Pixel 10 Pro Review: The Camera King of 2025

Google’s Pixel phones have always stood apart from the crowd, not because they chase specs or raw power, but because they deliver a uniquely refined experience.

With the Pixel 10 Pro, Google is doubling down on its strengths: thoughtful design, a display tuned for real-world pleasure, and a camera system that continues to set benchmarks for mobile photography.

Over the past couple of weeks of daily use, I’ve found it to be less about gimmicks and more about consistency — a phone that quietly but confidently earns its place as a true flagship in 2025.

Design

The Pixel 10 Pro sticks to the design language Google has now made its own, and one that has, funnily enough, been aped by Apple this year, with its iPhone Air.

The matte glass rear feels premium in the hand and is fantastic at resisting fingerprints. The camera bar is still thick, but instead of looking awkward, it’s become a distinctive Pixel identity; you know this phone from across the room.

The polished aluminium frame feels sturdy, though I do wish Google had gone for a matte finish here instead of the shiny edges that can look a bit flashy.

Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both sides and IP68 water resistance make it durable, so it’s still as rugged as it is stylish.

Display & Sound

Up front, the story remains familiar. The Pixel 10 Pro carries forward the excellent 6.3-inch LTPO OLED panel with QHD+ resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate.

Brightness levels are among the best you’ll find, especially while viewing HDR content. This display’s 3,300 nits of peak brightness is headline-worthy and it makes the experience of everyday usage a highly pleasant one.

Of course, then, HDR content looks brilliant, and colour tuning is classic Google: natural and pleasing, never oversaturated. The phone’s stereo speakers deserve a special mention; they may not be that loud, but they’re clear and deliver respectable bass presence. No complaints here; movies, games, and reels all sound and look superb.

Camera

This is the Pixel’s crown jewel. The triple-camera setup (50MP main with OIS, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom) delivers some of the best photos you’ll get on a phone in 2025.

Colours are realistic, dynamic range is outstanding, and low-light photography continues to be class-leading. Google’s computational photography magic ensures you can just point and shoot, and nine times out of ten, you’ll get a shot worth posting.

Exploring the possibilities thrown open by 5x optical zoom and 10x optical quality was one of the highlights of my Pixel 10 Pro experience, and it’s also the reason I’ve decided to make my daily driver for the rest of the year. No matter what kind of photos you’re clicking, you’re guaranteed outstanding levels of freedom thanks to the supreme zooming capabilities of the Pixel 10 Pro.

And as if that wasn’t enough, there’s 100x digital zoom as well. And unlike so many other phones in the market, it’s incredibly good. How? Pro Res Zoom! That’s Google’s technology that makes use of AI magic to smooth things out, add accurate textures, and eventually belt out unbelievably beautiful 100x zoom shots.

But it’s not perfect in any way. 5 out of 10 times, the shots will feature artefacts and wrong textures. That said, it’s still an incredibly powerful feature to have and one of the best smartphone party tricks in 2025, as I found out during a cousins meet-up recently – they just couldn’t stop using this feature.

Videos have noticeably levelled up. The HDR levels are truly breathtaking, especially when outdoors. And this time around, Night Sight has extended to videos as well. It sounded exciting, but there’s nothing exciting here. Certainly, not as exciting as Night Sight was when it first arrived for photos. Against the iPhone 16 Pro, Apple may still have a slight edge in video consistency, but for stills, the Pixel 10 Pro is as good as it gets.

Performance

The new Tensor G5 chip isn’t chasing benchmarks like Qualcomm or Apple, but in everyday use, it doesn’t matter. The phone feels fluid, responsive, and snappy at all times. Apps launch instantly, multitasking is smooth, and even gaming holds up decently with consistent frame rates. Importantly, I faced zero heating issues in my two weeks with the phone, which is a huge step up from earlier Tensor generations. It’s not iPhone-fast in raw horsepower, but in real-world usage, it feels every bit flagship.

Battery Life

Battery life is solid, though not groundbreaking. The 4,870mAh cell comfortably delivered a full day of heavy use that included WhatsApp messaging, Instagram doom-scrolling, YouTube viewing, and a little bit of photography and videography.

Pushing into two-day territory, however, is being very optimistic, so don’t expect the Pixel 10 Pro to do that. Charging is faster than before at 30W wired and 15W wireless, which means topping it up is quick and convenient. It’s not OnePlus-level fast, but it’s enough to get you going.

Software

Stock Android remains Pixel’s ace card. Clean, minimal, fluid, and always the first in line for updates. The Pixel 10 Pro ships with Android 16 and promises seven years of OS and security updates.

There’s also a fresh wave of AI-driven features starting with Camera Coach. With one tap, you can summon the phone’s AI to scan the scene and suggest different ways in which you can best capture the scene. It’s a great feature for amateurs, but I doubt it will be used by many.

Unfortunately, the most exciting feature I wanted to test out – Conversation photo editing – is not yet available in India. And the same goes for Magic Cues, so there’s that. I must say, these two missing features quite dampened my experience of using the phone, especially since there are very few things on this phone that can be branded as “new.”