Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review: Small steps and giant leaps

Greatest Costs At this time: Google Pixel 10 Professional XL

Google’s smartphones have hit double figures, and the corporate means enterprise.

On paper, the Pixel 10 collection is its most achieved technology but, fusing ultra-premium {hardware} with the software program polish no different model can match.

Except you desire a foldable, the Pixel 10 Professional XL sits on the prime of that lineup. Google has been cautious with its {hardware} upgrades this time round, specializing in boosting the battery and charging expertise.

However the firm has come out swinging on the software program facet, with a number of new and doubtlessly game-changing options. And, after every week spent utilizing it as my foremost telephone, I’m able to declare it the perfect smartphone of 2025 to date.

Right here’s the whole lot that makes it so good, plus the handful of issues that I want Google had carried out in another way.

Design & Construct

• Signature Pixel design language
• Sturdy glass and aluminium construct
• IP68 water and dirt resistance

Gone are the times when Pixel house owners needed to put up with a cheap-looking telephone. The Pixel 10 Professional XL is a murals, combining traditional design language with a standout digicam module.

The latter continues to divide opinion, however I’m a fan. The pill-shaped design is immediately recognisable and particular person, with out wanting obnoxious or dominating the again of the system. And should you apply one among Google’s official instances, you’ll be able to remove the results of the digicam bump.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

I’d suggest most individuals apply a case for grip – the ten Professional XL feels slippery within the fingers in any other case. Nonetheless, I recognise that it’s straightforward to say that once I’m testing the fairly boring Obsidian mannequin, which is actually a darkish gray.

The telephone can also be out there in Moonstone (gentle gray), Jade (gentle inexperienced) and Porcelain (off-white). For those who go for one of many latter two, you may not need to cowl it up. A matt coating on the again of the system avoids seen fingerprint smudges until gentle is shining immediately on it.

If grip is a bit of missing when going case-free, sturdiness actually isn’t. The glass on each the back and front of the telephone is Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which is particularly designed to guard in opposition to falls onto exhausting surfaces.

I inadvertently examined this once I dropped the ten Professional XL face down onto a picket flooring from about 1m excessive. I picked it up fearing the worst, however the telephone was completely unscathed. That’s spectacular.

One other key sturdiness metric is the IP68 score, which confirms that the system is immune to submersion in as much as 1.5m of contemporary water for as much as half-hour and is protected in opposition to all mud particles. It’s nothing new for flagship units, however nonetheless vital to say.

The reflective aluminium body feels simply as strong. That’s the place you’ll discover the clicky energy and quantity controls, plus a USB-C port and audio system on the backside. The SIM tray has moved to the highest of the telephone, however I doubt anybody will care.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Nonetheless, there’s little doubt that the selection of those premium supplies contributes to its total weight. At 232g, the Pixel 10 Professional XL is considerably heavier than the 221g Pixel 9 Professional XL, and one of many heaviest non-folding telephones you could purchase.

Alongside dimensions of 162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5 mm (equivalent to the 9 Professional XL), be sure to’re proud of a giant, cumbersome system earlier than buying. I’ve fairly giant fingers and may make use of the sizeable pockets on most males’s trousers and shorts, so it’s not a giant difficulty for me.

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.8-inch, 120Hz OLED show
• Even higher peak brightness
• Punchy stereo audio system

Google hasn’t made any important adjustments to the show on the Pixel 10 Professional XL, however it didn’t must. Final yr’s 9 Professional XL already had one of many best screens on any smartphone, and the identical may be stated for its successor.

The one improve is in its brightness, which now peaks at a formidable 3300 nits. A extra related determine is the one I recorded at 100% – 948 nits – which makes for glorious out of doors visibility, even in direct daylight.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Elsewhere, it’s the identical 6.8-inch OLED panel, which appears to be like beautiful in just about any state of affairs. The wealthy, vibrant colors and deep blacks we’ve come to affiliate with OLEDs are very a lot obvious right here, making the ten Professional XL best for scrolling social media or watching movies.

The show can also be LTPO, which means it may routinely modify between 1- and 120Hz refresh charges, relying on what you’re doing. This ensures you get the slick, responsive advantages of 120Hz with out the adverse impression on battery life.

The FHD+ (1344 x 2992) decision is nothing particular, however element and readability are each glorious. It may not be the best possible show on any telephone – that award in all probability goes to the Galaxy S25 Extremely – however the Pixel 10 Professional XL’s display screen excels in all of the areas that matter.

As regular, you’ll discover a fingerprint sensor inside the show. That is an ultrasonic scanner, which is taken into account superior to the optical model discovered on most telephones, and it reveals. Regardless of solely enrolling one fingerprint briefly throughout setup (a easy course of), it was impressively quick and dependable.

