Google's Pixel phones are often regarded as some of the best in terms of imaging. Thanks to Google's phenomenal computational photography and use of AI, Pixel phones make it easy to capture great photos without putting much thought into the process.
In this deeper dive into the Pixel 10 cameras, Android Central writers Nick Sutrich and Derrek Lee put Google's latest flagship AI phones to the test. Nick tests the Pixel 10 Pro devices, while Derrek tests the base Pixel 10. Both capture images in various locations and scenarios, comparing the results to those of other Android and Pixel devices. Nick even visits the Biltmore Estate, where Taylor Swift's forthcoming wedding is rumored to take place.
Is Google still the camera king? Let's see how these phones do.
Google Pixel 10 camera specs
Camera | Pixel 10 | Pixel 10 Pro | Pixel 10 Pro XL |
|---|---|---|---|
Rear Camera 1 | 48MP 1/2-inch wide, ƒ/1.70, 82-degree FOV Quad PD AF | 50MP 1/1.3-inch wide, ƒ/1.68, 82-degree FOV Quad PD AF | 50MP 1/1.3-inch wide, ƒ/1.68, 82-degree FOV Quad PD AF |
Rear Camera 2 | 13MP 1/3.1-inch ultrawide, ƒ/2.2, 120-degree FOV Quad PD AF | 48MP 1/2.55-inch ultrawide, ƒ/1.7, 123-degree FOV Quad PD AF | 48MP 1/2.55-inch ultrawide, ƒ/1.7, 123-degree FOV Quad PD AF |
Rear Camera 3 | 10.8MP 1/3.2-inch telephoto, ƒ/3.1, 23-degree FOV 5x optical Dual PD AF | 48MP 1/2.55-inch telephoto, ƒ/2.8, 22-degree FOV 5x optical Dual PD AF | 48MP 1/2.55-inch telephoto, ƒ/2.8, 22-degree FOV 5x optical Dual PD AF |
Front Camera | 10.5MP wide, ƒ/2.2, 95-degree FOV Dual PD AF | 42MP, ƒ/2.2, 103-degree FOV Dual PD AF | 42MP, ƒ/2.2, 103-degree FOV Dual PD AF |
Google Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL
The Google Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL share identical camera hardware, so there's no need to compromise on choosing your favorite device size. As such, the results you see here will be identical between the two models.
Main camera and motion
Google Pixels had the best motion capture in the industry for a very long time, but we started to see that crown falter a bit last year. Both Honor and OnePlus have caught up to Google's motion capture fidelity and, at times, have surpassed Pixel cameras. Samsung has even put in considerable effort to address its long-standing issue with motion capture with the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
For this motion test, my wife used a toy lure on our cat to get it to jump around the living room. I held two phones side by side and tapped the shutter button simultaneously. Each phone was allowed two shots, both of which can be viewed side by side in the photos below. This ensures they aren't cherry-picked or biased to the best of my abilities.
The results were mostly unsurprising if you've followed our motion tests before. The Honor Magic 7 Pro is the clear winner and handily beats the other phones. I'd say the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro were a tie; while the Pixel 10's photos are slightly brighter, I prefer the texture on the Pixel 9 Pro's photos.
The comparison between the Pixel 10 Pro and the OnePlus 13 is a little harder to judge. The Pixel 10's photos are brighter but softer than those of the OnePlus 13. The cat's fur appears clear in one shot on the OnePlus 13 and in the other shot on the Pixel 10 Pro. Maybe give the Pixel 10 Pro a very slight edge in this one.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra test surprised me a lot. Typically, Pixels trounce Samsung's phones in any motion test, but that wasn't the case here. If anything, the Pixel 10 Pro is only marginally better in some parts of the photo, like the cat's face and slightly brighter shadow detail.
I also took the OnePlus 13, Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Google Pixel 10 Pro XL out for a photo shoot in and around the Biltmore House. At 1x and 2x zoom, the Pixel 10 Pro XL demonstrated a notable improvement in dynamic range compared to the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
I've also found that the Pixel 10 Pro's photos have an excellent texture. Bricks, carpets, and other finely textured surfaces retain their detail much better on the Pixel 10 Pro than on the Pixel 9 Pro. The OnePlus 13 also does an exemplary job of this, while Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra tends to scrub away some of that fine detail, likely because Samsung's processing algorithm thinks it's camera noise.
Telephoto and AI zoom
One of the highlights of the Pixel 10 Pro series is the upgraded Pro Res Zoom, which finally competes with other premium Android phones by giving users the ability to zoom up to 100x with the camera. Since the telephoto lens on the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro is the same, the enabling factor here is the new onboard diffusion model that runs completely on Tensor G5.
That means, by default, any photo that's zoomed in at 30x and beyond is automatically enhanced with an onboard AI algorithm. If you've learned anything about AI over the past few years, that means that results are either mind-blowing or head-scratching. Samples below are taken between 30x and 80x.
The results were completely unexpected. The Pixel 10 Pro XL only won in maybe two out of the eight samples above. I say "maybe" because while the picture of the gargoyle statue at 80x looks better on the Pixel 10 Pro XL, the texture you see on the statue is far too fine and uniform to be the actual texture of the object. The OnePlus 13 is closest to reality in that shot.
However, every other shot is essentially worse to some degree, primarily due to either a lack of detail or motion blur. The Galaxy S25 Ultra and Honor Magic 7 Pro take home the most awards out of the shots here, and that wasn't something I expected based on my initial hands-on time with the Pixel 10 Pro.
