Three Pixel 10 Pro features that could make me switch back to Google in 2025
The Pixel 10 Pro (and its siblings, the vanilla flagship Pixel 10, the exotic Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the same-but-larger Pixel 10 Pro XL) are all expected to drop on August 20. Their imminent launch is not the only reason I'm drawing Google's latest and greatest to your eyeballs. I find three important reasons to pay extra attention to the approaching Pixel 10 Pro : I'm also on the search for the next best thing
I haven't bent the knee to a particular brand or device
I have extensive experience with a particular Pixel phone
And, of course, I feel like checking them out because I'm curious if they'll live up to people's expectations: Google's Pixels are getting more and more popular (even in Japan, as it turns out) and many US customers ditch both Apple and Samsung for the Big G experience. So, if I was on the lookout for a new smartphone in 2025, these would be my top three points of consideration.
The Pixel 10 Pro will succeed its camera hardware from the Pixel 9 Pro. | Image credit – PhoneArena
When it comes to smartphones, cameras are of paramount importance to me. No amount of flashy design or cool software features can compensate for a mediocre shooter. The Pixel 10 Pro is rumored to pack the same 50 MP Samsung GNV primary sensor along with Google's signature computational photography prowess. This is the thing that has historically allowed even Pixels with modest hardware to punch far above their weight.Google's strength has always been in the software: HDR+, Super Res Zoom, Night Sight, and Magic Eraser – tools that make even quick snaps look polished.
While the Pixel 10 Pro may not feature the biggest or most bleeding-edge camera sensors, it's almost certain to deliver class-leading results through clever engineering and AI smarts. However, the rumored lack of a secondary dedicated telephoto lens is a slight letdown. Zoom quality matters, especially when you don't want to rely on digital cropping.Fortunately, the Pixel 10 Pro is expected to retain a solid, practical zoom lens with a useful focal length that should meet the needs of most users without compromising quality. For me, unless the Pixel 10 Pro continues Google's legacy of top-tier photography, it's a non-starter.
The Pixel 9 Pro packed Tensor G4 chipset. | Image credit – PhoneArena
It's the talk of the town: the Pixel 10 Pro is widely expected to debut the brand-new Tensor G5 chipset, rumored to be Google's first fully in-house design, possibly manufactured by TSMC. This marks a major shift from the previous Tensor G4 and G3 chips, which, while innovative in AI and machine learning features, lagged behind Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Gen 3 in raw performance and efficiency.The first-generation label on the G5 has so far not made me clap my hands in euphoria – after all, new silicon often means growing pains. But first-gen doesn't always spell disaster: if done right, it could deliver optimized AI, better battery life, and smoother performance than ever. The key will be whether Google can finally bridge the gap between its ambitious AI features and the kind of everyday fluidity and battery efficiency that Snapdragon-powered rivals deliver.
The Pixel 10 Pro will bet heavily on AI. | Image credit – PhoneArena AI is everywhere now, but not all AI is useful – or, let's be frank about it – wanted at all.
What could make or break the Pixel 10 Pro 's experience for me is whether Google can bake in practical, helpful AI that enhances daily life without becoming intrusive, gimmicky, or privacy-invasive. Google's Gemini AI will surely take center stage, potentially transforming everything from voice commands to real-time translation, photo editing, and on-device assistance. But these tools need to be seamless: I want features that work when I need them and disappear when I don't. I don't want my phone second-guessing me, suggesting things I don't need, or feeding off personal data without consent.
Google has to find the right balance between smart and simple, powerful and private. If the Pixel 10 Pro delivers AI that genuinely improves productivity, saves time, and respects user privacy, it could become the go-to device for people who, like me, value control over their tech without sacrificing cutting-edge innovation. Years ago, I was the happiest Pixel 3a user out there: I got it on a great Black Friday deal and was blown away by what this little fella could do. It had a great battery life (particularly at the lower end: those 4% remaining capacity saved me on numerous occasions) until it got degraded (that's only natural), it took amazing photos with its single rear camera, it never stuttered or let me down.So, will the Pixel 10 Pro be enough of a phone to make me convert back to Google (I'm currently rocking an Oppo camera-centric flagship) – or should I stay where I'm at? I'll be happy to test the Pixel 10 Pro and see for myself if the three things that I crave are present.