Nonetheless, I nonetheless want the 3D face unlock in most conditions. It’s much more seamless and safe sufficient for use for authenticating funds and logging into apps.

Elsewhere, the Pixel 10 Professional XL’s speaker high quality is effectively above common. Like most flagships, it has a stereo setup, however utilises two grilles on the backside of the system, plus the earpiece. The result’s an impressively full-bodied sound that delivers wealthy vocals and detailed soundscapes, even when the bass is a bit of sub-par. Readability can also be robust, till you push the amount up near most, the place some distortion is audible.

As regular, join a speaker or headphones should you’re critical about high-quality audio, however the built-in audio system on the Pixel 10 Professional XL are a strong various for informal use.

Specs & Efficiency

• Google Tensor G5 chipset
• 16GB RAM on all fashions
• Storage now begins at 256GB

All 4 of the Pixel 10 telephones have been geared up with Google’s new Tensor G5 chipset. It’s a extra important improve from the Tensor G4 than the title suggests, with Google shifting manufacturing from Samsung to TSMC and upgrading to a 3nm course of.

However does it yield a significant efficiency increase on the Pixel 10 Professional XL? Completely not. I’ve used the Pixel 9 Professional XL for round 5 months in complete, and I can’t spot a distinction between the 2.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Nonetheless, that’s not a criticism of the brand new telephone. Efficiency was already so robust that these minor positive factors have been all the time unlikely to have a significant impression. The Pixel 10 Professional XL is a powerhouse of a telephone, dealing with the complexities of heavy utilization days with out breaking a sweat.

I’m speaking net searching (with lots of of open tabs – oops), WhatsApp messages, Gmail, YouTube movies and loads of images, together with shortly switching between them. Other than a couple of hesitations, which I believe have been software program bugs fairly than efficiency limitations, the Pixel 10 Professional XL was a stellar performer.

As you would possibly count on, this extends to cell gaming. I examined the telephone on a few of the Play Retailer’s most demanding video games, together with Name of Responsibility: Cell, Genshin Influence and Actual Racing 3. Gameplay was clean and responsive, with no noticeable dropped frames. And whereas the again of the telephone grew to become heat to the contact after a couple of minutes, it didn’t negatively impression my expertise in any method.

On the subject of storage, Google has ditched the most affordable 128GB mannequin. This is sensible in 2025, though it does give the Pixel 10 Professional XL the next beginning value than its predecessor. You may select between 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, however be sure to get sufficient, as there’s no help for expandable storage.

Disappointingly, a twin bodily SIM slot can also be lacking, although the rise of eSIM makes this much less of a problem.

Google Pixel 10 Professional XL benchmarks

The Pixel 10 Professional XL has glorious efficiency, however you wouldn’t essentially realize it from the benchmark scores under, which present it effectively behind Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered telephones by way of CPU energy.

Cameras

• 50Mp foremost, 48Mp telephoto, 48Mp ultrawide, 42Mp selfie
• An identical digicam {hardware} to Pixel 9 Professional XL
• New Digicam Coach and Tremendous Res Zoom options

On the face of it, the Pixel 10 Professional XL’s cameras are unchanged from its predecessor.

The {hardware} is the very same, with a 50Mp foremost lens supported by a 48Mp 5x telephoto and 48Mp ultrawide on the again. On the entrance, a 42Mp selfie digicam additionally stays.

Nonetheless, Google has been working exhausting on the software program facet, introducing a number of new options that make the Pixel 10 Professional XL digicam expertise really feel contemporary and new.

However let’s begin with what Pixel telephones are identified for: nice point-and-shoot images. For my part, the principle rear lens is unmatched in relation to constantly high-quality pictures.

Irrespective of the state of affairs, I can whip the telephone out of my pocket, shortly launch the digicam and snap away, secure within the information that I’ll get a superb outcome 9 instances out of 10.

In good lighting circumstances, pictures are punchy, vibrant and brimming with element. Dynamic vary is great, and it handles shadows and complicated exposures very effectively. Colors are usually a bit of extra saturated than in actual life, however which means modifying in put up is never obligatory.

In contrast to most telephones, the ten Professional XL is equally spectacular in low-light circumstances. ‘Night time Sight’ works wonders, rising the publicity time in alternate for a sensible brightness enchancment and restricted noise. With out including exterior lenses, I don’t suppose smartphone evening modes get any higher than this.

AI-powered group photograph options stay, with ‘Add Me’ permitting the photographer to be added to the picture and ‘Greatest Take’ making certain that everybody appears to be like their greatest once you take a burst of pictures. The latter can even now be automated, however simply as with the Prime choose characteristic in Google Pictures, it gained’t all the time select the perfect one.

