CheckMag | The Pixel 9A made the standard Pixel 9 irrelevant. Now Google has done the same with the Pixel 10 Pro

The standard Google Pixel always seemed like a bit of a hard sell, when historically, Google released an "a" version of the current generation of handsets a few months later. Sure, the "a" variants had a slightly worse screen and a slightly worse camera setup but were still equipped with the exact same processor and often a bigger battery. When comparing the launch pricing, the pixel 9a was $300 cheaper for essentially the same specification. Of course, Pixels rarely retain their MSRP for long, but even at the time of writing, there is still a $302 price difference when purchasing the Pixel 9 or Pixel 9A on Amazon.

However, with the release of the Pixel 10 range, it appears that Google has made it's smaller "Pro" model completely irrelevant straight out the gate.

Even on paper, the difference between standard and Pro models are minor. The standard Pixel 10 has a slightly worse screen, (resolution, refresh rate and brightness primarily, but still offers 120 Hz), slightly less RAM, (12 GB vs 16 GB) and a weaker camera setup (more on that in a moment), as well as a better battery and the same build quality.

It's the camera setup where things start to get really muddy. The 5x telephoto used to be the biggest differentiator between standard and Pro models, and with the introduction of a 5x telephoto to the standard model, unless you are a consumer that likes to get buried in the specifications, you'd be hard-pressed to justify the $200 premium for the Pro model.

The primary lens on the non-pro model has a slightly reduced aperture ƒ/1.70 versus ƒ/1.68 and slightly fewer megapixels. The ultrawide on the non-pro has fewer megapixels, a smaller aperture and a slightly narrower field of view. A lesser specification for sure, but who zooms in from an ultrawide anyway?

The 5x zoom again carries fewer megapixels, smaller aperture and a slightly reduced field of view. Cropping into a 10 megapixel sensor, vs a 40 megapixel sensor isn't going to give great results, but being realistic, cropping into any sensor to increase zoom is a poor substitute for optics. Google's "Pro Res" zoom isn't exactly lauded for producing high quality shots. On the Pixel 9 Pro, anything over 10x zoom becomes an oil painting, and shots without a crop generally look a lot better. Let's also not forget that the standard Pixel 10 camera setup is almost identical to the Pixel 10 Fold which also carries "Pro" branding.

Googles decision to add a telephoto to the standard Pixel 10 isn't a bad thing. It's about time that more manufacturers realised that not everyone wants a wide and an ultrawide lens, a feature offered on the midrange Nothing 3a back in March. However, Google has just made it significantly more difficult to justify the Pixel 10 Pro when the standard Pixel 10 allows you to save $200 with only very minor compromises.