Joe Maring / Android Authority
The Pixel 10-series is Google’s most aggressive bet on AI yet. Year on year, the company keeps tacking on more AI-first features. From the camera to the notes app and elsewhere, the pitch is clear. This isn’t just another smartphone. Instead, it’s a showcase for how Google’s AI strategy ties directly to its hardware. But while the on-device LLM can do a lot, when it comes to heavy lifting, Google wants you to pop over into the Gemini app. More specifically, Gemini Pro. And to drive that point further, Google bundles in a free year of the Gemini AI Pro plan with the phone.
The perk is designed to funnel you into recurring payments, and storage is the bait.
In fact, I’d go as far as saying that the free year of Gemini Pro and 2TB of cloud storage are a key part of Google’s marketing to make the phone appear like a bargain. Two terabytes of cloud storage, access to Google’s best AI features, including Deep Research with Gemini 2.5 Pro. Add to that AI-enabled extras in access to AI filmmaking tools via Flow, image to video creation, and a 1000 monthly AI credits. Google even frames the cost of the phone as lower than it really is by subtracting the $239 value of the subscription’s sticker price. It sounds generous. Except, it is not. This perk is designed to funnel you into recurring payments, and storage is the bait.
Did you consider the free Google AI Pro perk before buying the Pixel 10? 199 votes Yes, it was crucial to my purchase decision. 10 % It's a nice to have, but not essential to my purchase decision. 58 % No, I didn't know about the perk. 9 % I don't care either way. I don't use cloud storage and Gemini. 23 %
The storage trap
Let’s start with the simpler of the two first. Two terabytes of free cloud storage sounds like a steal. It is a massive upgrade from the 15GB that comes with a standard Google account, though chances are you have been paying for an upgrade anyway. With 2TB, you get plenty of room to back up photos, videos, files, device data, and more. I get it. It’s convenient. Not only are your photos being backed up to cloud servers that don’t require any maintenance at your end, but these photos, videos, and files are then available across platforms via apps and browsers. If you want a no-nonsense approach to keeping your data secure, going cloud first is a viable strategy. But there is a catch.
Once you start backing up all your data to the cloud, you are locked in. When the first year’s trial plan runs out, you have to decide. Either downgrade the plan and lose access to files, start deleting data to match a lower paid tier, or accept the $20 monthly fee to keep everything. This is when Google’s free perk reveals its actual cost.
The reason is straightforward. Nobody wants to delete data, especially personal photos and videos. Once your files live in the cloud, walking away becomes harder than paying up. Yes, you could download everything, reorganize your storage, switch to another provider, or even self-host. But Google does not make that easy. Exporting terabytes of data is slow and messy. Family libraries, shared albums, and device backups make switching even more painful. Google knows this. The trial is not generosity. It is a customer acquisition spend to be written off by marketing.
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