Technologies

I’ve Spent Days Testing the Pixel 10 Pro XL and It’s Quite the Android Phone

From gaming and the camera to new AI skills and the battery, I’ve been putting Google’s new flagship phone through its paces.

I’d already spent a lot of time with the Pixel 10 Pro XL in Paris — including extensively testing its camera — so there was a lot I already liked about it. I’m keen on the design, the display is vibrant and bright enough to use under the midday Paris sunshine and the camera is capable of taking some really great-looking images.

Now that I have Google’s new flagship phone in my hand I’ve been able to dive deeper, playing games, using the new AI tools and generally finding out what this phone is really like to live with. It’s too early still for a full, rated review, so here I wanted to give some of my initial thoughts and impressions from the time I’ve spent with it.

You can still read my full hands-on article, as well as watch my video above where I put the camera to the test. And if you’re interested in the cheaper base Pixel 10, you can read about that here.

So, let’s dive in.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source on Chrome.

Capable Tensor G5 processor

I couldn’t really use the phone beyond the camera in my first round of testing so I was excited to finally be able to boot it up and see how it handles. It packs Google’s latest Tensor G5 processor, along with 16GB of RAM. The company has made various boasts about this chip’s performance increases over its predecessors.

I’m yet to run our usual suite of benchmark tools on the phone — Google seems to block them in the Play Store during testing periods, which is unhelpful — so my observations are more anecdotal. But it certainly seems like a nippy piece of kit. Swiping around the Android 16 interface is swift and lag-free. Apps, including the camera, open quickly.

It handles gaming well, with Genshin Impact and PUBG playing smoothly at high graphics settings. It also feels faster when generating AI images in Pixel Studio (more on that later). The one area I noticed any kind of slowdown is when shooting 50-megapixel images. When you first open the camera you can take up to three images in quick succession, but then the shutter button becomes inactive for a few seconds while it saves those shots.

The Pixel 10 Pro XL Goes to Paris: Out of Hundreds of Photos, These Are My Favs

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Burst-firing high resolution shots is arguably a niche use case but it does hint that the processor will still struggle with some demanding tasks. Google’s Tensor chips have never been about straight-line speed though and I don’t expect it to be a rival for Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite on benchmark tools. What it does is provide a solid overall experience with enough power for everyday tasks, while also being tailored more toward on-device AI processing. Speaking of which…

Upgraded AI tools

The Pixel 10 range is packed with various new AI tools, while existing ones — like Gemini Advanced — are more capable than ever. The generative AI image creator, Pixel Studio, launched last year on the Pixel 9 range. While it was fun, its images were often a bit rough. The improvement this year is vast, with higher quality images and an overall better understanding of prompts.

It’ll also generate pictures of people as well as include accurate text within the image, two things it certainly couldn’t do before. There are also various new styles to choose from, including a claymation look, a stained glass style and a traditional Japanese ukiyo-e style that I absolutely love. It’s great fun playing around with the tool, and while for many it might just be a fun novelty, it could also be a genuinely useful tool to help play with ideas for creative projects.

A few things I did notice about it though: A prompt that simply includes the word «phone» will almost always result in an iPhone. While it can create a near photorealistic rendering of an iPhone, ask the Pixel to create a Pixel phone and it’ll invariably get it wrong. Turns out, Google’s AI is extremely iPhone-focused. I also found it weirdly obsessed with Hasselblad, putting the logo on people’s clothes and putting a Hasselblad camera into scenes without any prompting from me.

More troubling though is the AI’s lack of representation of people of color. Using generic terms like «man» or «woman» almost always resulted in images of white people, with none of the images created in my whole testing time showing darker skin tones. This isn’t unique to Google’s phones; AI’s racial bias has been notable for many years now, with most chatbots displaying some kind of bias whether overt or otherwise.

