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
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
Nintendo’s Latest Updated Switch 2 Game Has Me Hungering for More
Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s Star-Crossed World DLC is fun and looks great, but there isn’t enough of it.
Although the Nintendo Switch 2 is only a few months old, new games, or at least updated ones, keep emerging at a steady, slow clip.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which was one of my favorite late-era Switch games, got an upgraded edition that’s available this week. The full title, Kirby and the Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World, is unwieldy in name, much like the recent Mario Party Jamboree upgrade. But I found this one a lot more worthwhile.
While you don’t get too much for an added cost, I’ve come to appreciate the entire game all over again. Existing Forgotten Land owners can pay $20 for the extra DLC.
Anyone else would have to pay $80 for the entire game with the extra story mode and upgraded graphics, which feels like an awful lot for a game that isn’t even new. However, spending $20 for the upgrade alone is worth it, especially if you’ve been hoping for improved Kirby graphics and the 12 new stages (only a fraction of what the rest of the game already has). It was a blast to play with my Kirby-loving 12-year-old.
Forgotten Land’s graphics and 3D-level design were already pushing the envelope for the original Switch, and the graphics boost on Switch 2 gives everything a smooth 60-frames-per-second performance and high-res look on big TVs. It’s a welcome remaster.
Read more: CNET’s Nintendo Switch 2 review
Star-Crossed World’s new story involves a mysterious meteor that’s covered the land in crystals. The new stages are basically altered versions of existing levels throughout the game, which play differently with new paths, secrets and «Starry» fragments you have to uncover.
There are a few new transforming shapes Kirby can suck up this time (Mouthful Mode, which is different from the standard enemy-power-absorbing abilities Kirby normally has, in case you’ve never played this game before). They’re all fun and kinetic, and I loved discovering what they could do. One of the most unique, a spinning gear, can stick to surfaces for some challenging wall-crawls.
The only downside to this new upgrade is that there isn’t more of it. I appreciate what’s there, and anyone with a Switch 2 who likes and owns the original game should give it a spin. Just be ready for a pleasant bonus extension rather than a whole new sprawling game, mainly so you’ll keep your expectations in check.
I’ve been discovering how much the Switch 2 makes me revisit older games as much as new exclusives. There’s a ton of territory Nintendo can mine for future upgrades to the Switch library. Forgotten Land follows the best template so far in bundling graphics and DLC extras, but I want even more.
Then again, with new games like Kirby Air Riders, Pokemon Legends Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 expected by the end of the year, there will be plenty of other games to lose time in.
Technologies
I Got My Hands on the Pixel 10: The Impressive Triple-Camera Setup Isn’t Its Only Wow Factor
Review: With a new telephoto camera, a bigger battery and a slew of integrated AI features, the $799 Pixel 10 is an enticing choice that nails the basics — and then some.
Our Experts
- Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal’s Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
Pros
- 5x telephoto camera
- Long-lasting battery
- Practical AI features like Magic Cue and Voice Translate
- Same $799 price tag as last year’s Pixel 9
Cons
- Some AI features are a work in progress
- Similar appearance to Pixel 9
The Google Pixel 10 stole the spotlight during my weekend trip to San Luis Obispo, California — and not just because of its eye-catching yellow-green design. As my friends and I marveled at the beachside cliffs, swanky mansions and swaying palm trees, we also gawked at the pictures I snapped at each zoom level, including 20x digital zoom — something I’d typically never dare to do for fear of grainy photos.
But far from grainy, the images of Barbie pink mansions and secluded coves came out much clearer and more vivid than I’d expected, thanks to Google’s Super Res Zoom feature, which uses AI to spruce up photos. This, paired with a standout main camera and a new 5x telephoto lens, makes the baseline Pixel a worthy choice for anyone who’s likely to choose a phone based on camera capabilities, even if it’s not as souped-up as the high-end Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL.
It’s not just the camera that helps the Pixel 10 stand out, but also its long-lasting battery and integrated AI features that make everything from tracking down your reservations to snapping a decent group photo much easier. I spent a week with Google’s latest baseline phone and was pleased with how effortlessly capable and reliable it is — which is exactly what a $799 device ultimately should be.
Pixel 10 look and durability
The Pixel 10 feels sturdy in my hand, with an aluminum frame and Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back. The phone comes in a fun range of colors: indigo, obsidian (black), frost (a light lavender-blue color) and lemongrass (a bright yellow-green). I got the lemongrass version, which looks bold without being too overpowering; the glass backing also gives it a pleasingly polished look and feel. The sides of the phone carry over a more subdued version of that green-ish tone for a more cohesive look.
