Phone Comparisons: Google Pixel 10 Vs Google Pixel 10 Pro

Google has announced four new Pixel 10 series smartphones on August 20. In this article, we’ll be comparing two of those, the Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro . Those are the two most affordable models, the vanilla variant vs the compact flagship that Google has to offer. They are quite similar in many ways, but the ‘Pro’ model does have a number of advantages. The Pixel 10 is more affordable, however, and it may be a better option for you.

Both of these phones are actually quite compact, so if you’re tired of using huge phones, these are the two models you should be thinking of getting. In this article, we’ll first list their specs and then compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio output. There’s plenty to talk about, so… let’s get to it.

• Specs
• Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Design
• Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Display
• Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Performance
• Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Battery
• Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Cameras
• Audio

Specs

Google Pixel 10

Google Pixel 10 Pro

Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Design

Aside from some subtle differences, these two phones look basically the same. You will notice some differences in the camera bar on the back, but that’s it. They’re both made out of aluminum and glass, and they both have rounded corners. The front and back sides of the two phones are flat, while the frame is flat as well. The power/lock key sits above the volume up and down buttons on the right-hand side.

On the front, both phones have a single flat display, with a centered display camera hole up top. The bezels are uniform all around the two displays, on both smartphones. If we flip them around, you’ll notice that they’re more similar than the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro in comparison. Why? Well, the Pixel 10 has three cameras on the back this time around.

Even though the Google Pixel 10 has three cameras, the cameras on the Pixel 10 Pro are better. If you take a better look, you’ll notice larger camera sensors, and different sensor placement on the right-hand side of the camera bar. That camera bar has a pill shape on both phones, and it does protrude on the back quite a bit. Google’s logo sits right down the middle of the back side, on both devices.

Both of these phones are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. They have the exact same dimensions too, in fact. The Pixel 10 Pro is 3 grams heavier, but that’s not really something you’ll notice in the hand. Both phones are quite slippery, but that’s not much of an issue due to their size.

Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Display

The two devices have the same display sizes, but different displays. The Google Pixel 10 includes a 6.3-inch Actua display with a 20:9 aspect ratio. That is a flat display with a 2424 x 1080 resolution. This is a Smooth Display (60-120Hz), and it has a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. HDR is supported here, while the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 from Corning protects this panel.

Google Pixel 10

The Google Pixel 10 Pro, on the other hand, includes a 6.3-inch Super Actua Display. This is an LTPO panel, it offers an adaptive refresh rate (1-120Hz). The display aspect ratio is 20:9, while the resolution here is 2856 x 1280 pixels. It’s an OLED display, of course. The maximum brightness is 3,300 nits, while HDR is supported. Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects this panel.

Yes, the Pixel 10 Pro has a better display of the two. Not only is it sharper, but it has refresh rate that can drop all the way down to 1Hz when needed. That is not something many people will notice, however, and both of these displays will serve them just fine. They’re both vivid, sharp, and have great viewing angles. Both panels also get more than bright enough when you need them to. The touch response is also good on both.

Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Performance

The Google Tensor G5 is the chip that fuels both of these devices. It is a 3nm processor that has been made using TSMC’s latest process node. It is also the very first TSMC-made Tensor chip. That chip is not as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Dimensity 9500, or Apple A18 Pro, but… that’s not something many people will care about. Sure, it doesn’t hit benchmarks with the same power, but it’s made for Pixels, and it’s very competent where it matters.

That chip does deliver a considerable improvement over the Tensor G4. It has a 34% faster CPU, and a 60% more powerful TPU. It’s made for running Google’s AI, and we have high hopes for it. We do hope that it will deliver, though you’ll have to wait for our full reviews in order to get all the details.

Having said that, the Tensor G5 is paired with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM inside the Pixel 10. The Pixel 10 Pro, on the other hand, offers 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM. What about storage? Well, that’s different too. The Pixel 10 comes with UFS 3.1 flash storage, which is quite dated now. The Pixel 10 Pro, on the other hand, includes UFS 4.0 flash storage. Not only is UFS 4.0 a lot faster, but it is also better for battery consumption. Do note that you cannot expand the storage on either phone.

Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Battery

The Google Pixel 10 includes a 4,970mAh battery on the inside, while the Pixel 10 Pro has a 4,870mAh battery. That’s a very small difference, and we’re not expecting the Pixel 10 to offer better battery life, they’ll likely be on par. The Pixel 10 Pro’s refresh rate drops down to 1Hz, which is an advantage, despite the higher resolution. There’s also the UFS 4.0 factor inside the Pixel 10 Pro.

We cannot really say which phone offers better battery life just yet, however. Why? Well, we didn’t review either of them just yet. That part is coming in the near future, but you’ll have to wait a bit. We do expect both phones to offer rather good battery life, however. So it will be interesting to see.

When it comes to charging, things are basically the same between the two phones. Both of them offer wired charging of up to 30W, while they also support full-fledged Qi2 wireless charging up to 15W. The charging speed should be similar between them, but that’s something else that we’ll test in our full review.

Google Pixel 10 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro: Cameras

The Google Pixel 10 does have three cameras on the back this time around, but Google did something very weird. The company is using a notably smaller main camera sensor than in the Pixel 9. Instead of a 1/1.3-inch sensor, Google opted for a 48-megapixel camera with a 1/2.0-inch sensor. That camera is backed by a 13-megapixel ultrawide unit (1/3.1-inch sensor, 120-degree FoV) and a 10.8-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (1/3.2-inch sensor, 5x optical zoom).

Google Pixel 10 Pro

The Google Pixel 10 Pro has better cameras across the board. It includes a 50-megapixel main camera (1/1.3-inch sensor), along with a 48-megapixel ultrawide snapper (1/2.55-inch sensor size, 123-degree FoV). Even the periscope telephoto camera is better in comparison. The Pixel 10 Pro has a 48-megapixel periscope telephoto unit (1/2.55-inch sensor size, 5x optical zoom). Both phones support both OIS and EIS, by the way.

Having said that, we do expect the Pixel 10 Pro to offer better camera performance across the board. However, we all know that Google’s software tends to pull out great performance from weaker hardware more often than not, so let’s not exclude the Pixel 10 just yet. It will be interesting to see how it fares next to the Pixel 10 Pro. We do expect that contrasty Pixel look from both phones. The Pixel 10 Pro’s prowess will likely be more obvious in low light.

Audio

Both of these smartphones include stereo speakers. We didn’t really get a chance to test them just yet, but based on their predecessors at least, they’ll be just fine. Google did promise some improvements in the audio department too.

There is no audio jack on either of these two smartphones. You can still hook up your wired headphones, but you’ll need a dongle. You can hook them up to the Type-C port that is available at the bottom of both phones.