Even if it turns out that the Pixel 10 Pro is not the Pro I'm looking for, in some months time, I'll be extremely tempted by a non-Pro, non-Ultra phone once again: the upcoming Pixel 10a.
Old habits die hard. Secure your connection now at a bargain price!
We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Phone Arena
an hour ago
- Phone Arena
Google Messages profiles could be close to receiving a Material 3 Expressive face lift
Google has been adding a dash of the Material 3 Expressive design to several apps as part of the Android 16 QPR1 beta program. These changes will presumably reach stable Android 16 Pixel users when the next Pixel Feature Drop occurs in September. The latest Material 3 Expressive sighting shows that Google is preparing to make some Material 3 Expressive design changes to the Google Messages profile page. Found in Google Messages v20250701 beta is code that brings Material 3 Expressive to the buttons on the profile page. The buttons under the person's phone number on the profile page are changed from circles to pill or lozenge-shaped. These buttons will be highlighted and also change their shape and get wider when you press on them. When your finger is removed from the buttons, they revert back to their original size and shape. While the code was discovered in the latest Google Messages release, it is not available yet for users even those who are Google Messages beta users. Even though my Pixel 6 Pro is running the correct version of Google Messages, it is not showing the new feature as I write this. By the way, my Pixel 6 Pro is running Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2.1. The buttons getting the Material 3 face lift are Call, Video, Contact Info, and Search. Current Messages Profile page and the one Google is reportedly working on using Material 3 Expressive. | Image credit-Android Authority Word to the wise. Just because Google has embedded this code inside the Google Messages app, it doesn't mean that the changes mentioned in this article will definitely be coming to Google Messages. However, it does indicate that Google has been working on such a feature. This might not be a game changer for Android users, but does fit within the Material 3 Expressive philosophy which is to make digital products like smartphones feel like an extension of the user This is accomplished by using the visual design and interaction of Material 3 Expressive. At the same time, this design language should deliver wonderful experiences to users. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
GSM Arena
4 hours ago
- GSM Arena
Google Pixel Watch 4 colors and sizes leak
Google is rumored to be unveiling the Pixel 10 family alongside the Pixel Watch 4 on August 20, and today a new leak purportedly brings us the sizes and colors for the company's next smartwatch. The Pixel Watch 4 is said to come in 41mm and 45mm sizes, both with and without 4G LTE connectivity. The colorways will be called Obsidian, Lemon, Moonstone, Iris, and Porcelain. Obsidian should be black, Porcelain white, Iris purple, while we assume Lemon will be yellow-ish. Google will also offer a two-tone leather band in Jade, an Active Band in Iris, Lemongrass, and Moonstone, an Active Sport Band in Indigo, Lemongrass, Moonstone, and Peony, a Crafted Leather Band in Moonstone, a Metal Mesh Band in Matte Black and Polished Silver, a Performance Loop Band in Moonstone, a Woven Band in Indigo, as well as Gradient Stretch Bands in Lemongrass/Frost, Moonstone, Obsidian/Hazel, and Peony/Iris. The Pixel Watch 4 is expected to look exactly like its predecessor from last year, but will be thicker at 14.3mm, with smaller bezels. It also has two new buttons on both sides of the speaker, according to a past leak. Google Pixel Watch 3 Source | Image source
Phone Arena
4 hours ago
- Phone Arena
Apple, T-Mobile and Google face billions in civil penalties over TikTok
Tony Tan is an Alphabet stockholder, which makes him more than a little concerned that the company's Google subsidiary might have left itself open to potentially billions of dollars in civil penalties. Other tech firms, including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, T-Mobile , Oracle, and LG, are also potentially on the hook. To understand what happened, we have to go back to January 20th, the date that Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time. Right up against a deadline because of a bill signed into law by then-President Joe Biden in April 2024. That bill gave TikTok owner ByteDance 270 days to sell the app or TikTok would get banned in the U.S. President Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline to April 5th. And when that deadline and the one after it failed to result in the sale of the app, Trump extended his executive