It’s ironic, but the only member of the upcoming Pixel 10 family widely expected to improve on its predecessor in a notable way with a key new component in tow might prove to be the most disappointing device of the bunch after all.
What a mixed bag of a spec sheet (for a 2025 high-ender)
- 6.3-inch FHD+ OLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate technology and up to 3,000 nits brightness;
- 3nm-based Google Tensor G5 processor;
- Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen protection;
- 12GB RAM;
- 128 and 256GB storage options;
- 4,970mAh battery;
- 29W wired and 15W wireless charging capabilities;
- 48MP primary rear-facing camera;
- 12MP secondary ultra-wide-angle lens;
- 10.8MP tertiary telephoto sensor with 5x optical zoom;
- 10.5MP single front-facing camera.
If this was the mid-range Pixel 10a, I’d certainly be impressed. But no matter how you look at it, Google is definitely taking a risk by purportedly putting the same 48MP main snapper on the back of the Pixel 9a and “vanilla” Pixel 10 and by downgrading the Pixel 9’s 48MP ultra-wide-angle camera to only 12 megapixels.
The Pixel 10 could actually come with a worse camera setup than the Pixel 9. | Image Credit — PhoneArena
Obviously, megapixel counts are not everything when it comes to the real-world performance of a smartphone camera, but the Pixel 10‘s 48MP primary imaging sensor is actually said to be “borrowed” straight from the Pixel 9a mid-ranger, so clearly, a quality downgrade is to be expected compared to the Pixel 9‘s superior 50MP main rear-facing cam.
The rest of today’s rumored specs are largely familiar and unsurprising, although it is nice to hear that the Pixel 9‘s 4,700mAh battery will get a small capacity upgrade without the screen size growing as well. The OLED panel is expected to score a subtle brightness bump but no resolution or refresh rate change, with the two storage configurations and one memory option also likely to go unchanged.
Pixel 10 release date and pricing expectations
With a bunch of notable downgrades, only a few marginal improvements, and a whole lot of unchanged features, capabilities, and design elements, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Google’s “regular” Pixel 10 is tipped to start at the exact same $799 price in the US as its 6.3-inch predecessor.
The Pixel 10 looks decidedly familiar but also undeniably attractive in these leaked renders from a while back.
That would most likely put the 256GB storage variant at $899, with the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL expected to cost $999 and $1,199 respectively in their own entry-level 128 gig configurations.
Of course, none of those price points are etched in stone just yet, and while that’s technically true for the Pixel 10 family’s launch schedule as well, an August 20 announcement date and a commercial release on August 28 feel almost guaranteed after a few conflicting reports in recent weeks.
Because that’s still two months away, Google’s plans could change until the very last minute, especially after what happened with the Pixel 9a right before it was formally unveiled in March. Then again, I’m pretty sure the search giant has learned its lesson, and the Pixel 10 series will not be announced until it’s 100 percent ready for primetime.