Loads of my testing of the ten Professional XL got here at a music pageant, the place the 48Mp periscope telephoto lens got here into its personal. The 5x optical zoom was best for capturing artists in full movement on stage with none noticeable drop-off in high quality.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Something as much as round 10x appears to be like fairly good, however high quality shortly declines when you transcend that. At something above 30x, Google’s new ‘Professional Res Zoom’ kicks in, utilizing generative AI to spice up the standard of the in any other case blurry photos.

In idea, anyway. In my testing, it typically labored effectively on landscapes and structure, albeit with some artificial-looking parts. However photos of individuals have been a complete catastrophe, with unrealistic faces that hardly resembled a human being. I’d extremely suggest sticking with good old style digital zoom, at the least for now.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

The ten Professional XL additionally utilises the telephoto lens for portrait images, one other key energy of Pixel telephones. On the pattern pictures I captured, pores and skin tones are impressively correct and the separation between topic and background may be very sensible.

When taking a portrait photograph, I enlisted the assistance of ‘Digicam Coach’, one other new Pixel 10 characteristic. It makes use of AI (in fact) to analyse the body and counsel methods wherein you may enhance the ultimate picture. It takes a couple of seconds (I wouldn’t suggest making an attempt it on a busy tube platform), however the finish outcome was a real enchancment. I’m impressed.

One other key energy of the Pixel 10 Professional XL digicam expertise is the 48Mp ultrawide, which ensures you could get a wider, 123-degree subject of view with out a noticeable drop-off in high quality. Color accuracy, dynamic vary and publicity all stay robust, with solely a slight variation in sharpness across the edges of the picture.

Certainly, the ten Professional XL’s 42Mp selfie digicam is my favorite on any telephone. Its very good selfies or groupfies (as they’re supposedly identified – ‘groupies’ understandably not being an choice), providing class-leading element, pores and skin tone accuracy and vibrancy. It’s a pleasure to make use of.

Sadly, the Pixel 10’s new ‘Assist me edit’ characteristic isn’t out there within the UK on the time of writing, so I haven’t been capable of check it. In idea, it ought to make AI modifying a lot simpler, permitting you to simply ask utilizing pure language, fairly than discover and apply the instruments your self.

I wouldn’t usually discuss a lot about smartphone video high quality, however attending a music pageant gave me loads of alternatives to try it out. The Pixel 10 Professional XL can seize 4K at 60fps, however the default 1080p at 30fps is simply fantastic for most individuals.

Typically, footage from the telephone is crisp and detailed, with OIS (optical picture stabilisation) on the principle and telephoto lenses making certain footage stays comparatively regular.

However ‘Night time Sight video’ (nonetheless a Professional unique) is what actually impressed me. It permits low-light video that’s pretty much as good as something you’ll get on an Android telephone, avoiding the frequent publicity and noise pitfalls. Simply be affected person, although, because it requires an web connection and some hours to completely course of.

Sadly, the microphone high quality isn’t fairly as much as scratch, which means the impression of booming vocals and throbbing bass is considerably misplaced. That is an space wherein I’d actually wish to see Google enhance.

Nonetheless, in relation to pure picture and video high quality, the Pixel 10 Professional XL is correct up there with the easiest. Except you’re a images fanatic who enjoys manually tweaking numerous settings, you’ll be greater than happy with the general digicam expertise.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5200mAh battery
• 45W wired charging
• 25W Qi2 wi-fi charging

That is the place the largest {hardware} upgrades may be discovered on the Pixel 10 Professional XL.

Let’s begin with the battery itself, which has elevated from 5060mAh to 5200mAh. It’s a modest enhance, however it ensures the ten Professional XL has the largest battery of any Pixel telephone to this point.

The outcome? Strong, reliable battery life that may nearly all the time get you thru a full day with cost to spare.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

For a extra excessive instance, a single cost on the ten Professional XL needed to final me over a day and a half at a music pageant. My moveable energy financial institution gave up after only a few minutes, so I went from Friday night to Sunday afternoon with 90% battery and a short top-up at a charging level.

By Sunday morning, some intense power-saving was required to make sure it didn’t run out of cost, as I wanted it to point out my prepare ticket. However this was after many hours of excessive brightness, cell knowledge and GPS use in a busy surroundings. Supplied you will have a good energy financial institution, the Pixel 10 Professional XL’s battery life is undoubtedly festival-proof

Once I obtained residence, the wired charging was a nice shock. Google has lastly boosted speeds to 45W, though that requires the separate buy of a suitable charger.

Utilizing one I already had at residence, my evaluation pattern went from 0-19% in quarter-hour and 38% by the half-hour mark. A full cost took an hour and 47 minutes, however you’ll be able to positively do it sooner than that.

That’s earlier than we even get to the largest upgrades: Qi2 wi-fi charging. Google is the primary main Android telephone maker to construct MagSafe-style magnets into the again of its telephones, enabling sooner (now 25W) and safer wi-fi charging.