CNET contacted Google for comment on this issue and it responded: «Pixel Studio employs rigorous design, testing, monitoring and safeguards that follow Google-wide policies. Pixel Studio uses the latest state-of-the-art models from Gemini and follows the same safety guidelines that are used by Gemini to mitigate unintended or harmful outcomes and avoid unfair bias. Google is committed to continually evolve our products in the space of responsible AI to ensure fair representation for all.»

The AI extends deeper into the phone, with tools like Magic Cue designed to automatically surface relevant information from you during a conversation, so you don’t have to go searching for it yourself. It’ll scrape information from Gmail, the Google Messages app, Google Calendar, Contacts and Keep Notes, and you’ll need to provide permission for Magic Cue to access your information.

I’m yet to fully use the tool, but my colleagues have and found it works sometimes — although it seems inconsistent in when it surfaces information. Why have I not used it much? Because it works only with certain Google apps, and I’ve rarely used them before now. I’m mostly an iPhone user, and my social world exists largely in messaging apps like WhatsApp or Instagram messaging. I never even use Apple’s own iMessage. As a result, setting up the Pixel from scratch means not having any existing data for it to pull from, and if like me, you don’t really live in Google’s app ecosystem, then Magic Cue will be of limited use.

You’ll find other existing AI tools on board like Gemini Live and Circle to Search, along with a new voice recording tool that creates AI soundtracks to play over the top of your recordings. Honestly, I don’t see what the point is. I’ve never felt I needed a «rainy-day blues» vibe playing over a voice memo about an article idea and I don’t think it’s going to transform the way I work.

Gemini Live now allows you to share your screen to be able to ask questions about what you’re looking at. Sometimes it works, other times it’s weirdly inaccurate. While my app drawer was open I asked it, «Which is the PUBG Mobile app?» and Gemini acknowledged that it could see it, but then inaccurately told me its location and described it as «a desert scene with a vehicle,» when it’s actually a person in a helmet against a bright blue sky. A total failure.

I asked it about several apps (including the calculator) and it got some element wrong every time — either the app icon’s location within the screen or the description of the icon itself. However, when I opened the camera, showed it a SanDisk SSD and asked, «What is this?» it gave me a perfect answer. I would continue to fact-check your AI results.

Pixel 10 Pro XL cameras tested in Edinburgh

I took hundreds of photos with the Pixel 10 Pro XL in Paris, and I was really pleased with how it captured the exposure and colors on the bright sunny day. In a slightly more overcast Edinburgh, however, I’m not quite as thrilled with the results. I had a few friends come to visit and while doing some filming on the Royal Mile we also decided to hit a few pubs throughout the afternoon and I took the phone along for the ride.

This shot of this chap having a little snooze is solid, with great details and exposure.

This ultrawide shot of my friend filming has a decent exposure, but the details when you zoom in are a little mushy.

It’s the same here, with a noticeable amount of oversharpening giving the scene a crunchy look, which I don’t love.

This portrait mode shot of my friend is spot on though, with a lovely natural bokeh.

And this image of a dog is pin-sharp.

At 5x zoom, this shot of this man outside a pub looks great.

But this guy carrying an Eevee plushie definitely looks overprocessed, with oversharpened details that I’m not keen on.

Taken with the regular camera, this scene is well exposed, with the statue on top of the far building being barely noticeable.

Zooming in to 10x brings the statue much more into view, with reasonably sharp details.

At 30x the phone uses AI to upscale the image, although I don’t think it’s done a good job here — it may even have missed focus as it looks really quite blurry.

But weirdly at 100x it looks far better, with even texture details visible on the statue. It’s a remarkable image, and I did not expect to get a clean shot like this at 100x zoom.

In this very low light indoor bar, the phone did a solid job of our cheers with some old-school Hooch. Details are a little mushy, but that’s to be expected.

Taken with the main camera using the Pixel’s Night Sight, this night time scene is bright and detailed with little image noise throughout.

Switching to the ultrawide camera there’s again a decent amount of detail throughout.

This shot is captured well enough, but I noticed there was again quite a lot of crunchy-looking details from the over-zealous image processing.

