The Pixel 10 family has arrived, and Google’s tenth-gen phones land with plenty of new tricks, bold refinements, and AI power under the hood. Whether you’re a shutterbug, an Android purist, a mobile multitasker, or just tired of charging your phone twice a day, this year’s lineup — including the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and the folding Pixel 10 Pro Fold — has something to get excited about.

Magnetic accessories: Pixelsnap and Qi2 wireless charging

Let’s start with a literal snap – the introduction of Pixelsnap magnets across the entire Pixel 10 lineup. Google is finally giving Android fans what iPhone users have enjoyed for years: built-in magnets in the phone’s body, enabling MagSafe-style accessory attachment, copious magnetic gadgets, and fast, perfectly aligned wireless charging.

All four Pixel 10 models offer Qi2 wireless charging compatibility thanks to these magnets. Qi2 is the latest universal standard, using magnets for perfect device-alignment. This not only makes the charging experience more reliable and efficient, but also unlocks a world of third-party and first-party magnetic accessories. Here’s how the charging speeds break down:

• Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro Fold: Qi2 wireless charging up to 15W.
• Pixel 10 Pro XL: World first with Qi2.2 wireless charging at up to 25W for even quicker top-ups.

What does this mean in daily life? Your phone snaps onto a Pixelsnap charger, in portrait or landscape, without fussing to find the correct spot or worrying about sluggish speeds or heat buildup. You can prop up your phone for Netflix or meetings with the Pixelsnap Ring Stand or slap on a Pixelsnap case that doesn’t muffle the magnets one bit. Pixelsnap isn’t a closed shop either; it works with many existing MagSafe accessories — car mounts, wallets, grips, and stands galore. This easily makes the Pixel 10 series the most accessory-friendly Android phones to date.

The Pixelsnap ecosystem at launch is rich, including Google’s own chargers and stands (from $39 to $99), multipurpose ring stands, official and third-party cases (from $49 and up), and MagSafe-compatible wallets and mounts. The Pixel Flex 67W Dual Port Charger ensures you can charge your phone and another device (phone, laptop, earbuds) at full tilt, thanks to Google’s power balancing algorithm.

Pixelsnap and Qi2 matter beyond charging — they fundamentally change how users interact with their phone and simplify juggling workspaces, media consumption, and even mobile gaming or photography.

The base Pixel 10 gets a telephoto: the triple rear camera arrives

Google’s non-Pro Pixels have always had good cameras, but with the Pixel 10, the company has demolished the historic hierarchy. For the first time, you get a triple rear camera system on the base model:

• 48MP main camera (with improved low-light focus and macro support)
• 13MP ultrawide lens
• 10.8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom — a hardware upgrade usually reserved for premium models

This is a game-changer for the standard Pixel, firmly elevating it into flagship territory and rivaling — if not beating — base models from other big-name brands. For instance, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 has a 3x zoom lens, while even the iPhone 16’s entry model doesn’t offer true optical zoom at this price.

Users now get up to 20x Super Res Zoom, with the telephoto delivering crisp shots—be it at a sports event or capturing that bird perched far away—without needing the Pro tier. The telephoto unlocks flexibility for cityscapes, wildlife, concerts, or travel, and boosts the Pixel’s already ironclad reputation as a phone for “point, shoot, and share” photographers.

It’s worth noting the trade-off: the ultrawide on Pixel 10 is a dip in resolution (down from the 48MP on Pixel 9), likely a part of balancing the bill-of-materials while adding the tele lens. Most reviews, however, agree that the gain in telephoto utility outweighs this minor loss for the target audience.

Pixel 10 Pro Fold: the world’s toughest and most practical foldable

Foldable phones are still finding their legs, often plagued by durability concerns, fiddly hinges, or poor dust resistance. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold arrives with industry-first features that set it apart, especially on the durability front.

IP68 rating

Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the first foldable of any major brand to achieve IP68 water and dust resistance. This means the device is protected from the typical “oh no” moments of beach trips, summer rains, or dust storms — not just the occasional accidental splash.

Previous foldables (including from Samsung) offered water resistance at best, but their hinges let in dust. With the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Google promises peace of mind in scenarios that would have been unthinkable with earlier folding phones.