The Pixel 10 Pro series also has a huge problem with zooming in on text. The AI diffusion algorithm is far too confident for its own good and tries to turn unreadable, blurry text into something legible, and it fails nearly every time.
Thankfully, the Pixel 10 Pro is smart enough to recognize that you might prefer the original shot over the enhanced version, and it provides easy access to both images directly within the Google Photos app. I hope Google delivers an update that tells the Pixel to stop enhancing text, because the results are quite bad.
Portrait and selfies
Pixels have had a pretty bad portrait mode for several years now, particularly when you zoom in to the edges around the clear subject and the artificially blurred background. The Pixel team specifically worked on this problem for the Pixel 10 Pro's release, and the results speak for themselves.
In all the shots, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra still has the best edge detection of the pack, which Samsung has excelled at for years. The OnePlus 13 often takes second place, although there are a few areas where the edge detection could use improvement, especially when capturing images of non-human subjects (like plants).
Meanwhile, Google appears to have perfected the look of a camera portrait on plants and other similar non-human subjects, giving the photo a gorgeous shift in focus that seems to have come from a lens. Human subject cutouts are markedly improved, although there's still fringing happening around many of the brightest edges and a few spots where it could be further cleaned up.
However, the Pixel's exposure and color accuracy are significantly better than Samsung's, which often appears too dark and fails to prioritize exposure on the subject. I generally find that I prefer the OnePlus 13's shots for people and the Pixel 10 Pro's shots for other subjects.
Ultrawide and macro
The 48MP ultrawide camera on the Pixel 10 Pro series is identical to the one on the Pixel 9 Pro series, and it shows. It still takes excellent macro shots and generally excellent ultrawide photos, as well. The software intelligently switches between the two focus modes depending on the distance of the object in the photo.
In general, the OnePlus 13 has the best ultrawide performance of the bunch, with the nicest colors and the widest dynamic range, and roughly the same amount of detail as the Pixel 10 Pro. However, it doesn't score as well with macro shots. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is often the worst of the bunch, but the results are usually not bad.
The Pixel 10 Pro performs quite well in macro shots and appears to be the best among the three. That, combined with the solid-looking ultrawide shots, gives it the overall edge.
Google Pixel 10
My testing of the Pixel 10 was a bit more straightforward and with less Taylor Swift. I mainly focused on the Pixel 10 itself while also comparing shots with the Pixel 9, so we have an idea of how things have changed between generations.
The Pixel 10 may have the most upgraded camera system of the three phones, but it wouldn't seem that way on paper. That's because the resolution is downgraded on both the wide and ultrawide sensors from 50MP and 48MP to 48MP and 13MP, respectively. That said, photo quality hasn't degraded as a result; in fact, it might be a bit better than the Pixel 9, thanks to the help of the new Tensor G5 and the addition of a third 10MP telephoto camera.
Main camera and portrait
Images with the primary 48MP camera are often crisp and detailed, and there's seemingly more contrast this time around, which helps the photos pop a little more. It also does well with movement, able to capture large crowds of people without turning them into blurry messes, and can even seemingly freeze water in a fountain.
The Pixel 10's primary camera handles complex structures well, with minimal noise. At night, the Pixel 10's primary camera handles complex structures well, with minimal noise, while retaining a decent amount of light and detail.
When compared to the Pixel 9, the two phones often trade blows, although there are instances where Pixel 10 images are slightly more detailed and processed with more contrast. This can make Pixel 9 images look dull by comparison, but this isn't always the case.
The added detail isn't often apparent in daytime shots, but it’s more noticeable at night, where the Pixel 10 does a better job with noise reduction. At the same time, the Pixel 9 seems to prioritize producing a brighter image at the expense of noise.
Portrait photos also appear to be a bit better on the Pixel 10, but not by a significant margin. It appears to perform a decent job with edge detection, which is a positive sign.
Ultrawide and telephoto
It's often the case where ultrawide images have slightly different processing when compared to the primary sensor. fortunately, images appear roughly the same between the sensors, with no noticeable difference in quality of color science. The lower 13MP resolution appears to hold up just fine.
The Pixel 10's 5x telephoto lens really enhances zoom quality, seemingly at nearly all levels. Images still retain detail at 2x, and the 5x optical lens pushes the Pixel 10's capabilities even beyond the Pixel 9, where I didn't notice much image quality degradation even at 10x. This was also true at night, where the Pixel 10 manages impressive quality.
When comparing zoom levels with the Pixel 9, it's clear that last year's phone is heavily relying on software to keep up, and it seemingly pulls it off until you get close to the images. The Seattle Space Needle, for example, features crisp lines in the Pixel 10 image, while the Pixel 9 image appears a bit muddy. I also prefer the deeper colors of the Pixel 10 image.
The same can be said for the movie theater marquee, where movie titles appear much clearer on the Pixel 10 image, while the Pixel 9 struggles a bit to retain detail.
Ultimately, it's clear that while the Pixel 9 does a good job with its limited hardware resources, the use of AI can't fully replace the benefits of a dedicated telephoto sensor.
Pixel 10 series cameras: Verdict
Google's Pixel phones continue to impress us with their cameras, especially with the primary sensor. However, it's clear that the competition is catching up, or, in some ways, surpassing Google's computational photography.
The Pixel 10 feels like the biggest upgrade between generations, but the Pixel 10 Pro feels relatively stagnant, which isn't a bad thing, but it just means Google has some work cut out for it if it wants to remain on top.
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