Google Pixel 10

The Pixel series has always followed a predictable pattern. The base model delivers the core Pixel experience while the Pro variants get the more advanced hardware. With the Google Pixel 10, that formula changes slightly. For the first time in years, the base Pixel feels much closer to a complete flagship.

Google has added a dedicated telephoto camera, upgraded the chipset, and improved battery capacity. These changes make the Pixel 10 far more versatile than its predecessor. At the same time, it continues to offer the clean Android experience and long software support that the Pixel lineup is known for.

The Pixel 10 is priced at ₹79,999 in India for the 256GB variant, which is exactly the same starting price as last year’s Google Pixel 9. On paper, it looks like a solid upgrade without a price increase. But the real question is whether it can justify that price in a market where compact premium phones like the OnePlus 13s and Xiaomi 14 also compete.

After using the phone extensively, here is what the Pixel 10 gets right and where it still struggles.

Design and Display

Google has not experimented much with the design this year. The Pixel 10 retains the signature camera bar that has defined Pixel phones since the Google Pixel 6. The bar is slightly taller this time, mainly to accommodate the new telephoto sensor.

The phone measures 152.8 × 72 × 8.6mm and weighs 204 grams. That weight feels slightly heavy for a compact phone, especially when compared to competitors in the same size category.

Build quality is excellent though. The device features a satin-finish aluminium frame and glass back protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both sides. It also carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

The Pixel 10 is available in Indigo, Frost, Lemongrass, and Obsidian colour options. The Frost variant looks particularly premium and hides fingerprints better than darker colours.

Despite the glass back being slightly slippery, the compact form factor makes the phone comfortable to use with one hand. That is becoming increasingly rare in a market dominated by large phones.

On the front, the Pixel 10 features a 6.3-inch Actua OLED display with a resolution of 1080 × 2424 pixels and 422 PPI pixel density. It supports a 120Hz refresh rate and reaches up to 3000 nits peak brightness.

The panel looks excellent in daily use. Colours are vibrant, brightness is strong even outdoors, and HDR content looks great on streaming platforms thanks to Widevine L1 certification. The only limitation is the lack of an LTPO panel, which means you manually switch between 60Hz and 120Hz instead of adaptive refresh rates.

Performance and Software

Powering the Pixel 10 is the new Google Tensor G5, manufactured by TSMC on a 3nm process. The phone comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, with no other storage options available in India.

For everyday use, the phone feels fast and responsive. Apps launch quickly, multitasking works well, and the interface remains smooth most of the time.

The device runs Android 16 with Google’s Material 3 Expressive UI. As expected from a Pixel phone, the software experience is clean and polished. Google also promises seven years of Android updates and security patches, which remains the best software support policy in the Android ecosystem.

However, performance is not entirely flawless. During testing, the phone started showing signs of stress when running more than 25 apps simultaneously in memory.

Gaming performance is another area where the Pixel 10 struggles. Titles like Call of Duty: Mobile run smoothly initially, but the phone begins to heat up after about 20 minutes. Heavy games like Genshin Impact or BGMI are not ideal for long gaming sessions.

In short, the Pixel 10 is designed more for everyday productivity than high-end gaming.

AI Features

Artificial intelligence remains one of the biggest highlights of Pixel devices. The Pixel 10 continues to offer features like Best Take, Photo Unblur, Magic Eraser, and Audio Magic Eraser, which are still among the best AI-powered editing tools available on smartphones.

A new feature called Magic Cue attempts to surface contextual suggestions by analysing information from Google apps like Gmail. Its usefulness depends heavily on how deeply you are integrated into Google’s ecosystem.

Another interesting addition is Camera Coach, which provides real-time suggestions to improve photo framing.

The good thing is that these features are optional and do not feel forced into the user experience.

Camera Performance

The Pixel lineup has always been known for its cameras, and the Pixel 10 introduces an interesting change.

The phone features a triple camera setup:

• 48MP primary camera with OIS
• 10.8MP telephoto camera with 5× optical zoom
• 13MP ultra-wide camera
• 10.5MP front camera

The addition of the 5× telephoto lens is the biggest upgrade compared to the Pixel 9, which lacked a dedicated zoom camera.

Daylight photography from the primary sensor is excellent. Images show strong detail, wide dynamic range, and accurate colours. Google’s image processing continues to deliver reliable results across different lighting conditions.

The ultra-wide camera captures good colours but struggles slightly with sharpness and autofocus in some situations.

The telephoto lens performs well in good lighting conditions and offers meaningful zoom capabilities. However, low-light performance is less impressive, with noticeable noise and loss of detail.

In low-light scenes, Night Sight still does a decent job recovering details, although aggressive noise reduction can sometimes make images look slightly artificial.

Selfies from the front camera are solid in good lighting, though low-light shots rely heavily on software processing.

For video, the Pixel 10 supports 4K recording at 60fps on all cameras. Video quality is stable with good dynamic range, but it still falls slightly behind iPhones when it comes to professional video recording.

Battery and Charging

The Pixel 10 packs a 4970mAh battery, which is slightly larger than the 4700mAh unit in the Pixel 9.

In daily use, the phone comfortably lasts a full day with moderate usage that includes browsing, messaging, video streaming, and occasional photography.

Average screen-on time during testing ranged between 4 to 5 hours, which is decent but not exceptional for a phone in this price range.

Charging speeds are also modest. The device supports 30W wired charging and 15W wireless charging with Qi2 support. A full charge takes close to 100 minutes, which is slower than many competing Android phones.

Verdict

The Pixel 10 is a strong refinement of Google’s base flagship formula. The addition of the telephoto camera finally makes the non-Pro Pixel feel complete, while the clean Android experience and long software support remain major advantages.

However, it is not without compromises. Gaming performance and charging speeds lag behind competitors, and the camera hardware downgrade compared to the Pixel 9 raises some questions.

If you are using an older Pixel, especially anything before the Pixel 9, the Pixel 10 is a meaningful upgrade. But if you already own the Pixel 9, the improvements may not be compelling enough.