Related /

• The truth about IP68: Google says water protection doesn’t last

Aerospace-grade materials and a gearless hinge

Google didn’t just slap on a rubber seal — the Fold’s new gearless, high-strength hinge (rated for a decade’s worth of folding) is crafted from spacecraft-grade aluminum. This novel design reduces visible wear, eliminates vulnerable moving parts, and still feels slick and easy to open/close.

The hinge makes the device roughly 10.8mm thick when folded, thicker than some competitors, but as reviewers note, the trade-off in hand-feel is well worth the boost in ruggedness for real-world use.

Both displays — an expansive 8-inch inner, and a roomy 6.4-inch outer — use Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (outside) and ultra-thin glass with anti-impact films (inside), further improving shatter and scratch resistance.

Displays, battery, and charging

• 3,000 nits peak brightness on both screens for crisp visibility outdoors.
• Larger battery (5,015mAh) bolsters all-day performance, a necessity for multitaskers and video lovers.
• Supports Pixelsnap (Qi2) wireless charging, so you can juice up even while the phone is folded out.
• Features like Instant View, rear camera selfie, and tabletop mode capitalize on the unique form factor for next-level shooting.

All told, the Fold is positioned as a device you can finally use every day, everywhere, without babying it—a big step forward for the form factor.

Magic Cue: proactive, context-aware AI that actually helps

Across the Pixel 10 series, Google’s Magic Cue debuts as one of the boldest new AI features — putting Google’s Gemini Nano model and the Tensor G5 chip to work, not just for quirky experiments but for real, daily utility.

How Magic Cue works

Unlike a typical voice assistant, Magic Cue proactively surfaces relevant info or actions based on your in-the-moment need — adapting to what you’re doing across your apps. Practical examples include:

• When you’re calling an airline, Magic Cue checks your inbox for flight and booking info and puts it right there in the dialer, ready to share or reference.
• When a friend asks for last weekend’s party photos, Magic Cue recognizes the request in your chat and instantly shows a preselection to send — no more endless gallery scrolling.
• If a restaurant name comes up in a conversation, it’ll surface map links or review details as ready-made reply chips.
• Confirming appointments? Magic Cue can grab details from your calendar, email, or screenshots and suggest responses.

Crucially — and this is a big leap over other assistants or overlays — all processing happens on-device thanks to Gemini Nano and Tensor G5, ensuring quick response and privacy is maintained16.

Magic Cue is not just a shortcut; it’s the first “contextual AI concierge” on Android, and as integrations with third-party apps roll out, its utility is only going to grow. Early reviews are enthusiastic about how it speeds up tasks that, frankly, used to be clunky or just “not worth the effort” on other phones.

Camera Coach: AI that teaches you to take better photos — not just fix them afterward

While generative AI editing features are headline-stealing, many users still want to learn how to compose or frame good shots, not just let software hallucinate their memories.

Camera Coach takes a breakthrough approach: it coaches users in real time on framing, angles, and even shot inspiration, using Gemini’s scene recognition. The feature is built into the camera interface with a simple tap, popping up a range of “shooting prompts.” These can be straightforward (move lower for a food photo, angle up for landscapes) or creative (“Get Inspired” shots, showing how moving left/right would shift the composition).

Camera Coach is designed for everyone, but especially shines for beginners or those “designated family photographers.” It helps sidestep the classic traps of poorly framed vacation pics or awkward group shots, with suggestions like the rule of thirds or when to switch to portrait mode.

Notably, Camera Coach doesn’t rely on generative image editing — you still shoot the real-world scene, just with better technique. There’s also a privacy angle: most processing is on-device, and only a single frame is sent to the cloud for heavy AI coaching (if you opt-in).

Tensor G5 chip

It’s not just the visible features that got a major upgrade: The new Tensor G5 chip is, in Google’s own words, its most significant upgrade since Tensor’s debut.

Manufacturing shift and raw power

• 3nm process by TSMC: This alone brings sizable gains in efficiency and thermal performance over last year’s Samsung-built chipsets22.
• CPU up to 34% faster, TPU (AI engine) up to 60% faster on average versus Tensor G4.
• Scores around 1508200 on AnTuTu 10 (Pixel 10 Pro XL) and nearly 7000 multi-core on Geekbench 6 — putting it firmly in flagship territory, even if not matching Apple/Qualcomm’s fastest CPUs in synthetic tests.