So I also shot this photo in raw and did my own editing in Adobe Lightroom. Apart from adjusting the exposure and colors, I was also less heavy-handed when it came to sharpening and clarity, and I think it’s a nicer-looking shot as a result.

Reasonable battery life

I’ve put the phone through one round of our demanding video streaming battery drain test. After the first hour it had dropped from full to 94%, to 86% by the second hour and to 76% after three hours of streaming. I’d call that result OK at best. It’s in line with the OnePlus 13 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, while phones like the Galaxy S25 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro both had well over 80% remaining after the third hour.

It’s a very demanding test, though, and in everyday use I’ve found it decent enough. It certainly holds its charge well when not in use, and after 45 minutes of playing Genshin Impact it only dropped by around 7%. Battery life is absolutely an area I want to investigate further before I’m ready to slap on a score.

Pixel 10 Pro XL: Is it still a good phone to buy?

When I first wrote about the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL I said they were «shaping up to be superb flagship Android phones.» I stand by that. They look great, the cameras can certainly take some awesome images and the new AI tools are interesting and only going to get better over time.

You shouldn’t buy this phone if you already own a Pixel 9 Pro or maybe even an 8 Pro. The hardware upgrades are arguably quite minimal and some of the AI prowess of the 10 Pro series will be shared with earlier Pixel models with updates.

You also shouldn’t look towards this phone if you’re a power gamer, wanting the ultimate handheld console-like experience. While I haven’t benchmarked the processor, its overall performance feels good, but not overwhelmingly potent. It certainly can handle games and if you’re more of a casual gamer wanting to bash a few pixels around on your daily commute, it’ll be more than sufficient.

I’m looking forward to spending more time with the phone over the coming days and weeks. Some tools — like Magic Cue — will only reveal their true usefulness over time, so this is a phone I’m keen to really get to know. But it’s certainly starting out well.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 20, #392

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 20, No. 392.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has a category for all the Windy City residents out there. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Deep-dish pizza, anyone?

Green group hint: Duke it out.

Blue group hint: College division.

Purple group hint: «Go to your ____!»

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Chicago teams.

Green group: With «weight,» combat sport divisions.

Blue group: American Conference teams.

Purple group: ____ room.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Chicago teams. The four answers are Bears, Bulls, Cubs and Sky.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is with «weight,» combat sport divisions. The four answers are bantam, feather, fly and heavy.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is American Conference teams. The four answers are Blazers, Chanticleers, Green Wave and Pirates.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ room. The four answers are dressing, film, green and locker.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 20, #862

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Oct. 20, No. 862.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a tricky purple category, but that almost always goes without saying. If you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What’s the matter?

Green group hint: Stars at night.

Blue group hint: Science info.

Purple group hint: On the cob.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Affliction.

Green group: Represented by constellations.

Blue group: Periodic table symbols.

Purple group: ____ corn.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is affliction. The four answers are bugbear, complex, demon and hang-up.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is represented by constellations. The four answers are big bear, centaur, hunter and lyre.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is periodic table symbols. The four answers are AS, BE, I and K.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ corn. The four answers are a, capri, pop and uni. (Acorn, Capricorn, popcorn and unicorn.)

Technologies

AirPods 3 vs. AirPods 4: Should You Upgrade?

Not only do the entry-level version of Apple’s AirPods 4 offer feature and performance upgrades over the AirPods 3, but the step-up AirPods 4 with ANC feature active noise canceling. We compare all three models.

Editor’s note Oct. 18: We updated this article to reflect the release of the AirPods Pro 3.

Apple’s fourth generation of its original true-wireless earbuds follows the same design language as their predecessors but adds a bunch of new features — some borrowed straight from the more expensive AirPods Pro 2, which have now been succeeded by the AirPods Pro 3. The AirPods 4 remain Apple’s only earbuds to launch in two variants: a $129 entry-level model and a $179 AirPods 4 with ANC, both of which are often discounted on Amazon.

