Google Celebrates Pixel’s 10th Anniversary
I asked Gemini to create an image for a Pixel 10th birthday party. This is what it came up with.
Context
Google has been building Pixel devices for a decade now, and it has been a struggle at times, but even for a company famous for canceling products, Pixel smartphones and wearables now look like a core product line. I spoke with Rick Osterloh, SVP of Hardware at Google, at Google I/O, and he readily admitted that he has P&L responsibilities; Pixel is not a vanity project just to keep Android licensees honest. Google makes no money on Android directly, but it provides an installed base and consumer data that drives advertising in Search and AI. Google needs a flagship to compete directly with Apple, even more now that its Search agreement with Apple is under fire. While it is still more important for Google that the Android ecosystem has strong global partners like Samsung, Google also needs to ensure that its software and AI are available to consumers without OEM changes or additions. Along with enticing Samsung’s Galaxy Watches onto the WearOS platform, Pixel Watch is Google’s attempt to keep people in the Android ecosystem long-term; once someone buys an Apple Watch, moving them over to Android is nearly impossible.
For its tenth anniversary Pixel lineup, Google’s main challenge remains finding something that might break iPhone users out of Apple’s ecosystem. Within the Android ecosystem bar smartphones are fully mature, and Samsung has reinvented folding phones with its Galaxy Z Fold7. (Motorola’s 2025 razrs are also extremely impressive across a wide price band, but Google does not have a fold-smaller Pixel in its line.) Rather than make radical changes, Google is focusing on its strengths: photography and AI, plus magnets. This makes a stronger case against Apple – which lacks anything close to the Gemini-powered experiences of the Pixel 10 – than Samsung. That likely suits Google just fine. The Pixel Watch 3 got a bigger option; the Pixel Watch 4 keeps the two size options, updates the charger (again), and makes the display even prettier. WearOS needs more apps, but Google is taking the hardware in the right direction.
Google-provided press image of the Pixel 10 lineup, mostly in the boring colors. There are more blue, and even some yellow and green options, too!
AI
A slide Google shared ahead of launch confidently declared that the Pixel 10 has “the most advanced on-device AI on a phone.” I believe them. Pixel 10 runs Gemini nano on device with over 20 gen-AI experiences. Magic Cue is the first step towards getting a truly proactive agentic experience on-device; Google previewed this in the abstract at Google I/O, and now it is starting to bring some of these capabilities to market. Call an airline and Gemini pulls up your flight information. Text a friend about a lunch meeting and Gemini brings up your past discussions or your calendar. Mention the cute thing your dog did, and Gemini might pull up the photo you took of it in case you want to share. Gemini does this by remembering past interactions, and (with your permission) accesses your Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, Keep Notes, and screen shots and uses this context to provide contextual suggestions based on what you’re doing. You can always delete information and tell Gemini to stop doing this, and if Gemini can’t find anything to magically cue you with, it won’t bother you. You can also opt into showing Gemini your screen for Chrome, but this information is not stored on the phone. There are obviously lots of limitations – if you use Outlook for your calendar, you’re out of luck, at least for now. A year of Google AI Pro is included with each Pixel purchase.
Daily Hub is Google’s version of Samsung’s Now Brief: a concise, personalized summary of your meetings, the weather, and even things like bills due. As with Magic Cue, this only works if you actually get bills in your Gmail account and are willing to give Gemini free reign to read them.
Other AI magic includes voice translation in the Phone app that speaks in a foreign language in something that sounds awfully close to your own voice. Pixel can Take a Message for call screening. NotebookLM is now integrated with Recorder, enabling all kinds of transcription, translation, and summarization. The camera has an Auto Best Take mode which might finally get a shot of my family with [family member]’s eyes open while everyone is smiling. There are many more, including Pixel Screenshots (a variant on AI screenshot tools we’ve seen from many OEMs), AI Voice Writing Tools, Ask Photos (edit photos by asking AI to fix specific problems), and Camera Coach that helps you frame shots better. There’s even an accessibility mode called Guided Frame for people with low vision. I have said it before: accessibility is the best use of technology.
Camera
Google has focused on computational photography as a key Pixel attribute. Consumers do care deeply about the imaging performance of their phones, although at the premium level it can be hard to spot meaningful differences. Google is claiming that the Pixel 10 Pro has the best video stabilization on any phone; we’ll see once we get review units. Another thing that is relatively easy to discern is the quality of long zoom shots. Even the base Pixel 10 and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold(!) get at 10.8 MP 5x optical telephoto lens with “up to 10x optical quality,” at a price point where rivals have 3x optical zoom or less. The Pixel 10 Pro also has a 5x optical lens “plus 10x Optical Quality” in front of a 48 MP sensor.
Silicon
Google has been designing its own Tensor silicon since the Pixel 6. This theoretically should give Google the ability to dial in an NPU exactly as large as it needs to run custom AI models while balancing performance and battery life. Practically, Tensor probably has saved Google money, but hasn’t been fully competitive on performance per watt – or heat – with Apple Silicon, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, or MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000 series. We’ll see if the new Tensor G5 will change that. It has a 60% more powerful TPU than G4 for AI, a 34% faster CPU than the last generation, and an upgraded ISP. Google isn’t providing efficiency numbers, but it is claiming very long battery life.
