The Pixel 10 has arrived. It has a bigger battery, support for faster charging, new AI-powered tools and new cameras including one with a 5x telephoto lens (the first on a non-Pro Pixel phone). After years of Google raising the price on its standard Pixel phone, it's nice to see the company pack the Pixel 10 with features while keeping the starting price at $799, the same as last year's Pixel 9.
The Pixel 10, announced at the Made by Google event, builds on last year's excellent Pixel 9 design by adding new tools, like an Gemini AI-powered Camera Coach, and expanding existing ones, like raising the maximum brightness of the 6.3-inch screen to 3,000 nits.
But something is different about the Pixel 10.
Instead of being a scaled down version of a Pixel Pro that costs $200 less, like the Pixel 9, the Pixel 10 is a hybrid of Google's Pro line and budget series. It has a similar body and design as the $999 Pixel 10 Pro but the same main and ultrawide cameras as the $499 Pixel 9A. I think it's smart for Google to push the Pixel 10 closer to the Pixel 9A to help differentiate it from the Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL. But I will miss having those Pro cameras.
The Pixel 10 is available to preorder starting today and will be in stores starting Aug. 28.
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Watch this: Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL First Look: Familiar Design, New AI Tricks 08:04
Pixel 10 design, battery and processor
Here are all the colors of the Pixel 10, from left to right: Indigo, lemongrass, frost, obsidan. Joe Maldonado/CNET
The Pixel 10 is nearly identical to the Pixel 9. The camera bar on the back defines the phone and keeps it from being a wobbly nightmare when it's laid flat on a table. The new Pixel comes in several colors: Frost, lemongrass, obsidian and indigo -- yes, that's the same deep blue hue that the original Pixel came in back in 2016. The frame is made from aluminum and has a satin finish that complements the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 polished back. The screen is also covered in Victus 2.
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