Google Pixel 10 Pro XL Ultimate Review: Google’s Biggest, Boldest Phone Yet?

The tenth generation of Google Pixel is here. And I will say that I was one of those who thought Google would kill off the Pixel after a few years. Honestly, I’m happy to be wrong. The Google Pixel is still one of my favorite smartphones, and the one I get the most excited for each year. Despite not having the latest and greatest silicon from Qualcomm or MediaTek and not hitting record numbers on Geekbench or AnTuTu, the Google Pixel always puts out some really interesting features, and that’s the case once again this year with features like Magic Cue.

Many were expecting Google to do a big redesign this year, since it is the tenth Pixel, but that wasn’t going to happen after the redesign last year. And frankly, I’m glad they didn’t redesign it. I absolutely love this design. The camera bar is perhaps my favorite design aspect of any phone these days, because its unique and it also makes sure the phone doesn’t wobble on a table – which Samsung phones are really bad at.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of changes to the Pixel 10 series, and you’d be right. But once you start using the device, you’ll notice that there are a lot more changes than you expected. Now, it’s time to find out if it’s actually worth upgrading this year, or should you wait for the Pixel 11 next year?

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL Review: Design and Build Quality

Google continues to knock it out of the park with its design on the Pixel models. The Pixel 9 was a pretty big design change, even though it didn’t really seem like it. Google basically got rid of the curved sides and made everything flat. Really making it look more like the iPhone, it also felt more like the iPhone, which should come as no surprise. iPhone users are primarily who Google is going after here. Don’t forget, if you’re using Samsung or OnePlus, Google is okay with that, as you’re still an Android user. But of course, they want to get more iPhone users over to Android.

This year, it’s really hard to find any differences in the design versus the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL. But there is one change that you’ll only notice in the US. No more SIM card slot. Now, outside of the US, you can still use a physical SIM card. But the slow has been moved to the top of the phone, versus the bottom where it’s been for the past few years.

If you break out the calipers, you will notice that there are some very minor differences in dimensions here, like the Pixel 10 is slightly thicker. And we do mean very slightly. We’re talking about 0.1mm thicker here. Which is likely to accommodate that larger battery this year, which is now 5,200mAh. And also perhaps for the magnets that are built in now for PixelSnap.

Google is still using glass on the back and polished metal for the sides, which is something I wish they’d change. While the polished sides do look great, they can get pretty nasty pretty quickly. This is because they will show every fingerprint on your phone. Of course, if you use a case, that won’t be an issue. But not everyone wants to use a case.

The bottom line here is, if you didn’t like the design of the Pixel 9, you won’t like the design of the Pixel 10, and likely not the Pixel 11, Pixel 12 or Pixel 13. As Google is rumored to be sticking with the same design for the next three years, of course changing some parts of it to make it better as usual.

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL Review: Display

Google did pretty much keep the display the same this year as well, but it did get one upgrade – brightness. The same upgrade we seem to be getting every year now. Peak brightness is now 3,300nits with the high brightness mode maxing out at 2,200nits. Of course, you’ll never really see that level of brightness, but what this means is that even outdoors in direct sunlight, you’ll have no issues with seeing the display. It also doesn’t overheat as quickly as other phones, like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and iPhone 16 Pro (Max), which then dim the display pretty quickly.

This is still an OLED display, so it does look pretty incredible, especially for watching movies and TV shows. Google is also using Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to protect this display, which should keep it from shattering or scratching.

Colors on this display are phenomenal. I tend to prefer the more natural colors versus the saturated colors that you often times get on Samsung devices. So I do like this panel a lot better on the Pixel 10 Pro XL. Overall, there’s not much to complain about here on the Pro models’ displays.

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL Review: Performance

Coming into Pixel season, of course the big question was about the new Tensor G5. This is the first time that Google is not using Samsung to manufacture its own chipset, and is using TSMC’s N3E process instead. This led many to believe that we’d see huge gains in performance, and it would finally match the Snapdragon 8 Elite. But that was never going to happen. Google isn’t focused on peak performance, but smoothness and making its own features work the best it can. And that includes its camera, which now has a custom-built ISP specifically for the Pixel camera. Which we’ll be talking a lot more about on the Pixel 10 review a bit later, as it is going to either make or break that camera.

I’m happy to report that in my experience, the Tensor G5 has performed about as I had expected. It’s been pretty smooth, hasn’t gotten overly hot, and hasn’t slowed down either. In fact, after a couple of days, I totally forgot that this wasn’t a Snapdragon 8 Elite nor a Dimensity 9400 chip.