I’ve been using the step-up $179 version, and I’m surprised by how good the ANC is for an open-ear design, agreeing with CNET audio expert David Carnoy, who called it «the best noise canceling I’ve experienced with a set of open earbuds» in his full review of the AirPod 4 with Active Noise Canceling. If you’re an AirPods 3 user and wondering how the AirPods 4 stack up against your current model, read on as I explore the key differences between these two earbuds. And for those considering upgrading from the AirPods Pro 2 to the AirPods Pro 3, we have an article that compares those two models and offers some buying advice.

Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025

AirPods 4 feature an improved design

The AirPods 4 are slightly smaller than the AirPods 3 but larger than the AirPods 2. Each earbud weighs the same 4.3 grams, so any added or upgraded tech doesn’t translate into extra bulk on your ears. While all ears are shaped differently, Apple hopes the new design is a better fit for a wider range of people.

They fit me better than the AirPods 3, but I couldn’t get them to fit as well as silicone tip earbuds. However, if an open-ear design has worked better for you in the past, these should fit just fine — or even better. I have friends who’ve upgraded to the AirPods 4, and they say the new product fits them better.

The AirPods 3 are IPX4-rated for sweat and splash resistance. In comparison, the AirPods 4 are more durable. They are rated for dust resistance alongside sweat and splash resistance, with an IP54 rating.

The two AirPods 4 models have noticeable differences among themselves, too. The $179 variant supports charging with a Qi charging pad and the Apple Watch charging puck. So, if you have an Apple Watch and prefer your AirPods to charge with the same puck, you’ll need to spend $50 more than the base asking price. If you do, you also get a speaker in the case — like the AirPods Pro 2, so you can track them with sound using Find My.

Unlike the AirPods 3, there’s no physical button on the AirPods 4 charging case anymore. If you want to pair them to non-Apple devices, you need to double-tap on the front of the case near the LED to initiate pairing (that’s also the case for the AirPods Pro 3). Similarly, a reset can be initiated by three double-taps.

Upgraded H2 chip offers better sound quality

Apple’s new upgrades are threefold to improve the sound quality on the AirPods 4. First, they feature an upgraded H2 chip with Bluetooth 5.3, compared to the H1 chip with Bluetooth 5.0 found on the AirPods 3. Second, they have a new acoustic architecture and amp. Third, the drivers are positioned at a new angle to point into your ears.

When compared, the AirPods 4 have slightly improved treble and bass over the AirPods 3. They sound a little cleaner, and there’s more depth and fullness across genres. It’s not AirPods Pro 2 quality, but it’s better than before. The sound quality gap between non-Pro and Pro models has shrunk.

There is no ANC on AirPods 3, but the $179 AirPods 4 with ANC adds the active noise cancelation feature to Apple’s most affordable earbuds lineup. They have the same number of microphones as the AirPods Pro 2 to enable ANC and a few other features.

In his AirPods 4 review, David Carnoy was «really impressed with the noise canceling. The reality is that it’s not that great compared with what you get with the AirPods Pro 2 [and now the AirPods Pro 3] … but that it works at all and is reasonably effective is kind of wild.»

On most open earbuds, you can’t really hear a difference between ANC on and off modes. But the new AirPods 4 with ANC can muffle the ambient sound around you to a certain degree. Apple says their noise canceling matches that of the original AirPods Pro and is half as good as the AirPods Pro 2’s noise canceling (that means it’s only 25% as good as the AirPods Pro 3’s noise canceling, which is 2X as good as the AirPods Pro 2’s noise canceling, according to Apple). That said, it’s strong enough to help you hear your music better in noisy environments. It can drown out low frequencies like plane engine noise very well.

Added features and upgraded controls

The AirPods 4 with ANC add a bunch of new features for the same price as what the AirPods 3 once cost. The additional microphones not only enable ANC but also convenience features like Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness.

