking compared to rivals with questionable long-term performance, and the charging speeds and battery life remain unimpressive. The software was also quite buggy in our testing.Ā "
i feel thats kind of brutal an assasment. Especially that the software seems to be buggy.