What the performance unlocks

• Smooth gaming and multitasking, with up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM in Pro/XL models.
• Seven years of OS and security updates — a first for any Pixel, matching or beating iPhone update support windows.
• Running on-device generative AI (Gemini Nano), delivering things like Magic Cue and instant call translation without round-tripping to the cloud.
• Image Signal Processor 2.0 — boosting low-light photos, motion deblur, and powering advanced photo features like Pro Res Zoom and real-time C2PA content authenticity tags.
• Better battery life: Google promises “30+ hours” of run time across all models, driven by both chip efficiency and larger batteries across the series.

Security is improved too, with hardware-level enhancements (Titan M2 coprocessor) ensuring that everything from face unlock to OS updates runs in a trusted environment.

Expressive Material 3 UI

Pixel phones have always prided themselves on visually pleasing displays — but the Pixel 10 series sets new standards:

• Up to 3,300 nits peak brightness (Pixel 10 Pro/XL), 3,000 nits on the Pixel 10—making on-screen content easily viewable even in blazing sunlight.
• LTPO, 1-120Hz Adaptive Refresh (Pro/XL): Smoother scrolling and power savings; the base Pixel 10 keeps a 60/120Hz switchable display.
• Super sharp resolutions and color accuracy, with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection across the board.

Running atop Android 16, Google debuts Material 3 Expressive, a UI layer that brings more lively animations, deeper personalization, and an overall springier, more fun phone interface than ever. Notifications, lock screens, and widgets can all be customized to a degree not before seen on Pixels, matching the phone’s playful new color palettes and ergonomic tweaks.

Design and sustainability: premium, playful, and kind to the planet

While the physical design of the Pixel 10 line is an evolution, it’s not a tired rerun. Google’s sticking with the signature camera bar, flat edges, and a choice of finishes — but with a fresh take:

• Satin-finish metal frames, polished glass backs on the standard Pixel 10; glossy/matte dichotomy on the Pro. A robust, premium in-hand feel.
• Four expressive colors for Pixel 10 (Obsidian, Frost, Indigo, Lemongrass); Moonstone, Jade, Porcelain, and Obsidian for the Pros and Fold; all tastefully muted and playful at once.

On sustainability, this is the greenest Pixel yet:

• Most recycled materials ever in a Pixel (up to 100% recycled cobalt battery, copper, gold, plastics, rare earth elements, and tungsten in key components).
• 100% plastic-free packaging and substantial use of recycled aluminum in the chassis.
• Even the Pixelsnap magnets and haptics engine use rare earths from recycled sources.

This attention to ethical sourcing and environmental care is no small upgrade. With e-waste and resource scarcity an increasing concern, Google’s full-court approach from battery to box suggests real stewardship in flagship phones.

Pro Res Zoom

If you’re a pixel peeper or a wildlife spotter, Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL introduce 100x Pro Res Zoom, going beyond the 20–30x limits of competing phones.

• What it is: At 5x and 10x optical, you get the sharp capture of excellent telephoto. Beyond that (to 100x!), Google deploys the largest generative AI model ever run on a phone camera (with Tensor G5 and Gemini), reconstructing detail using a diffusion model so the resulting photo isn’t purely pixelated noise or jaggy artifactual lines.
• What’s the catch? Early reviews show Pro Res Zoom excels on certain subjects (cityscapes, distant objects, wildlife), but it can generate wonky details or “AI hallucinations” for artwork, fine text, or complex backgrounds.
• Transparency: The phone saves both the original (traditional digital zoom) and the AI-upscaled image, making sure users are informed of the process (a major plus for provenance).

This feature pushes the boundaries on what smartphones can do — and, more importantly, Google lets users choose when to use it, or revert to the “classic” Super Res Zoom if they prefer more “realistic” images.

Pixel 10 Pro vs Pixel 10 Pro XL

The Pro siblings are hard to tell apart at a glance, but for those on the fence, here’s the key breakdown:

Feature	Pixel 10 Pro	Pixel 10 Pro XL
Display	6.3-inch LTPO OLED	6.8-inch LTPO OLED
Resolution	1280 x 2856	1344 x 2992
Battery	4870mAh	5200mAh
Wired Charging	30W	45W
Wireless Charging	15W (Qi2)	25W (Qi2.2)
Weight	207g	232g
Cameras	50+48+48MP triple	50+48+48MP triple
Price (256GB)	$999	$1,199
RAM	16GB	16GB

Table: Main differences between Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL based on launch specifications.