The latter works like Sony’s Speak-to-Chat feature; it pauses the music and enables transparency mode as soon as it detects that you’re speaking. If you like to sing along to songs, it’s better to keep it turned off. That said, it’s a neat feature that lets you have conversations without physically taking off your earbuds.

Both AirPods 3 and AirPods 4 (including the ANC variant) support personalized spatial audio (with head tracking) for music, quick pairing, auto-switching for Apple devices, and always-on Siri. The AirPods 4 can trigger Siri with both «Siri» and «Hey Siri» wake words, whereas AirPods 3 support only «Hey Siri.»

You can spend $50 less on the AirPods 4 and get several new features over the AirPods 3. Both AirPods 4 models have new force sensors in the stems with pinch controls to control playback. However, there’s no swipe gesture support yet.

Both of them also support Siri Interactions, where you can interact with Siri using gestures. For instance, when you receive a call, Siri will announce the caller’s name and ask if you want to answer the call. You can then nod your head for yes or shake it for no to answer or decline the call, respectively.

All of these features come with one slight compromise — battery life. The AirPods 3 are rated to deliver six hours of continuous listening on one charge, while the new AirPods 4 are rated to last up to five hours per charge. The case still delivers the same 30 hours of additional battery life, despite being smaller than before.

AirPods 3 vs. AirPods 4: It’s time to upgrade

If you’re in the market for a new pair of open earbuds, the AirPods 4 are an excellent choice — even if you have the last-gen AirPods 3. You get better sound quality with the H2 chip, a smaller case, more features like Siri Interactions and dust resistance, all for $50 less than the AirPods 3’s $179 launch price. However, they leave off wireless charging and only top up via the USB-C port.

The $179 AirPods 4 with ANC currently offer the best noise cancellation in a pair of open earbuds. Plus, you get additional features like Qi wireless charging (you can also charge them on an Apple Watch charging puck), a speaker inside the case for Find My, Conversation Awareness, Adaptive Audio and more. Both AirPods 4 models are a good upgrade over the AirPods 3, despite the slightly lower battery life.

Read more: Best AirPods deals right now

AirPods 3 vs. AirPods 4 spec comparison

	AirPods 3	AirPods 4	AirPods 4 with ANC
Weight (each earbud)	0.15 ounce (4.28 grams)	0.15 ounce (4.3 grams)	0.15 ounce (4.3 grams)
Weight (case)	1.34 ounces (37.91 grams)	1.14 ounces (32.3 grams)	1.22 ounces (34.7 grams)
Water resistant	IPX4	IP54	IP54
Sensors	Skin-detect sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor	Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor	Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor
Microphones	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone
Chip	H1	H2	H2
Conectivity	Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.3
Active Noise Cancelation, Transparency mode	No	No	Yes
Conversation Awareness, Adaptive Audio	No	No	Yes
Voice Isolation, Personalized volume	No	Yes	Yes
Battery life	Up to 6 hours +30 hours with case	Up to 5 hours +30 hours with case	Up to 5 hours +30 hours with case
Wire in box	Yes	No	No
Launch Price	$179	$129	$179

AirPods 3 vs. AirPods 4: FAQs

Which AirPods are better, 3 or 4?

The AirPods 4 are better in terms of both sound quality and features. You get an upgraded H2 chip for cleaner sound, upgraded force touch controls, a new model with the best ANC on open earbuds, and features like Conversation Awareness, Adaptive Audio, etc. The AirPods 4 are objectively better than the AirPods 3.

Are the new AirPods 4 worth it?

If you’re looking for open earbuds, both the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC are easily among the top open earbuds. At their list prices, they’re a little pricey, but they go on sale fairly regularly on Amazon, where you can save $10 to $20 on them, sometimes a little more.

Which version of AirPods is best?

The AirPods Pro 3 are Apple’s current flagship model and are the best AirPods overall. They offer excellent sound quality and top-notch ANC performance for under $250. That said, if you don’t like having silicone ear tips jammed in yours, the AirPods 4 with ANC are your best bet right now. You can find more options in our Best AirPods for 2025 guide.