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 at all times preferred utilizing Pixels, however it wasn’t till final yr 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 mentioned, 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 analogous design as final yr, and that is a very good factor. Though it makes it look unquestionably like an iPhone, the construct high quality is incredible, and it has a very good presence — significantly within the Moonstone variant I am utilizing. The uninteresting blue luster accentuates the design fairly nicely, and the in-hand really feel is fairly good due to 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 to be like 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 kind 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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Whenever you add a case (I am utilizing Bellroy’s glorious leather-based case (and we have rounded up the finest Pixel 10 Professional XL circumstances)), you are taking a look at a weight of over 260g, and that is appreciable. Fortunately, the load distribution is good, and the ten Professional XL does not fairly really feel as heavy in common use. It retains IP68 ingress safety, and whereas I might’ve preferred to see IP69 just like the Vivo X200 Professional and Discover X8 Professional, the ten Professional XL has the fundamentals coated.
Upgrades that really matter
The Pixel 10 Professional XL wins out in terms of the OLED panel — it’s the brightest of any telephone accessible at the moment. Google by some means managed to ace this class, and the ten Professional XL has incredible coloration 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 a very good job sustaining 120Hz refresh.
There’s excellent news on the {hardware} aspect of issues as nicely, with Google switching to TSMC’s 3nm node this time. The Tensor G5 brings much-needed upgrades, and it’s noticeably sooner 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 does not have to 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 wherever 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, however it does not really feel as limiting as earlier generations. The ten Professional XL manages thermals higher, and it does 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 does not final so long as its Chinese language rivals, it goes a day with out breaking a sweat. I am nonetheless irritated that Google continues to restrict its charging protocol to 45W — it is time the model began leveraging the 100W customary accessible with USB PD 3.0.
With reference 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 while not having a case, and the ten Professional XL manages to hit 25W over the Qi 2 customary 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 machine. I’ve little question that I will refill the storage on the telephone in a matter of months, and Google annoyingly does not promote the 512GB or 1TB variants of the machine 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 consumers get a yr of Google AI Professional) as a substitute, however that does not get away from the truth that you will have to pay over $200 from the second yr simply to retailer your knowledge.
Cameras that stand out
Pixels at all times delivered nice cameras, and that is no completely different this yr. Whereas I needed 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 pictures with good vibrancy, and it does an ideal job in difficult situations.
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The ten Professional XL does a lot better with movies, and Google’s AI-assisted Video Enhance does an ideal job bringing out further particulars in low-light situations. The cameras do not fairly maintain up towards 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 yr, and so they measure as much as what Samsung is providing.
The perfect 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 gadgets a definite benefit; whereas each different producer is leveraging AI in a roundabout way, Google has significant options I truly find yourself utilizing.
Take Magic Cue; the function mechanically suggests contextual data, and it is fairly helpful. It is restricted to Google’s personal companies in the meanwhile, however it did a very good 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 some other telephone.
That is the Pixel you want
Total, I loved utilizing the Pixel 10 Professional XL fairly a bit, and I do not see myself switching to a different machine 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.