orders with the last one keeping hands off on TikTok until September 17th, 2025. The day after the first extension of Trump's executive order, April 5th, the administration sent letters to tech companies, including Apple, telling them that even if the law said otherwise, they would not face any consequences from keeping TikTok online. The original law signed by President Biden said that any company helping TikTok continue operating in the U.S. in violation of the law, faces up to $850 billion in liability . And since the executive order did not make TikTok legal in the U.S., Mr. Tan, the Google stockholder, has some concerns. -Letter to President Trump written by Senator Edward Markey, Senator Cory Booker, and Senator Chris Van Hollen As a result of Google's relisting of TikTok in the Play Store, Mr. Tan sued Alphabet, Google's parent company, to find out why it returned TikTok to the Play Store considering it could leave the company facing a liability as high as $850 billion. He says that Alphabet's decision could affect all of its shareholders. Tan also used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain letters sent to to Google, Akamai, Amazon, Digital Realty Trust, Fastly, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Oracle, and LG. The April 5th letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi to Apple's Senior Vice President & General Counsel Katherine Adams follows: Office of the Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530 April 5, 2025 Katherine Adams Senior Vice President & General Counsel Apple Inc. Ann O'Leary Ian Gershengorn Re: Enforcement of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act Dear Ms. Adams: Article II of the United States Constitution vests in the President the responsibility over national security and the conduct of foreign policy. The President previously determined that an abrupt shutdown of the TikTok platform would interfere with the execution of the President's constitutional duties to take care of the national security and foreign affairs of the United States. See Executive Order 14166 (E.O. 14166). The Attorney General has concluded that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (the 'Act') is properly read not to infringe upon such core Presidential national security and foreign affairs powers. Executive Order 14166 instructed the Department of Justice not to take any action on behalf of the United States to enforce the Act for any conduct that occurred during the period of time from January 19, 2025 through April 5, 2025 (the 'Covered Period'). Pursuant to the President's responsibility to protect national security and to conduct foreign policy, the President determined that a 75-day extension of the Covered Period to June 19, 2025 is appropriate and has signed a subsequent Executive Order to effectuate that determination (the 'Extended Covered Period'). See Executive Order, Extending The TikTok Enforcement Delay (April 4, 2025). In the Executive Order signed on April 4, the President directed 'the Attorney General to issue a letter to each provider stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred during' the Extended Covered Period as well as for any conduct from the effective date of the Act. Based on the Attorney General's review of the facts and circumstances, Apple Inc. has committed no violation of the Act and Apple Inc. has incurred no liability under the Act during the Covered Period or the Extended Covered Period. Apple Inc. may continue to provide services to TikTok as contemplated by these Executive Orders without violating the Act, and without incurring any legal liability. The Department of Justice is also irrevocably relinquishing any claims the United States might have had against Apple Inc. for the conduct proscribed in the Act during the Covered Period and Extended Covered Period, with respect to TikTok and the larger family of ByteDance Ltd. and TikTok, Inc. applications covered under the Act. This is derived from the Attorney General's plenary authority over all litigation, civil and criminal, to which the United States, its agencies, or departments, are parties, as well as the Attorney General's authority to enter settlements limiting the future exercise of executive branch discretion. Finally, because the Act vests authority for investigations and enforcement of the Act only in the Attorney General, the Department of Justice intends to take all necessary actions to implement the President's Executive Orders and guard the Attorney General's exclusive authority to enforce the Act, to include filing amicus briefs, statements of interest, or intervening in litigation. Regards, Pamela Bondi Attorney General United States Department of Justice Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