And this is why I continue to say benchmarks don’t really matter in day-to-day usage. Now, yes the Pixel 10 Pro XL isn’t going to be the best gaming smartphone, but it will handle games quite well. I’ve played a few games, including Genshin Impact, and it was fine. It wasn’t mind blowing like a Nubia gaming phone might be, and for most people, that’s perfectly fine.

Benchmarks

Now, let’s talk about that elephant in the room, benchmarks. We weren’t expecting the Tensor G5 to hit any new records, but it is a nice upgrade over the Tensor G4 in the Pixel 9 series.

Starting off with Geekbench 6. It’s worth noting that this test was done on pre-release software, and the GPU is apparently massively underclocked, which resulted in a much lower score than it should have. We will be testing it again after the phone is released to the public, and hopefully it is fixed then. But as of now, here’s how the Pixel 10 Pro XL stacks up to the Pixel 9 Pro XL, Galaxy S25 Ultra and the OPPO Find X8 Pro.

The reason for these devices in our comparison is, the Pixel 9 Pro XL shows the year-over-year difference from Tensor G4 to Tensor G5. And the Galaxy S25 Ultra and OPPO Find X8 Pro run on the other flagship chips for 2025, the Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400.

Device	Geekbench Single	Geekbench Multi	Geekbench GPU
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL	2,267	6,034	2,948
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL	1,947	4,654	6,464
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra	3,128	9,793	18,379
OPPO Find X8 Pro	2,790	8,285	21,502

Now, Google does not say how much better the Tensor G5 is versus the Tensor G4, other than to say it is faster. But we can see here on Geekbench that it is about 16% faster in single-core and about 29% faster in multi-core. And as mentioned, the GPU is severly underclocked right now, so that score is not correct.

Next up is AnTuTu. WIth AnTuTu this test tests every aspect of the device. From the storage, to RAM, to CPU speed and everything in between. So here’s how it stacks up.

Device	AnTuTu
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL	1,240,243
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL	1,148,512
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra	2,439,788
OPPO Find X8 Pro	2,552,179

Unsurprisingly, the AnTuTu score is higher than on the Tensor G4, but still far behind the Snapdragon 8 Elite and Find X8 Pro.

The final benchmark we run is a video export test. What we do with this test is we load up the same 60-second video into Capcut and export it at 4K60, timing how long the export takes. It is generally fairly quick, but here’s how all four devices stacked up.

Device	Capcut time
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL	8.5 seconds
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL	12.59
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra	5.56
OPPO Find X8 Pro	7.01

So it’s a pretty good increase from last year’s Tensor G4, but again, still behind the other flagship chips, which is what we expected. And this just goes to show that benchmark scores really aren’t the end all be all.

Thermals

Now let’s talk about Thermals. For thermal testing, we have four different tests. First, we run the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test. This is designed to push the device to its absolute limits and it will get about the hottest it ever will. This really shows how far companies will let devices go before throttling them.

Device	3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL	109° F
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL	109.5°
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra	104.1°
OPPO Find X8 Pro	109.9°

As we can see here, the Pixel 10 Pro XL does stay a bit cooler, which is good to see, but still nothing like what the Galaxy S25 Ultra is able to accomplish. Most devices we test, hit around 109 to 111° in this test. So Google is right where it should be.

Next up is playing Genshin Impact for an hour at max graphics and max brightness level. Genshin Impact is a pretty intense game and is known for really pushing devices to their limit.

Device	Genshin Impact Test
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL	105.8° F
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL	109.9°
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra	95.1°
OPPO Find X8 Pro	95.6°

Similar results here as with the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test, which is not a surprise at all.

Finally, video recording. We test out recording 4K60 video for 10 minutes while taking the temperature at 5-minutes and again at 10-minutes. There’s usually a smaller difference here versus the other tests that we do.

Device	4K60 Video Recording (5m)	4K60 Video Recording (10m)
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL	94.6° F	98.7° F
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL	94.8°	99°
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra	94.4°	97.8°
OPPO Find X8 Pro	92.8°	95.7°

What these tests show us is that the thermals on the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL are quite good. Of course, it does also help that Google has included a pretty large vapor chamber inside, which does really make a difference, as we’ll see when we review the Pixel 10. Since the base model still doesn’t have a vapor chamber.

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL Review: Battery Life and Charging

The big question when it comes to Pixel every year is always the battery life. And that’s because the Pixel has had such mediocre battery life for quite some time. Not to mention the slow charging speeds. Luckily, the battery life is good this year. Not great, but good.

I’ve been able to get through a full day and then some with around 7-8 hours of screen-on time each day. That puts it into the “good” category for me. Typically anything over 6 hours consistently is “good” in my opinion, with 10 hours being “great” which really only OnePlus and OPPO are hitting that category these days.