Qi2
The Wireless Power Consortium announced the Qi2 wireless charging standard in early 2023 with full support from Apple, enabling cross-compatibility between Apple MagSafe and Qi2 products. I don’t know why it has taken so long for Android manufacturers to get on board with Qi2 – the ability to tap into Apple’s enormous MagSafe ecosystem of chargers and devices is a gift Apple rarely gives. HMD was the lone exception with the Skyline, and that phone was not offered globally. The only explanation OEMs have offered me is that “phones are challenging environment for magnets.” I’ll allow that for super-thin phones that really can’t spare the space, but as an engineering excuse it’s really weak. In any case, the Pixel 10 family is the first to include Qi2 on all models, including Google’s foldable. Following Apple’s lead in branding everything, Google is calling its implementation of Qi2 “Pixelsnap.” The Pixel 10 Pro XL also supports the fastest 25W charging mode. On its own, Pixelsnap will not be a deciding sales factor except among tech reviewers, but it adds to the overall value.
Odds and Ends
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the first foldable with an IP68 rating for dust. It gains 1mm in thickness, possibly to fit Qi2 magnets in there. Google is introducing new software capabilities that take advantage of the larger inner screen real estate. You can now drag and drop in split screen mode, which I anticipate will be extremely useful. There is a new Instant View in Camera that shows you your recent pictures alongside the viewfinder so you can see what shots you already got – and what you still need to take. Finally, there are a handful of games with dual-screen game controller modes, starting with Asphalt Legends and Disney Speedstorm.
Google supports Pixels for 7 years of OS, feature, and security updates.
Apple and Samsung have long had extensive service networks, so Google is rolling out (added cost) Pixel Care+ which includes a Nationwide repair network in the U.S., $0 screen and battery repairs, protection against loss and theft, and more.
Google is following a welcome trend started by Motorola of offering actual colors this time around, including a nice saturated blue Indigo and a happy yellowish-green Lemongrass and slightly greener Jade. Boring shades of gray (Obsidian and Moonstone) and off-white (Frost and Porcelain) are available for those without imagination.
Pixel Watch 4
Google’s Pixel Watch has always been unapologetically minimalist: a round black circle on top of a silver aluminum circle on bottom. The Pixel Watch 4 leans further into this aesthetic by shriking the bezel by 16% and curving the top glass with a domed display. Google is branding this an “Actua 360 Display,” and if the actual watch is anywhere near as breathtaking as the photos it shared with me ahead of launch this is going to be a treat. Design is important: watches are fashion objects, not just a way to track your sleep and health.
Google is implementing the Dual-Chip Compute Architecture that combines a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ with a low power CPU for most background tasks. OnePlus has proven this works since the OnePlus Watch 2 with even better results on the OnePlus Watch 3 and 3r. Google is claiming that the Pixel Watch 4 has 25% better battery life than the Pixel Watch 3, with 30 hours on the 41mm, 40 hours on the 45mm, and 2 or 3 days in Battery Saver Mode. These are conservative battery claims and come nowhere near an “Ultra” watch from Apple or Samsung, but are still significant improvements that allow you to wear a charged Pixel Watch 4 to bed and still use it through an entire day.
Straps that worked on previous 41mm and 45mm Pixel Watches will still work on the new model, but Google changed the charging system. Again. It’s a slight improvement – you now put your watch in a vertical ‘display’ position while it charges. But I wish companies would use Apple’s magnetic charging system for watches; I have a number of MagSafe phone-and-watch bedside and travel chargers. The Pixel 10 can use the Qi2-compatible side of the charger, but not the Apple Watch side for the Pixel Watch 4.
The Pixel Watch 4 has dual-frequency GPS, more accurate sleep tracking, and several points of integration with other Google devices, apps, and services like home automation, Google TV remote control, Find My Phone, Nest Streaming, Google Payments, and more.
Of course there is an AI coach …and a subscription (to Fitbit Premium). While the Galaxy Watch8 was the first watch with Gemini, the Pixel Watch 4 debuts Raise to Talk to Gemini, which admittedly should be useful for pretending you are Dick Tracy*.
Finally, Google should be commended for something no other smartwatch manufacturer has managed: the Pixel Watch 4 is serviceable!
Competitive Landscape
At $800, the Pixel 10 is highly competitive, and if consumers can be convinced that its AI features are groundbreaking, it could entice some iPhone users to switch. We’ll have to see how the camera and silicon stacks up on the $1,000 Pixel 10 Pro and $1,200 Pixex Pro XL ($1200) but they will absolutely resonate with AI-centric Android enthusiasts. The $1,800 Pixel 10 Pro Fold has an advanced telephoto camera and presents a bigger canvas for AI features, but it still looks and feels like a folding phone, unlike Samsung’s regular phone that magically splits in half. As I write this ahead of launch, U.S. carriers and cable MVNOs are alerting me to planned deals that take up to $1,000 off the new Pixels (usually with trade-ins, over a 2 – 3 year timeframe).
The Pixel Watch 4 looks great in pictures and on-paper it should be a good option for Android users alongside Samsung’s highly capable Galaxy Watch8 and OnePlus’ somewhat more affordable Watch 3. I can’t wait to test the Pixel Watch 4, but I doubt that it will pull any Apple Watch users over to Android, and Google is missing a more rugged, larger battery Ultra watch in its lineup.
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*And I will pretend that people reading this report recognize that reference.