The Pixel 10 has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning it can survive being submerged under 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes. I accidentally performed a drop test on concrete, though I thankfully had a matching green Pixelsnap case (more on that later), which protected the phone from scuffs and scratches, and I’m happy to report the screen did not crack.
The phone arrives with Android 16 and the new Material 3 Expressive design overhaul, which revamps the look and feel of apps like the clock, weather and phone. It adds a welcome playfulness and springiness across the phone’s functions, and lets you personalize everything from your phone’s contacts to the lock screen, making them even more fun and versatile. There’s a satisfying jiggle and haptic feedback when doing even mundane functions like swiping through open apps and adjusting the on-screen volume slider. The Pixel 10 comes with seven years of software and security updates.
Like the Pixel 9, this year’s model has a 6.3-inch OLED display with a 60-120Hz variable refresh rate. The Pixel 10’s 3,000-nit peak brightness makes it easy to see what’s on the screen even in direct sunlight. Being able to customize Quick Settings means I can instantly access commonly used functions like my mobile hotspot and Focus mode.
As for the camera bar, It’s about as obtrusive as previous Pixel phones and definitely commands attention, but that’s become the norm across many flagship devices. Slapping on a case helps to minimize that bump, but the ungainly protrusion is also the price you pay for great shots. Which leads us to the camera.
Pixel 10 cameras bring a triple-wow factor
The Pixel 10 Pro has a 48-megapixel wide-angle, 13-megapixel ultrawide and 10.8-megapixel 5x telephoto camera — a new addition to the baseline version and one that places the Pixel 10 on par with the similarly priced Samsung Galaxy S25 when it comes to camera hardware. There’s also a 10.5-megapixel front-facing camera.
There was no better place to test the telephoto lens for me than a garden, and it definitely delivered. The Pixel preserved details like the ombre pink petals of roses and the ridges of hydrangea leaves. The focus was nice and sharp.
Super Res Zoom comes in handy for punching in even closer. It’s certainly not comparable to an image taken at the lens’ native 5x optical zoom; looking closely, you’ll see an overall blurriness and lack of detail in the image. Punching in at 20x also pales in comparison to the 100x Pro Res Zoom feature on the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro XL. But I’m glad the baseline Pixel at least has something to offer in that realm for when you’d like a closer shot that doesn’t look totally muddled.
Portrait shots have long been my favorite camera feature on the Pixel lineup, and the Pixel 10 is no exception. This photo of my friend Raneem balances color, lighting and focus and has a nice smooth overtone.
Perhaps my favorite photo I took on the Pixel 10 is this one of a golden sunset, which balances highlights and shadows for a stunning result.
Low-light images are pretty solid, too. I snapped these photos of my friend Dana soon after the sun dipped beyond the horizon. The first one triggered Night Sight to brighten the overall image, which especially helps to showcase the pink skies and waves in the background. The second image was taken with Portrait mode and helps to make her the focus, even if the background gets darkened as a result. I appreciate what each setting has to offer.
I like to think of myself as a pretty decent photographer, but I swallowed my pride and took the new Camera Coach feature for a spin. This uses Gemini models to give you a step-by-step walkthrough of how to take a more impressive shot.
I had to carry on the Abrar tradition of photographing a teacup for this review, and Camera Coach walked me through how to take a more commanding image, prompting me to zoom in, position the cup slightly off-center and angle the camera to include less of the green couch in the background. Then I snapped the photo, and was pleased with the result. I think this is a great feature for anyone, but especially anyone who believes they’re not suited to take good photos — no more excuses for taking subpar pictures of someone! There are usually about four to five steps that take less than a minute to complete.
With the Pixel 10 series, Best Take becomes Auto Best Take. Snap a group photo and let AI create a merged photo where everyone is actually looking at the camera and smiling (before, you had to manually choose faces to combine across different shots). And you only have to tap the shutter button once, rather than making sure you’re taking multiple photos.
Add Me uses augmented reality and AI to layer two separate shots so everyone can seemingly be in one photo. The photographer can snap an image, then jump in frame and have someone else take a second picture that merges the two, so it looks like everyone was standing together. (Think of it as a real-time «Photoshop me in.»)