Now charging, on the other hand is still quite a pain. Now, Google does say that you can get up to a 70% charge in 30 minutes with a 45W charger. That does not mean, however that it charges at 45W. It’s actually closer to around 37-40W. In my experience, i was able to get more than 70% in 30 minutes. But as always, with charging there are a lot of variables involved. So that might not always be the case.

Since the Pixel 10 Pro XL does last a full day for me, the charging speeds aren’t that big of a deal. I stick it on a MagSafe or PixelSnap dock overnight and it charges just fine. Which is the same way I charge my iPhone.

PixelSnap is finally here!

Speaking of PixelSnap, this is Google’s own version of MagSafe using Qi2 (or in the case of Pixel 10 Pro XL, it’s Qi2.2). It does charge wirelessly at up to 25W, which is really great to see. Especially since it’s not a proprietary charger, like what OnePlus has for the OnePlus 13.

But more specifically, with PixelSnap, you can also use a bunch of other magnetic and MagSafe accessories, like the Spigen MagFit Wallet, or different rings to help hold the phone easier. That right there, is a big deal for the Pixel 10 series, since the magnets are built-in and do not need a case to work – like on Galaxy S25.

Benchmarks

When it comes to battery life and charging, we do have benchmarks for these as well. For battery life, we charge the phone to 100%, and let it stay plugged in for another hour to ensure that is actually at 100%. Because some phones show 100%, but don’t flip over to “Fully Charged” for another half hour – OnePlus is a big culprit of that. Then we set the brightness to about 200 nits which is very bright, but not max brightness since not every phone has the same max brightness level. And then we pull up a YouTube video and play it nonstop until the battery drops to 1%.

For the Pixel 10 Pro XL, it had a time of 23 hours and 43 minutes. That is almost two hours longer than the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and actually beat out the Galaxy S25 Ultra. For this test, anything over 24 hours is pretty impressive, and Google did get very close.

For the charging test, we then plug the phone into a charger that can max out the charging speed, and time how long it takes to go from 1% up to 100%. For the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, that was about one hour and 19 minutes. About a minute longer than the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and about 19 minutes longer than the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL Review: Software

This year, the Pixel 10 Pro XL did actually launch with the latest version of Android. Unlike last year, where it was launching with Android 14, since Android 15 wasn’t launching for another month or two. So that’s good to see here. And it will also get 7 years of updates still. Technically, the Pixel 10 Pro XL does launch with Android 16 QPR1 which does include Material 3 Expressive.

I’ve been playing around with Material 3 Expressive on my Pixel 9 Pro for past few months, really since Google I/O, and I actually quite like it. However, it does take some getting used to. It’s a huge departure from the older software on Pixel devices. Some people love it, some hate it. I think its a breath of fresh air.

Okay, now let’s talk about some of the new features on the Pixel 10 series this year. The one that I was most interested to check out was Magic Cue. This is sort of like a new assistant that is there in different apps, primarily messages and the phone app. So, if you’re friend asks you what restaurant you’re meeting at, it’ll give you a prompt to share that info with that person in Messages. Or if you’re calling an airline about your flight, it will pop up all of your flight details right there in the phone app.

We did get a demo of this ahead of Made by Google earlier this month, and it looked great. And in practice, it does work pretty great. However, I will say, if you are included in any of the beta apps that Google offers, you will need to leave the beta to get Magic Cue to work correctly. Once I left the beta’s Magic Cue worked just as it should, though it wasn’t always 100% when asking when my next flight was, or where it was going.

Google does say that it takes time to really index everything and download the latest models, but three days in and it’s still not working 100%. I imagine that this is just not fully baked yet, and will improve and expand as time goes.

The other feature that I was really excited to try was Live Translation in calls. It’s something I haven’t used a lot so far, but with me traveling to Berlin for IFA next week, I’ll definitely be using it a lot more. Essentially, it allows you to live translate your call to a number of languages, and only one person on the call needs to have a Pixel 10. It’s not perfect, but it is quite impressive. Unfortunately, this will not be coming to older Pixel devices, as Google does say that it needs the Tensor G5’s processing and LLMs that are on board with that new chip.

The last big change here is going to be the Daily Hub. This is essentially Google’s version of the Samsung NowBrief or NowBar. And my experience has been largely the same. Lots of potential, but right now it’s pretty useless. The Daily Hub lives in Google Discover. So now when you swipe over from your home screen, you’ll see a shortcut at the top for the Daily Brief.

For the most part, when I open the Daily Brief, it gives me the weather, some YouTube videos I might like, and some stuff to ask Gemini for more research. Which is entirely based on what I’ve been searching for lately. In the last few days, it’s been showing up some emails about IFA as “reminders” and also a bit more calendar events. So, this is another feature that I think will really improve with time.

