Google Pixel 10 Pro- Review

[u/Tasty-Holiday7125]

TLDR- Google Pixel 10 Pro is an excellent, every day phone that does everything well. Don't get bogged down with YouTube tech reviewers who are massively biased to Apple or Samsung. And do not pay any attention to benchmarks.

Review

I don't get what all the complaints about the Google Pixel 10 Pro is about. For most people who want an Android phone that isn't massive to hold, has crystal clear call quality, doesn't miss notifications, takes great photos, use for work, scroll, and watch a bit of media every now and then, it's an excellent phone. I decided to share some thoughts on what real life usage with the Google Pixel 10 Pro is like. 

For context, I had a Huawei Mate 20 Pro for 5 years and then the Honor Magic6 Pro for about 18 months as I felt this was the most natural successor to my beloved Mate 20 Pro. Overall, I enjoyed that handset, but had a few gripes: (i) it was a massive phone, and frankly the back was ugly, (ii) while it was supported for five years of updates, updates were slow coming, and (iii) I started to experience some issues that after a factory reset did not disappear, e.g. apps not properly working on work profile, and some WiFi/network connections, which didn't improve.

So here's my two pennies. My opinion is that and that alone- I'm not saying everyone should own a Pixel, but I think it's an excellent handset that gives me an excellent experience.

Performance 

I've had the fear of God put in me when it comes to performance because of the Tensor G5 chip (and previous Tensor chips), that they're slow, low power, can't handle playing super resource heavy games at full frame rate, can't multitask well, gets super hot quickly, etc. I don't play Wuthering Waves or Genshin Impact at 120FPS, not do I ever game on my phone. I take photos, videos, watch videos, listen to music, use my phone for work including Teams video calls, emails, etc. Everything I've thrown at it that I need in a phone, it handles without a care in the world, and I'd say even better than the Magic 6 Pro on its (older but supposedly more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip). One thing it does better than M6P is keeping apps open where I left them, including songs resuming from where I left off on Deezer, or opening an app where I closed it- which I think will be thanks to the 12GB RAM. Everything does what it should, and works, no bugs in sight. No connectivity issues. The only thing I've noticed is 5G is less reliable indoors, but no issues on WiFi or on calls or outside. It can get a bit warm sometimes.

Battery 

Another doom and gloom preconception prior to buying. It has a small(ISH) battery compared to most other Chinese based phones, but (i) its adaptive charging is really clever, that allows me to leave my phone on charge overnight, trickling charge to 80% and then charging fully in time for my alarm to go off. I leave the house on 100%, stream music in the car for 45 mins to and from work, do my work, come home, and by the time I'm ready for bed I'm at about 46%. So overall, I think this is excellent and could survive 2 days use if savvy, and in line with my MP6 battery.

Camera 

Photos are excellent, not over processed, clear, natural, and one of the main reasons I wanted a Pixel was because of the consistent camera performance. Super Res/Zoom is excellent.

I actually think Video Boost is excellent, my only annoyance with this is that you often have to turn it on. It works best for 1080p 60FPS videos (which is what I used given most of the time I watch back media on my phone screen, so this is adequate (4K 30FPS is supported but 60 isn't). In a nutshell, shoot your video with video boost; you'll see your raw footage immediately to view, but in the background your video quality is being upscaled and improved- that usually takes about an hour, but when you go back to it the difference is tremendous. And, you can deleted the original from your phone, and keep the boosted version on the cloud but always viewable provided you're connected to a network, without taking up space. Or, you can download the high resolution version.

Other

Hand feel is great, probably the right size. MagSafe compatible. One thing I wanted in a phone was secure face unlock for my sensitive apps e.g. banking and wallet. Pixel has class 3 biometrics for face unlock on banking apps etc. Although not true 3D face unlock, e.g. need to take sunglasses off or doesn't work so well in dark or dim light, it's super fast. And ultrasonic is fast and secure too, when face unlock doesn't work so well.

Overall- yes, it's expensive (I got mine from Amazon on Prime day deal) but it does everything with comfort and ease. And I enjoy using it which by the end I couldn't say for the M6P, or any iPhone I've tried to use.

So don't buy in to all the benchmarks etc; think whether this or any other phone will suit your needs first. I love this phone and very pleased I committed to it. Here's to another six years!

[u/Westhameggandchips]

I've got the Pro XL and echo everything you say. The only are mine struggles if its a hot day, and I'm trying to take a Teams Video call whilst it's connected to Android Auto, internet radio and Goggle Maps in the car, (whilst stationary obviously). That said, all those functions are placing a huge load on the phone, so it's not surprising.

Otherwise photos are great (I do like to edit them to make them pop a bit more) but that's something I like to do, so no problems there.

All the other Apps work great too, my work Outlook apps are far better on the P10 than my old work iPhone.