Here’s everything that’s actually new on the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro/XL [Gallery]

Ben Schoon | Aug 20 2025 - 3:30 pm PT

Google’s Pixel 10 series has arrived and, for the most part, it looks just like last year’s lineup. So what’s new? Here’s everything new you should know about on the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL.

Telephoto camera on the base Pixel 10

One of the biggest changes you’ll find in the lineup is that the base Pixel 10, like the Pro phones, now has an added telephoto camera. In the past few generations, the lack of a telephoto lens was one of the key separations between Google’s base and Pro devices, but now it’s about the camera setup as a whole. Instead of sharing the same main camera, the base Pixel 10 now has a lesser 48MP main sensor, 13MP ultrawide, and 10.8MP 5x telephoto. That’s opposed to the 50MP main, 48MP ultrawide, and 48MP 5x telephoto found on both Pixel 10 Pro devices.

The new camera setup as a whole is basically just matching that of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The difference should be minimal, but we’ll have to test that out in the coming weeks.

Yes, the ‘G’ got bigger

In a minor visual tweak, the “G” logo on the back of the Pixel 10 series is noticeably larger this time around, while also adding a reflective splash of color. While a nice design touch on its own, this also helps better reflect the location of the Pixelsnap magnets used for accessories and Qi2 chargers.

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Updated speakers

The speaker grills have been updated across the entire series, with the silver and gold-trimmed Pro variants especially having a noticeable lattice. This also comes as the speakers now take up both sides of the USB-C port, with Google touting much-improved speaker quality this year.

UFS 4.0 storage

Alongside Tensor G5, Google’s Pixel 10 Pro phones now have “Zoned UFS” storage, which includes UFS 4.0. Previously, Pixel 6 through Pixel 9 used UFS 3.1 which, while not awful, was much slower than what basically every other mid-high end Android phone has been using for years now. Pixel now matches the competition in this regard, though the base tier is not listed as having “Zoned UFS.”

Look ma, no SIMs!

While the rest of the world will see no change in terms of SIM card support, the Pixel 10 series, excluding the Fold, has entirely removed the physical SIM tray this year. Google is instead leaning heavily on eSIM and Android’s ever-improving support for eSIM and transfers.

On the same note, Google has also removed the “window” for mmWave from these devices, though these phones do still support the faster 5G connectivity.

Magnets

Of course, one of the biggest hardware changes this year is hiding just below the surface. The Pixel 10 series supports Qi2 magnets for charging and accessories within the phones themselves. This makes Google the only major Android brand to support Qi2 instead of leveraging the “Qi2 Ready” cop-out that pushes magnets to a case rather than the device.

The Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold all support 15W charging with this new standard, while Pixel 10 Pro XL is the first smartphone with Qi2 25W charging (likely soon to be followed by iPhones).

100x zoom and Camera Coach

Google, leveraging its new ISP in Tensor G5, is improving on the camera experience. Pixel 10 Pro will get 100x zoom support while the entire series will get a new Gemini-powered “Camera Coach” which can guide users through tips to take a better picture, tailored to the particular shot they’re taking.

100x zoom is one of the new tweaks Google has made as a result of the new ISP found in Tensor G5.

New Pixel apps & updates

Google is also debuting some new apps for Pixel. The big highlight here is Journal, which gives Pixel users a journaling app that has some AI additions in play. There’s also “Daily Hub,” which feels like a mix between Samsung’s half-baked “Now Brief” and the glory that was Google Now. “Magic Cue,” meanwhile, uses AI to pull contextual information from one part of your phone to another, such as making calendar reminders based on texts. Google Phone, Pixel Screenshots, and Gemini Live are also picking up some updates.

Take another look at those new colors

To round things out, just take another look at the new colors in Google’s 2025 Pixel lineup. The base model debuts “Frost,” “Limoncello,” and “Indigo” while the Pro launches the signature “Moonstone” and “Jade” colorways. “Obsidian” and “Porcelain” are also sporting some fresh updates this year as well.

The Pixel 10 series is available for pre-order starting today, with everything but the Fold set to ship on August 28. Pricing starts at $799, and you can see more of our coverage below.