Overall, the software is quite good. On this new Tensor G5, the software does run very smoothly, and everything works as it should. Though some of the new features do need a bit more time baking in the oven. Which I’d expect to see those improve with the QPR1 update coming in September, and potentially the QPR2 update in December.

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL Review: Camera

With the Pixel 10 Pro XL this year, Google didn’t really change the camera hardware at all. Of course, that’s not a surprise, given that Google’s strengths is with processing of pictures and not the hardware itself. So we still have a 48MP ultrawide, 50MP primary sensor and a 48MP 5x telephoto sensor on-board. Some pretty capable hardware, to be quite honest. Especially where the main camera is a 1/1.3″ sensor.

But the wild card this year is going to be that ISP that has been custom-built for Pixel. Google has always been all about computational photography, since the Pixel first launched in 2016. And now, they can control the entire process, from the ISP all the way to the finished product. So does that make a difference in the pictures? For the most part, no.

The pictures from the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL look like, well pictures from a Pixel. The color science hasn’t changed much for Pixel phones over the past few years, and that’s why so many people love them. The pictures are very color accurate – far more than Samsung’s, which are usually pretty oversaturated.

Here’s a bunch of photos taken with the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, including 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x, and 10x. To be honest, 5x looks pretty good, but when things get to 10x, they can sometimes fall apart, depending on the lighting.

Now, let’s talk about some of the new features Google has this year. One of the ones you’ll likely use the most is Pro Res Zoom. This is an update to Super Res Zoom that now takes it from 20x all the way up to 100x. Keep in mind that this is a 50MP 5x sensor, so 100x is quite the jump for that size of a sensor. And Google is using AI to help iron out that image quality. It can do a good job, but you’re still not going to get crystal clear photos, unfortunately.

So what’s the point of Pro Res Zoom up to 100x? Well, mostly to be able to see things far away. Say you’re trying to see a sign that’s far away, this feature will work for that, and it’ll be less blurry or watercolored than some other phones that do 100x. Basically, it’s better then the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but still not great.

The next feature here is Camera Coach. This is a rather interesting feature that Google has added. It’s essentially using Gemini to help you take better photos. Really bringing into question “what is a photo?”. It’ll help you make the picture straight, change angles, and a few other things. To help you get the best photo.

There are a few other camera features included, but where things really get impressive is with editing.

So, of course, you can edit the old-fashioned way, by adjusting the exposure and contrast, but now you can also let AI auto-enhance your photo. This feature actually works better than I was expecting. It not only adjusts the lighting, focus and such, but it can also reframe the shot for you. It does take a bit longer than I’d like, to get results. But I’ve been quite impressed so far.

There’s also Ask Photos which now lets you type in what you want to change and AI will edit the photo for you. You can even type in “make it better” and Gemini will do what it thinks makes the photo better. This is the same sort of feature that is already in Google Photos for search (which I really don’t like, but that’s another story).

Now, Google is doing a lot of AI editing here on photos with the Pixel 10 series, and that’s why Google has built-in C2PA Content Credentials. This is the first phone to have C2PA built into its native camera app, and will tell you if the photo was edited by AI or not. So if you scroll down in the info screen on a photo, to where it says “How this was made” it’ll show that the photo was taken by a camera, and edited with AI Tools. I’d say this isn’t quite as good as having the AI watermark on the photo like Samsung does, because these photos may not be seen in the camera or Google Photos app. But it is a start.

Overall, the camera is quite good still. But, it’s not my favorite camera. And that’s largely because of the hardware, and being able to review a lot of other phones coming out of China. Currently, my favorite camera phone is the OPPO Find X8 Ultra (which took all of the product shots in this review, as usual).

Should you buy the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL?

Now the big question, should you buy the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL? I think if you own a Pixel 9 Pro or even a Pixel 8 Pro, it’s not worth upgrading. But if you’re coming from a Pixel 7 series, then it’s worth it. There’s not a lot of differences from the Pixel 9 Pro to the Pixel 10 Pro, but when you look at the Pixel 7 Pro to the Pixel 10 Pro, there’s some huge differences, especially in the processor and modem.

Phones don’t see huge year-over-year upgrades anymore, and that’s because the segment is pretty mature these days. So we will likely never see gigantic changes year-over-year, except maybe with foldables or rollables.

You should buy the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL if:

• You have a phone that is at least 2 years old.
• You want a phone that will be supported for at least 7 years.
• You want a phone with a good camera and battery life.

You should not buy the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL if:

• You want the latest and greatest specs and the best benchmark scores.
• You want the absolute best camera on the market.
• You want the absolute best battery life on the market.

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