The feature now works on bigger group photos and also gets better at recognizing gestures for a more natural-looking image. For example, if Person A holds their arm out and Person B stands in front for the second shot, Add Me will now understand that arm should be moved to the back, rather than awkwardly splayed across someone’s torso. It’s still not perfect, though. This shot of me and CNET’s Patrick Holland has a cardboard-cutout quality to it that doesn’t make it quite as convincing as just taking a normal photo, but it’s still a neat feature for when no one’s around to take your group picture.
And if you’d like a good laugh, Add Me is a great way to clone someone, as we did here with Patrick, who is clearly having a very deep conversation with himself.
AI galore, with a lens for practicality
AI features are baked into just about everything on the Pixel 10. The phone is powered by a Tensor G5 chip, which runs the newest Gemini Nano model for on-device generative AI capabilities.
Voice Translate is certainly one of the most impressive generative AI features I’ve seen on a phone. If you’re on a call and the person on the other line is speaking in a different language, it’ll translate what that person is saying while mimicking the sound of their voice, rather than superimposing a robotic one.
I tried it out with CNET’s Vanessa Hand Orellana, and she agreed it did a decent job correctly translating the vast majority of what she was saying in Spanish into English — although it occasionally gave her an accent, despite her not having one when speaking English in real life. Voice Translate currently supports translations from English to Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, French, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian, Indonesian and Hindi.
Magic Cue is one of Google’s latest AI tricks. It’s designed to automatically suggest information and actions related to what you’re doing or saying. For instance, if someone texts you asking for the dinner reservation information for tonight, it’ll automatically surface those details for you to send, pulling from sources like your Calendar or Gmail. If you call your airline and have an upcoming flight, that booking information should also pop up.
It takes some time for Magic Cue to process all the information across your Google apps, so in my limited review window, I had a mix of successes and failures. It pulled up my flight information when a friend texted to ask for it and my Monday night dinner reservation when prompted, «Where was the dinner yesterday?», but it wasn’t able to surface my United booking when calling the airline, since I’d booked it a while back. It also struggled with some text message prompts like «What time is the meeting today,» sometimes simply showing a «View Calendar» popup and other times nothing at all. This should improve with time, and I’ll share more once it’s really up and running, but it’s one of the features I think could be most handy should it live up to Google’s promises.
Daily Hub gives an overview of upcoming events, a weather breakdown and recommended videos. It succinctly summarized my Tuesday by noting, «You have a content planning meeting and are watching Harry Potter later today.» I found the personalized recommendations to be much more useful than Samsung’s version of this, called the Now Brief, which, in my experience, consistently serves up articles that have nothing to do with my interests. Daily Hub, on the other hand, suggests Conan O’Brien YouTube videos and Taylor Swift playlists, offering a peek at just how well Google can get to know you through your use of its many services and platforms.
Pixel Studio is an example of a neat feature I’ll probably never use. You can prompt AI to generate whatever you’d like in an image; I swapped the view outside my window to a beach view that certainly doesn’t exist. I’m still not sure about the purpose of features like this, but it’s at least fun to play with and sure beats the billboard for cremation services that’s actually outside my apartment.
You’ll also find features that have essentially become staples on Android phones, like Gemini Live, which lets you have a back-and-forth conversation with the AI model, and Circle to Search, which can instantly pull up more information about anything on your screen with a couple of taps. I often use Circle to Search to find links to products I see and like on Instagram, for instance.
Overall, the Pixel 10’s AI features feel mostly practical and useful, and flex the power and convenience of Google’s ecosystem.
Battery life and storage
The Pixel 10 gets a battery boost to 4,970mAh, up from 4,700mAh on the Pixel 9. It’s an impressive capacity for a standard-size phone. (In comparison, the Galaxy S25 has a 4,000-mAh battery.) After a full day of texting, navigating, scrolling through TikTok, calling an Uber, sending emails and snapping pictures, my Pixel 10 dropped from full charge at 10:36 a.m. to 49% exactly 12 hours later.
In CNET’s 45-minute endurance test, which involves a combination of streaming, scrolling through social media, joining a video call and playing games, the Pixel 10’s battery went from full to 96%.
In a longer, 3-hour streaming test over Wi-Fi, in which I watched a YouTube video in full-screen mode at full brightness, the Pixel dropped from 100% to 82%.
The Pixel 10 supports 30-watt fast charging. In a 30-minute charging test, the phone went from 0% to 54%, and reached a full charge in 85 minutes.