In essence:

• Pro XL is for those who want a genuine “phablet” experience, longer battery, and the fastest charging speeds on both wires and the magnetic Pixelsnap system.
• Pro (non-XL) is ideal for those seeking maximum specs in a manageable size, or who want a lighter, easier-to-pocket flagship.

More AI and software goodies: Gemini Live, NotebookLM, Daily Hub, and beyond

If hardware is solid, it’s the software where the Pixel 10 truly soars. Some notable exclusives and upgrades:

• Gemini Live: Google’s conversational voice-first AI now handles natural quick chats, lets you share your camera for “visual guidance” (the AI highlights the object on screen), and integrates more deeply with Calendar, Tasks, Maps, and more. Language translation is snappier and now even mimics your own voice when translating during calls.
• NotebookLM Integration: The new Pixel Screenshots and Recorder apps auto-suggest moving content (like lecture notes, call transcripts, or screenshots) into structured notebooks, using AI to title, summarize, and organize your info for easier recall later.
• Pixel Journal: An on-device, private journaling app with AI writing prompts, mood tracking, calendar integration, and customizable emojis. It helps users build wellness and reflection habits, distinguishing itself from cloud-synced alternatives.
• Writing tools in Gboard: More than autocorrect: it can rewrite an entire block of text for different tones (formal/casual), suggest phrasings on-the-fly, and add mood-matching emoji.
• Daily Hub: Google’s answer to Samsung’s Now Brief — an all-in-one morning digest showing your appointments, reminders, weather, and essential news at a glance.
• Circle to Search: Effortlessly circle, scribble, or tap anything on your display to launch a Google Search, no app switching required.

Battery and charging: finally closing the gap

Pixel’s battery life and charging have historically lagged behind rivals, but that’s changed in the Pixel 10 series:

• Battery capacities: 4970mAh (Pixel 10), 4870mAh (Pro), 5200mAh (Pro XL), 5015mAh (Pro Fold) — all up from last year.
• 30+ hours battery life claim in normal use, 100 hours possible in Extreme Battery Saver mode.
• Charging speeds: 45W wired (Pro XL), 30W (Pixel 10/Pro), Qi2 wireless at 15W to 25W (Pro XL) — catching up to Samsung and OnePlus, and now finally “flagship” worthy.

Because all three main models support Pixelsnap (Qi2) wireless charging, you get an accessory landscape and charging convenience once restricted to the iPhone crowd.

Accessory Ecosystem: Google’s (and Third-Party) Support at Last

A key difference in everyday life? The launch of actual, on-time, new accessories available for purchase with the Pixelsnap system:

• Magnetic chargers, stands, wallets, cases, and ring stands.
• Works seamlessly with existing MagSafe gear (car mounts, credit card holders, grips, etc.).
• Premium Pixelsnap official cases and a bevy of third-party rugged, clear, leather, and wallet cases from Mous, Zagg, Otterbox, Case-Mate, Bellroy, and more.
• Pixel Flex Dual Port 67W charger for simultaneous phone and laptop/earbud charging — a genuinely travel-ready solution.

This level of ecosystem support at launch is a first for Pixel, making accessories a central part of the experience — not an afterthought.

Bottom line

With the Pixel 10 series, Google isn’t just checking boxes: it’s pushing Android forward. Between the magnets and Qi2 charging, telephoto finally on the base phone, all-phone AI features, uncompromised durability, and actual, useful personalization, the new Pixels are a glimpse at where phones are heading — smart, personalized, protective, sustainable, and fun.

If you’re considering a new Android or weighing your next flagship, the Pixel 10 lineup offers some of the boldest, most practical upgrades of 2025. You’re not just buying a phone; you’re investing in seven years of software, a thriving ecosystem, and features that will matter — not just look good in a spec sheet.

The only question remaining? Obsidian, Lemongrass, Moonstone, or Indigo. And which accessory will you snap on first?