Pixel 10 Review Solid Flagship with Smarter AI

Pixel 10 in short

Google’s Pixel 10 is the company’s straightforward, fairly priced flagship. At $799 it brings meaningful upgrades — Qi2 magnetic charging, a new Tensor G5 chip, and a dedicated 5x telephoto lens — while keeping the price below the Pixel 10 Pro. The result is an easygoing Android phone that leans on smarter on‑device AI rather than flashy hardware changes.

Performance is solid for everyday use. The Tensor G5, Google’s first TSMC-made custom chip, runs cooler and handles heavier tasks well. The Pixel 10 ships with 12GB of RAM (vs. 16GB on the Pro), and while you might see slight stutters on dense pages, most users will get smooth day-to-day performance.

On-device AI finally feels useful. Features like Magic Cue surface contextual suggestions (adding calendar events, suggesting places from screenshots) and generally work — with occasional false positives. These AI boosts show how Google is making smart assistants more practical rather than gimmicky.

• Qi2 magnetic wireless charging (no case required)
• Tensor G5 with robust on-device AI
• New 5x telephoto lens, but smaller main and ultrawide sensors than the Pro

Cameras are where the trade-offs show. Google added a proper telephoto lens this year, which is a welcome improvement over digital zoom. But to fit that in at $799, the Pixel 10 uses smaller main and ultrawide sensors — hardware closer to the Pixel 9A — so image quality, especially in low light and portrait shots, doesn’t match the Pro. If mobile photography is your priority, the Pro still pulls ahead.

Battery life is fine for a full day of moderate use but can dip toward afternoon under heavy workloads like gaming or extended hotspot use. The 6.3-inch 1080p OLED with up to 120Hz is bright and usable outdoors, though you may notice occasional drops from 120Hz to 60Hz and some vignetting that’s fixable via the natural color profile.

In short: the Pixel 10 is a thoughtful value proposition. It bundles useful AI, magnets for Qi2 charging, and a true telephoto option without pushing the price to Pro levels. The camera compromises are real but targeted; most mainstream buyers will be very happy. Enthusiasts who crave the cleanest images and largest sensors should still consider the Pro.

Reviewer Allison Johnson’s take: asking the Pixel 10 to be more than it is feels greedy. It’s a well-priced, capable flagship that nicks a few corners to stay affordable — and for many people, those trade-offs make perfect sense.