Barely a month has passed, and Google’s entire new Pixel 10 smartphone lineup is on sale for Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event. There’s a whopping $150 discount on the Pixel 10, bringing it down to $649, and an even more impressive $200 discount for the Pixel 10 Pro at $799, and $250 off the Pixel 10 Pro XL at $949. The deals are matched at Best Buy, too, in case you don’t want to shop at Amazon.
These aren’t just polished, slick smartphones; they’re also the first flagship Android phones with Qi2 wireless charging. That means there’s a ring of magnets in the devices, just like Apple’s iPhones, allowing you to connect to Qi2 and MagSafe accessories. If the Pixel 10 series is too spendy for you, you’ll be happy to hear the Pixel 9a is also on sale for a mere $350 ($150 off).
Looking for more deals? Check out our Absolute Best Prime Big Deal Days roundup of discounts, along with our Prime Day liveblog for the latest sales on our favorite gadgets.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
The Pixel 10 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) just might be one of the best high-end smartphones you can buy for the money, even better now that it’s on sale. It’s one of the few phones at this price with a triple-camera system, which includes a 5X optical zoom telephoto; that’s great for capturing your favorite artist on stage or your kid accepting their diploma.
Performance with the Tensor G5 chip is more than satisfactory with most games and apps. Battery life is good to last a full day with average use, and the 6.3-inch screen has a brighter-than-ever OLED panel, so it’s easy to read on the sunniest days. The speakers are slightly louder on this year’s model, too. It’s worth noting that these phones are eSIM only in the US, so you won’t be able to just pop a SIM card inside for cell service.
As mentioned earlier, these are some of the only Android phones with Qi2 wireless charging support. That means the magnets in the back of the phone will ensure accurate charging placement with Qi2 chargers, which also enables faster wireless charging that’s more efficient. You can take advantage of the wealth of MagSafe magnetic accessories developed for iPhones, from camera tripods and wallets to power banks.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL
Upgrade to the Pixel 10 Pro or Pixel 10 Pro XL (8/10, WIRED Recommends), and everything goes up a notch. The display is more battery efficient since the refresh rate can ratchet from 1 Hz to 120 Hz, there’s more RAM, and most importantly, there’s a vapor chamber cooling system. That means these phones won’t run as hot and can deliver better performance, even in demanding games.
The triple-camera system might seem similar to the Pixel 10, but all the sensors are different and larger, allowing for more detail and brighter low-light images. These phones are also the only ones with Google’s Pro Res Zoom, which lets you zoom up to 100X and still get usable, sharp images thanks to a mixture of generative artificial intelligence and a new image processing system. They also feature Video Boost, which sends your video clips to the cloud for processing. You’ll get a notification sometime later, and your footage will be brighter, more colorful, and more stable.
The Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL are the same outside of screen size and battery life (6.3 inches versus 6.8 inches), though the Pro XL does have one extra perk: Qi2 25W support. With the right wireless charger, you can juice it up even faster.
