While iPhones and Galaxys are the most popular options, there are alternatives. Google’s Pixel series is entering a new era with a new chipset foundry and more capable camera hardware.
The Google Pixel 10 Pro XL is the top dog, unless you count the pricey Fold model (which we featured in a previous post). It has a 6.8” LTPO 1344p+ display and a 5,200mAh battery. Unfortunately, the battery doesn’t last as long as it should – it only achieved a 12:29h Active Use score.
The chief culprit for that is probably the underperforming Tensor G5. The Pixel UI feels smooth and the chip is capable of on-device AI, so we have no complaints there, it’s just that general multitasking and gaming are not on the level of similarly-priced flagships.
The camera setup features a 50MP main (1/1.31”), 48MP 5x/113mm periscope and a 48MP ultra-wide, plus a 42MP ultra-wide (17mm) selfie camera. It reliably produces good quality images and videos, even if they are not the best in the business.
The Google Pixel 10 Pro has the same chipset and cameras, so the same considerations apply. The phone is equipped with one of the brightest displays we have ever tested and it measures 6.3” in size. The relatively large 4,870mAh battery doesn’t last as long as we would have liked with a 12:06h Active Use score. The slow charging doesn’t help either.
Then there’s the Google Pixel 10 – it’s the same size as the 10 Pro, but its display has a lower resolution (1080p+ vs. 1280p+) and dials the brightness back a bit (it’s still one of the brightest displays that you will find, though).
Good news – the vanilla phone uses the same chipset as the two Pro phones. Bad news – well, we already covered it. We will note that the 128GB phones (both vanilla and Pro) use slower UFS 3.1 storage, so you may want to pick up at least a 256GB phone for the faster UFS 4.0 chips (and extra storage, of course). Battery life is almost exactly the same as on the Pixel 10 Pro.
This phone is saddled with mid-range cameras – a small 48MP 1/2.0” main sensor, a 10.8MP 5x/112mm telephoto and a 13MP ultra-wide, plus a 10.5MP ultra-wide (95°, 20mm) selfie camera.
We have a detailed Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 10 Pro article if you want a more in-depth comparison between the two 6.3” options.
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