Pixel 10 Pro: Powerful smartphone with weak heart

The Google Pixel 10 Pro is a compact premium smartphone with high-quality materials, good workmanship and IP68 certification. Minor weaknesses such as minimal gaps and a slight crunch when twisted do little to detract from the otherwise high-quality impression. The features are modern, with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, UWB and the new ‘Pixelsnap’ magnet. However, there are still some limitations: the USB-C port only supports FAT32 and exFAT, not NTFS, and the UFS 4.0 storage is slow.

The software side is particularly strong. Android 16 comes with seven years of updates and numerous AI features such as Gemini, Circle to Search and live translations. However, the latter seem immature and often deliver incorrect results. On the positive side, Google is committed to recycled materials, plastic-free packaging and promises repairability via iFixit – although spare parts are not yet available at the time of testing.

The OLED display impresses with high brightness and good colour reproduction, but suffers from PWM flickering, which is not always alleviated despite the 480 Hz option. Overall, the camera delivers very good images and a powerful zoom, but shows weaknesses in details, low-light shots and AI-assisted zoom results. New features such as the Camera Coach offer little practical added value.

The difference between the Tensor G5 and its competitors is more pronounced. The Pixel 10 Pro runs smoothly in everyday use, but benchmarks and gaming tests reveal clear shortcomings. Demanding titles such as Genshin Impact do not always run smoothly, and ray tracing is completely absent. Battery life is decent, but charging speed is only average at 30 W wired and 15 W wireless.

The bottom line is that the Pixel 10 Pro (buy here on Amazon) impresses with its long update promise, solid everyday usability and many AI extras. However, performance, display flickering and charging speed prevent it from competing at the very top of the high-end class.