A variety of ‘Pixelsnap’ equipment are already out there, with tons extra prone to pop up within the coming months and years. Sadly, I haven’t been capable of check these and actually put the Qi2 via its paces, however it has nice potential.

Software program & Apps

• Android 16 out of the field
• Contains Materials 3 Expressive design
• Seven years of updates

Alongside the opposite Pixel 10 telephones, the ten Professional XL is among the first handsets to run Android 16’s new ‘Materials 3 Expressive’ software program.

Google has pitched this as a giant design overhaul to the acquainted Android expertise, one thing I used to be sceptical about. Nonetheless, in relation to the apps and instruments I exploit frequently, it seems that little or no has modified.

The brand new Fast Settings panel appears to be like cleaner than earlier than, whereas the colour-coded organisation in the principle Settings app is less complicated to navigate. It’s just about enterprise as regular elsewhere, though I’d argue that’s a superb factor.

The Pixel tackle Android has all the time been one among my favourites, with an intuitive UI, loads of customisation choices and restricted bloatware. Nonetheless, the checklist of additional pre-installed apps has grown this yr, with the likes of NotebookLM and Pixel Journal. I haven’t used the latter to get any of its AI insights, and I actually don’t need to.

Magic Cue is my favorite AI characteristic on the Pixel 10, and it has the potential to be a real game-changer. Proper now, it solely works in a handful of eventualities, corresponding to a Calendar immediate or reserving affirmation inside Messages or steered photos from Google Pictures.

It additionally typically takes some time to pop up, by which period you’re already sorting it out your self. However I can already see its immense potential, particularly if third-party app builders get on board. Magic Cue places AI entrance and centre within the Pixel expertise in a method few others do.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

My largest frustration with Pixel software program continues to be the house display screen, with Google nonetheless not permitting you to take away the ‘At a Look’ widget, search bar or app labels. The vary of third-party widgets can also be a lot much less engaging than these on Samsung’s One UI 7, so I hardly ever use them.

Nonetheless, software program updates are a giant a part of the Pixel 10 Professional XL’s enchantment. Google has dedicated to a full seven years of normal characteristic and safety updates, which means the system might be secure to make use of till 2032.

Because the maker of Android, Google can even all the time roll out a brand new main model to Pixel telephones first, which means you gained’t be ready months to get your fingers on the brand new options. These two elements make it the perfect all-around software program expertise of any Android telephone.

Worth & Availability

The Pixel 10 Professional XL has a £100/$100 greater beginning value than its predecessor, however that doesn’t inform the complete story.

You’ll need to pay at the least £1,099/$1,099 at launch, although you’ll get 256GB of storage as an alternative of 128GB. When evaluating the 2 configurations immediately, there’s been no change.

As regular, you should buy the ten Professional XL from all kinds of various retailers, together with Google and Amazon within the UK and Google and Amazon within the US. There’s additionally widespread community availability in each international locations.

At this value, it’s going up in opposition to most of the best possible telephones you should buy, together with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely, OnePlus 13 and Xiaomi 15 Extremely. The upcoming iPhone 17 Professional Max is probably going to supply robust competitors, too.

Must you purchase the Google Pixel 10 Professional XL?

Sure, if you need the perfect all-round telephone proper now and are prepared to pay for it. The Pixel 10 Professional XL is huge, cumbersome and costly, however should you can cope with all these issues, it’s the last word 2025 handset in some ways.

A shocking show and sturdy but trendy design set the tone for an amazing smartphone. The cameras on the again present the perfect point-and-shoot digicam expertise round, with greater than a touch of AI assist. And Android 16 is extra polished than ever with its new Materials 3 Expressive design.

That’s earlier than we even get to the battery, which has spectacular longevity and expenses sooner than some other Pixel. In the meantime, Qi2 has the potential to revolutionise wi-fi charging on Android telephones.

The Pixel 10 Professional XL is the entire bundle, each now and into the long run. But it surely may not be best for you, so be sure to’re content material with its compromises.

Specs

• Android 16 with seven years of updates
• 6.8-inch FHD+ 120Hz LTPO OLED
• Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner
• Face Unlock
• Google Tensor G5 chipset
• 16GB RAM
• 256GB/512GB/1TB non-expandable storage
• 5200mAh battery
• 45W wired charging
• 25W Qi2 wi-fi charging
• Reverse wi-fi charging
• 50Mp f/1.7 foremost digicam
• 48Mp f/1.7 ultrawide digicam
• 48Mp f/2.8 5x telephoto digicam
• 42Mp f/2.2 entrance digicam
• Twin stereo audio system
• USB-C
• 5G
• NanoSIM + eSIM
• Wi-Fi 7
• Bluetooth 6.0
• IP68
• Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (back and front)
• 162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5 mm
• 232g