Google’s new cheapest Pixel 10 has been upgraded with more cameras, a faster chip and some quality software that has brought it out of the shadow of its pricier Pro siblings to set a new standard of what you should expect from a base-model flagship phone.The Guardian’s journalism is independent.We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.Learn more.The regular Pixel 10 costs £799 (€899/$799/A$1,349) – the same as last year’s Pixel 9 – undercutting the 10 Pro by £200 and matching rivals from Samsung and Apple while offering more for your money.

The design is almost identical to the Pixel 9, except for some new bold colours and the all-important new third camera in the pill-shaped lump on the back.The satin aluminium and glass body feels like a quality piece of hardware and the design certainly stands out in a sea of samey slab phones.The 6.3in OLED screen is crisp, super-bright and smooth with a 120Hz refresh rate.The glass back hides another upgrade: Qi2 wireless charging and magnetic accessory support.

Google is making its own Pixelsnap gadgets but Qi2 is an open standard and cross-compatible with the plethora of accessories designed for Apple’s excellent MagSafe, including chargers, wallets, handles and stands that just stick to the back of the phone.Screen: 6.3in 120Hz FHD+ OLED (422ppi)Processor: Google Tensor G5RAM: 12GBStorage: 128 or 256GBOperating system: Android 16Camera: 48MP+ 13MP UW + 10.8MP 5x tele; 10.5MP selfieConnectivity: 5G, eSim, wifi 6E, NFC, Bluetooth 6 and GNSSWater resistance: IP68 (1.

5m for 30 minutes)Dimensions: 152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6mmWeight: 204gThe new Tensor G5 chip is about 34-38% faster than Google’s previous top processor in testing, which is quite a leap for the brand, but still falls short of the raw performance of Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon chip used in rivals.The Pixel feels rapid in operation and will handle most things just fine.

The battery life is solid if not class-leading.It manages roughly two days of light usage between charges or about 33 hours of heavy use, including five hours of 5G out and about with seven hours actively using the screen.Most people will need to charge it every other day.The Tensor G5 also includes a significantly faster AI processor that runs Google’s advanced AI quicker and handles more complex systems on-device, making the Pixel a showcase for Google’s AI prowess.The Pixel 10 runs the latest Android 16 out of the box and comes with software support until August 2032.

Google’s take on Android is full of bold colours, big buttons and fun typography with plenty of nice touches and haptic interactions throughout the system.It’s a quality experience even if you choose more subtle colour combinations.The Pixel is a vehicle for some of Google’s most advanced AI systems, running the latest version of Gemini Nano on-device, which powers all sorts of AI features including various writing, dictation and image-editing tools.A flashy new voice translation system for phone calls can speak to you in a simulacrum of the caller’s voice, rather than one of the default Gemini voices.But Magic Cue is the most advanced new AI feature which runs locally on your phone and aims to be your little assistant running in the background on your device to proactively help you do things faster on your phone.

It combines information from your Google account with multiple data sources on your phone to pop-up suggestions of useful information when using certain Google apps.For instance, it pulled up my order confirmation emails in a little card in the phone app when I called to check where my delivery was, giving me one-tap access to the order number.Or if someone texts about when your flight is due to land, it shows the time and date pulled from your calendar ready to send them with a single tap.The weather app suggests locations for your upcoming trips from your calendar, too.These things don’t sound particularly exciting, but are a step in the right direction for AI away from flashy gimmicks to useful little background time savers.

Magic Cue currently works with Gmail, maps, calendar, Keep notes, screenshots, contacts and messages, with Google Photos and a few other Google apps coming soon,The biggest problem is that it doesn’t work in third-party apps yet, so if you use WhatsApp rather than text messages it can’t help you,The Pixel 10 features a 10,5-megapixel selfie and three rear cameras: a 48MP main, 13MP ultra wide and a 10,8MP 5x telephoto.

It addresses the main complaint about the base-model Pixel phones, which have lacked a telephoto cameras.The main and ultrawide cameras produce excellent images across a range of lighting conditions, doing better than rivals at this price in higher contrast scenes or dimmer indoor lighting.The new 5x telephoto significantly closes the distance to objects shooting great photos and reaching up to 20x digital zoom if needed.The photos from all three cameras show a little grain when viewed at full crop, but most will be very pleased with them.Google is still the best at reliably producing good images without much thought.

The new auto Best Take mode improves on the popular group shot Best Take system by shooting multiple images to automatically blend them together for an image where everyone is looking at the camera.In most photos it won’t have to do too much, but the more people and the more complex the situation, the more the AI intervenes.The popular Add Me feature allows the photographer to be added in to larger and more complex group shots, and has been improved to support larger groups of people, more complex backgrounds and images of pets.The camera app also now adds C2PA content credentials to photos that show how the image was captured and whether generative AI was involved.One of the most overtly AI tools is the new Camera Coach feature, which uses Gemini to help you compose and frame a shot for a better picture.

Press a small button at the top of the viewfinder and it sends the current view to Google’s servers to analyse and suggest several different possible compositions.Select the one you like the look of and it guides you through the steps of moving the camera, framing the shot and taking the photo.In testing, the suggestions were pretty good, so for anyone interested in improving their photography, this could be a low-key way of getting a bit of help.Overall, the Pixel 10 shoots great photos and videos with generally helpful AI additions, particularly with Best Take and Add Me, but it is possible you end up with images of a moment that may never have actually happened.The battery is rated to last in excess of 1,000 full charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity.

The phone is repairable by Google, third-party shops or self-repair with manuals and parts available.The Pixel 10 is contains 32% recycled materials by weight including aluminium, cobalt, copper, glass, gold, plastic, rare-earth elements, tungsten and tin.The company breaks down the phone’s environmental impact in its report and will recycle old devices for free.The Google Pixel 10 costs from £799 (€899/$799/A$1,349) in a choice of four colours.For comparison, the Pixel 10 Pro costs from £999, the Pixel 9a costs £399, the Samsung Galaxy S25 costs £799 and the iPhone 16 costs £799.

The Pixel 10 sets a new bar for base-model flagship phones, offering a high-quality experience and great camera with a meaningful telephoto zoom that doesn’t feel like a poor second cousin to the Pro models.The outside has not changed a lot since last year but it is an attractive design that stands out in the sea of rather samey phones, at least from the back.It feels snappy in operation, even if it doesn’t have the fastest chip available, and the battery lasts a decent 1.5 to two days between charges.Some of the new AI features actually seem like meaningful improvements, particularly Magic Cue, auto Best Take and other small bits that run locally in the background while you are doing things.

Combined with Gemini, Google is leagues ahead in the era of actually useful AI tools compared with rivals such as Apple, and it doesn’t get in the way of the core smartphone experience.It is not quite the killer bargain of Google’s cheaper Pixel 9a but the Pixel 10 is one of the best phones you can get and great value nonetheless.Pros: seven years of software updates, great camera with 5x telephoto, great screen, Magic Cue and impressive local AI features, Qi2 wireless charging and magnetic accessory support, good battery life, good size, fast fingerprint and face recognition.Cons: face unlock option not as secure as Face ID, raw performance and battery life short of best-in-class, no physical sim card slot in the US.