The speakers on the Pixel 10 Pro are good. Solid smartphone speakers that got meaningfully better from the Pixel 9 Pro.
What improved:
The earpiece speaker at the top is finally good. Previous Pixels had a clear mismatch between the bottom speaker (decent) and top earpiece (weaker). Google fixed that. Both speakers now sound matched, making stereo content feel like actual stereo.
Bass is better too. Larger drivers mean more low-end presence. Music and movies sound fuller than before.
The positioning fix:
The bottom speaker moved to the right of the USB-C port. The old position got covered by your palm when holding the phone sideways. Much less of an issue now.
Volume:
Plenty loud. Louder than iPhone 16 Pro, matching Samsung. At maximum, sound stays reasonably clear without getting harsh.
Works well for:
YouTube, Netflix, podcasts, video calls. Casual music. Speakerphone for group calls.
Want headphones for:
Serious music listening. Situations needing real bass. Environments with background noise.
Spatial audio:
Supported on Dolby Atmos content. Adds depth for movies and spatial music mixes.
Find the best Pixel 10 Pro deals and experience the improved audio yourself.
Good news: The fingerprint sensor on the Pixel 10 Pro is noticeably faster than the Pixel 9 Pro. Google upgraded the ultrasonic sensor and it shows.
How fast?
Place your finger on the sensor and the phone unlocks almost instantly. Not quite as fast as Samsung's latest phones, but fast enough that you won't be frustrated.
The ultrasonic advantage:
Unlike optical sensors that photograph your fingerprint, ultrasonic sensors use sound waves to create a 3D map. Better security and better performance with wet fingers.
Previous Pixels often rejected fingerprints after washing hands. The Pixel 10 Pro handles damp fingers much better. Everyday moisture rarely causes issues anymore.
Screen-off unlock:
You don't need to wake the screen first. Put your finger where the sensor icon appears and the phone unlocks directly. Faster than wake-then-unlock.
Face unlock backup:
The Pixel 10 Pro has secure face unlock (Class 3 certified). Banks and payment apps trust it. Useful when hands are full or you're wearing gloves.
Practical tip:
Register the same finger multiple times from different angles. Register both index fingers and at least one thumb for better recognition in varied situations.
Compare Pixel 10 Pro prices and find the best deal.
Night photography is where Pixel phones have always shined, and the Pixel 10 Pro continues that tradition. This is genuinely the best low-light camera in a smartphone.
What Night Sight does:
Instead of one photo, the camera captures multiple shots at different exposures over 3-6 seconds. The Tensor G5 combines these using AI to create an image with far more detail than any single shot could provide.
In practice:
Point the Pixel 10 Pro at a scene that looks nearly black to your eyes. Night Sight reveals details, colors, and textures you couldn't see. Restaurant dinners, city streets at night, moonlit landscapes. Images look natural, not artificially brightened.
Better than competitors:
Samsung phones often make night photos look like daytime. Impressive but unnatural. iPhones produce good night photos with warmer tones. The Pixel 10 Pro finds the sweet spot. Photos look like what you actually experienced.
Astrophotography mode:
Put the phone on a tripod in a dark location and the camera switches to astrophotography mode. It captures for up to 4 minutes. Results can include visible stars, the Milky Way, even meteor streaks.
Night video:
Night Sight Video through Video Boost processes nighttime footage in the cloud, dramatically reducing noise and improving exposure.
Check Pixel 10 Pro prices to get Google's best low-light camera.
Voice Translate is probably the most futuristic feature on the Pixel 10 Pro, and it actually works.
The basic idea:
You're on a call with someone who speaks a different language. Enable Voice Translate, pick their language, and start talking. The AI translates what you say and speaks to them in your voice, in their language. When they respond, you hear their words in English, in what sounds like their voice.
The AI needs just a few seconds of hearing you talk to mimic your voice for translations.
How to use it:
During any call in the Google Phone app, tap call assist and select Voice Translate. Pick the other person's language (Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Hindi, and several others). Start talking.
Privacy:
Everything happens on your phone. No audio goes to Google servers. Nothing is recorded or saved.
What works well:
Clear speech with natural pauses translates accurately. Business conversations, simple coordination, basic communication.
What's tricky:
Speaking too fast confuses it. There's a noticeable delay between speaking and hearing the translation. Complex sentences with idioms can come out awkwardly.
The other person doesn't need a Pixel. They hear what sounds like you speaking their language through a normal call.
Get the Pixel 10 Pro to experience Voice Translate and other AI features.
