Hardwired
In Hardwired, AC Senior Editor Harish Jonnalagadda delves into all issues {hardware}, together with telephones, audio merchandise, storage servers, and networking gear.
I’ve all the time appreciated utilizing Pixels, but it surely wasn’t till final 12 months that it felt like Google lastly had a deal with on issues. The Pixel 9 Professional XL launched a brand new design language with a lot better construct high quality, and it addressed long-standing {hardware} points. That stated, the underwhelming nature of the Tensor G4 meant the 9 Professional XL wasn’t fairly as much as scratch.
Fortunately, that is altering with the Pixel 10 Professional XL. The telephone retains an identical design as final 12 months, and that is an excellent factor. Though it makes it look unquestionably like an iPhone, the construct high quality is incredible, and it has an excellent presence — significantly within the Moonstone variant I am utilizing. The uninteresting blue luster accentuates the design fairly properly, and the in-hand really feel is fairly good because of the matte texture.
A design that is unquestionably Google
The digicam bar on the again provides Google’s telephones a particular look, and it appears nice whereas making certain there isn’t any wobble when utilizing the telephone on a desk. If something, the one quibble I’ve with the design is that the ten Professional XL is sort of heavy; at 232g, it’s 11g heavier than its predecessor and 14g heavier than the Galaxy S25 Extremely, and I do not actually get the explanation for its bulk.
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While you add a case (I am utilizing Bellroy’s wonderful leather-based case (and we have rounded up the finest Pixel 10 Professional XL circumstances)), you are a weight of over 260g, and that is appreciable. Fortunately, the load distribution is good, and the ten Professional XL would not fairly really feel as heavy in common use. It retains IP68 ingress safety, and whereas I might’ve appreciated to see IP69 just like the Vivo X200 Professional and Discover X8 Professional, the ten Professional XL has the fundamentals coated.
Upgrades that truly matter
The Pixel 10 Professional XL wins out in relation to the OLED panel — it’s the brightest of any telephone accessible in the present day. Google in some way managed to ace this class, and the ten Professional XL has incredible colour vibrancy and brightness ranges. There aren’t any points with the ambient gentle sensor (one thing that plagued earlier Pixels I used), and it does an excellent job sustaining 120Hz refresh.
There’s excellent news on the {hardware} facet of issues as properly, with Google switching to TSMC’s 3nm node this time. The Tensor G5 brings much-needed upgrades, and it’s noticeably quicker than its predecessors. Google is utilizing the identical Cortex X4 core to do the heavy lifting this time round, however the elevated 3.78GHz clock means it would not should be lively for as lengthy.
The change to Creativeness Applied sciences’ PowerVR DXT-48 means the Pixel 10 Professional XL is not hobbled at gaming. It does a a lot better job on this regard, and whereas it nonetheless tends to throttle sooner than different telephones, it is not anyplace as excessive as earlier Pixels. That alone is a big deal, and it makes utilizing the ten Professional XL that a lot better.
Do not get me improper; the Tensor G5 nonetheless lags behind what Qualcomm and MediaTek have to supply, but it surely would not really feel as limiting as earlier generations. The ten Professional XL manages thermals higher, and it would not have any of the overheating points that plagued earlier fashions.
The Tensor G5 additionally has a lot better effectivity, and whereas the Pixel 10 Professional XL would not final so long as its Chinese language rivals, it goes a day with out breaking a sweat. I am nonetheless aggravated that Google continues to restrict its charging protocol to 45W — it is time the model began leveraging the 100W normal accessible with USB PD 3.0.
As regards to charging, the Pixel 10 Professional XL has the excellence of being the one Android telephone to have Qi 2 integration natively; the telephone has the requisite magnets in-built, and it is a good transfer by Google. It is thrilling to have the ability to use Qi 2 equipment without having a case, and the ten Professional XL manages to hit 25W over the Qi 2 normal with relative ease.
Whereas it is a small factor, it is good to see Google lastly change to 256GB of storage within the base mannequin of the ten Professional XL. That is the variant I am utilizing, and after three weeks of use, I’ve 112GB of storage left on the gadget. I’ve little question that I am going to refill the storage on the telephone in a matter of months, and Google annoyingly would not promote the 512GB or 1TB variants of the gadget in India, limiting the telephone’s potential.
The model as an alternative factors to the 2TB Google One storage tier that is bundled with the telephone (all Pixel 10 Professional XL patrons get a 12 months of Google AI Professional) in its place, however that does not get away from the truth that you will have to pay over $200 from the second 12 months simply to retailer your information.
Cameras that stand out
Pixels all the time delivered nice cameras, and that is no completely different this 12 months. Whereas I wished Google to modify to higher-resolution sensors, that hasn’t proved to be the case with the ten Professional XL. Nonetheless, the telephone delivers clear images with good vibrancy, and it does a fantastic job in difficult eventualities.
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The ten Professional XL does a lot better with movies, and Google’s AI-assisted Video Enhance does a fantastic job bringing out further particulars in low-light circumstances. The cameras do not fairly maintain up in opposition to the likes of the Vivo X200 Professional and Discover X8 Professional — to not point out the X200 Extremely and Discover X8 Extremely — however they’re higher than final 12 months, and so they measure as much as what Samsung is providing.
The very best software program on Android
There are innumerable small issues with the software program that simply make it enjoyable to make use of the Pixel 10 Professional XL. The telephone runs Android 16 out of the field, and it’ll get seven Android OS updates. Google’s reliance on AI utilities give its units a definite benefit; whereas each different producer is leveraging AI in a roundabout way, Google has significant options I really find yourself utilizing.
Take Magic Cue; the function robotically suggests contextual data, and it is fairly helpful. It is restricted to Google’s personal companies in the intervening time, but it surely did an excellent job pulling up my order data from Gmail after I was speaking to Dyson’s buyer care, and share my flight particulars as I used to be messaging.
The interface as an entire has higher fluidity than earlier generations, and the quirky design mixed with distinctive extras provides it a vibrancy that you simply simply do not get with another telephone.
That is the Pixel you want
General, I loved utilizing the Pixel 10 Professional XL fairly a bit, and I do not see myself switching to a different gadget anytime quickly. Sure, Google nonetheless has just a few long-standing points to handle — significantly round charging tech and digicam sensors — however with the ten Professional XL, it has confirmed that it is ready to make significant adjustments.
The Pixel 10 Professional XL continues Google’s momentum, delivering helpful software program options and a slate of minor upgrades that makes a noticeable distinction in day by day use.
