Google has begun shipping the first Pixel 10 pre-orders, and we’ve got the Pixel 10 in for review! Ours is the Indigo, and it’s the loveliest shade of blue.
Unsurprisingly, the Pixel 10 ships in a recycled paper box with nothing more than a USB-C cable.
What is a bit surprising is the cameras. Google made a bold choice to incorporate a zoom camera in its base Pixel this year, and we’re all for it! The 10.8MP 1/3.2-inch sensor (112mm, f/3.1, 5x) isn’t as good, on paper, as the 48MP 1/2.55-inch (113mm, f/2.8, 5x) telephoto on the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL, but it’s more than a welcome addition.
We’ll test the two side by side to see how big a difference there is.
The other change from this year’s Pixel 10 Pro (and even last year’s Pixel 9) is the new main camera of the Pixel 10 – a 25mm f/1.7 shooter with a smaller 48MP, 1/2.0-inch imager. We don’t expect it to perform much worse than the bigger 50MP, 1/1.31-inch main camera on the Pixel 10 Pro in most scenarios, but we’ll test that as well!
The Google Pixel 10 has a zoom camera
Finally, the ultrawide camera is an inferior unit compared to the Pixel 9. The new one is a 13MP, 1/3.1-inch vs the 48MP, 1/2.55-inch of the old model. PDAF is still present, luckily.
Google upgraded the OLED display of the Pixel 10 compared to the 9 – it’s now slightly brighter (2,000 nits vs 1,800 nits nominal, 3,000 nits vs 2,700 nits peak). But the 120Hz display still isn’t an LTPO panel – that’s a feature reserved for the Pro models, as is the new Always-on display wallpaper.
Then there’s the difference in processing. The Pixel 10 non-Pro has the same 3nm Tensor G5 SoC, but paired with just 12GB of RAM – the Pros get 16GB.
There are a lot of differences, on paper, between the Pixel and both the Pixel 9 it replaces, and the Pixel 10 Pro it slots under. Putting aside the details on paper for a second, the Pixel 10 feels every bit as premium as the Pro in the hand. We’d argue that the non-Pro’s more colorful palette is a serious plus.
And with the addition of a dedicated zoom camera, the mainstream Pixel fan might just prefer to save some money and go with the Pixel 10 over the Pro. Food for thought!