Think of these as the same phone in two sizes. Everything important is identical. The differences are physical.
The size factor:
The Pixel 10 Pro has a 6.3-inch screen. Comfortable one-handed use. Fits easily in pockets. Around 206 grams.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL has a 6.8-inch screen. Two-handed operation basically required. At 231 grams, you'll feel it. But the bigger screen is great for video, gaming, and productivity.
The battery story:
This is where the XL separates itself. The 5,200mAh battery versus 4,600mAh makes a real difference. The XL often gets through a full day plus the next morning. The Pro is a solid one-day phone.
Charging speeds favor the XL too: 45W wired versus 30W, and 25W wireless versus 15W.
What's identical:
Same Tensor G5 chip. Same cameras. Same AI features. Same software. Same seven years of updates. Same display quality. Same Pixelsnap magnetic charging.
The $200 question:
The Pro starts at $999. The Pro XL starts at $1,199.
Choose the Pro if you prioritize portability and one-handed use.
Choose the Pro XL if you prioritize battery life and screen real estate.
Compare prices on both models to find the best deal.
Let me be straight: the Pixel 10 Pro handles gaming capably, but it's not a gaming phone.
Google designed the Tensor G5 chip to excel at AI tasks. Photo processing, on-device language models, computational photography. Raw gaming performance wasn't the priority.
What works well:
Most mobile games run fine. Minecraft at high settings, stable 60fps. Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG at balanced graphics. Apple Arcade games, Google Play Pass titles. The Pixel 10 Pro handles these smoothly.
Where it struggles:
Genshin Impact at high settings runs 40-55fps with dips during combat. Want stable 60fps? Drop to medium settings.
Other demanding titles like Wuthering Waves show similar behavior. Playable, but not at max settings.
The heat factor:
Play for 30-45 minutes and the phone gets warm. Keep playing and it throttles to manage heat. Frame rates drop. There's no active cooling.
Compared to a Galaxy S25 Ultra or dedicated gaming phone, the Pixel loses in sustained performance.
Bottom line:
Gaming occasionally to pass time? The Pixel 10 Pro works. Gaming is your main phone activity? Look at Samsung, OnePlus, or dedicated gaming phones like the ROG Phone 9.
Find the best Pixel 10 Pro deals if it fits your usage pattern.
Sort of, but probably not in the way you're thinking.
The Pixel 10 Pro doesn't record 8K video from its sensor. What happens is more interesting.
The actual process:
You record in 4K. With Video Boost enabled, your footage uploads to Google's servers when you're on WiFi and charging. Google's AI processes the video, enhances it, and upscales to 8K. Hours or a day later, you download the 8K version.
Is it any good?
Yes. Video Boost does more than make pixels bigger. It genuinely enhances detail, smooths motion, crushes noise in low-light footage, and improves stabilization. Results often look significantly better than the original recording.
The catches:
You don't get 8K immediately. Need something now? You're working with 4K maximum.
Requires a Google One subscription with adequate storage.
Only available on Pro models. The regular Pixel 10 doesn't get Video Boost.
Native recording capabilities:
Bottom line:
Video Boost is clever technology with impressive results. But it's different from native 8K recording. If you're fine with excellent 4K that can be enhanced later, the Pixel 10 Pro delivers.
Compare Pixel 10 Pro prices to find the best deal on Google's flagship.
Here's the honest answer: The Pixel 10 Pro is water resistant, not waterproof. There's a real difference, and it matters for how you should actually use your phone.
The IP68 rating means your phone should survive everyday accidents. Dropped it in the sink? You're probably fine. Got caught in a rainstorm? No problem. Spilled your drink on it? Wipe it off and move on.
What you shouldn't do:
Don't take it swimming. Pool water has chlorine that damages the seals. Salt water is even worse. Hot tubs combine heat, chemicals, and water pressure in a way that's asking for trouble.
Using it in the shower sounds convenient, but soap breaks down water-resistant coatings, and shower pressure can push water into places it shouldn't go.
The part nobody tells you:
Water resistance degrades over time. Every drop weakens the seals slightly. After a year or two of normal use, your phone won't handle water as well as it did on day one.
Google's warranty doesn't cover water damage despite the IP68 rating. If you dunk your phone and it dies, you're paying for repairs yourself.
The practical approach:
For everyday life, the Pixel 10 Pro's water resistance is adequate. Just don't push it. If you're regularly around pools or beaches and want to use your phone in water, get a waterproof case.
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