The phone also supports Qi2 wireless charging. Magnets embedded in the Pixel make it easier to snap on wireless chargers, stands and other accessories as part of a system Google calls Pixelsnap — essentially its own take on the iPhone’s MagSafe connector. (And yes, MagSafe accessories are compatible with Pixelsnap.)
The Pixel 10 comes with 12GB of RAM and either 128GB ($799) or 256GB ($899) of storage.
Final thoughts: Should you buy the Pixel 10?
The Pixel 10 is a baseline phone that borrows from its pricier Pro counterparts by packing an impressive triple camera system, long-lasting battery and plenty of AI capabilities. I’m thrilled the price didn’t go up compared to last year’s model, but $799 is still a decent chunk of change. Thankfully, the Pixel 10 proves its value from a hardware and software standpoint, notably by baking in AI in a way that feels intuitive rather than overly flashy, even if there are still some hiccups.
Does that mean you should upgrade? If you have a Pixel 8 or 9, you’re probably fine holding onto your device for a few more years. But if you have an older phone, the AI integrations and upgrades across the camera, battery and processor may make the switch worthwhile.
The Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL are appealing options for photography enthusiasts and anyone looking for a slightly higher-end device. But for anyone wanting to save several hundred dollars, the Pixel 10 makes for a convincing choice with many of the same features and minimal compromises.
Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 9 vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Pixel 10 Pro vs. Pixel 10 Pro XL
| Google Pixel 10 | Google Pixel 9 | Samsung Galaxy S25 | Google Pixel 10 Pro | Google Pixel 10 Pro XL | |
| Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate | 6.3-inch OLED; 2,424×1,080 pixels; 60 to 120 Hz variable refresh rate | 6.3-inch OLED; 2,424×1,080 pixels; 60-120 Hz variable refresh rate | 6.2-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate | 6.3-inch LTPO OLED; 2,856×1,280 pixels; 1 to 120Hz variable refresh rate | 6.8-inch LTPO OLED; 2,992×1,344 pixels; 1 to 120Hz variable refresh rate |
| Pixel density | 422 ppi | 422 ppi | 416 ppi | 495 ppi | 486 ppi |
| Dimensions (inches) | 6 x 2.8 x 0.3 in | 6 x 2.8 x 0.3 in | 5.78 x 2.78 x 0.28 in. | 6 x 2.8 x 0.3 in | 6.4 x 3 x 0.3 in |
| Dimensions (millimeters) | 152.8 x 72 x 8.5 mm | 152.8 x 72 x 8.5 mm | 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 mm | 152.8 x 72 x 8.5 mm | 162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5 mm |
| Weight (grams, ounces) | 204 g (7.2 oz) | 198g (7 oz) | 162g (5.71 oz.) | 207 g (7.3 oz) | 232 g (8.2 oz) |
| Mobile software | Android 16 | Android 14 | Android 15 | Android 16 | Android 16 |
| Camera | 48-megapixel (wide), 13-megapixel (ultrawide), 10.8-megapixel (5x telephoto) | 50-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide) | 50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto) | 50-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 48-megapixel (5x telephoto) | 50-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 48-megapixel (5x telephoto) |
| Front-facing camera | 10.5-megapixel | 10.5-megapixel | 12-megapixel | 42-megapixel | 42-megapixel |
| Video capture | 4K | 4K | 8K | 8K | 8K |
| Processor | Google Tensor G5 | Google Tensor G4 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy | Google Tensor G5 | Google Tensor G5 |
| RAM + storage | 12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB | 12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB | 12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB | 16GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 16GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Expandable storage | None | None | None | None | None |
| Battery | 4,970 mAh | 4,700 mAh | 4,000 mAh | 4,870 mAh | 5,200 mAh |
| Fingerprint sensor | Under display | Under display | Under display | Under display | Under display |
| Connector | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C |
| Headphone jack | None | None | None | None | None |
| Special features | Gorilla Glass 2 Victus cover glass; 3,000 nits peak brightness; Satellite SOS; Dual-eSIM; Wi-Fi 6E; NFC; Bluetooth 6; 30W fast charging (wall charger not included); Qi2 15W wireless charging; support for PixelSnap magnetic accessories; Google VPN; Super Res Zoom up to 20x; Camera Coach; Add Me; Macro mode; Face Unblur; Auto Best Take; IP68 rating for dust and water resistance; 7 years of OS, security, and Pixel Drop updates; Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 polished back with satin finish aluminum frame | Satellite SOS; 7 years of OS, security and Pixel feature drops; Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover glass; IP68 dust and water resistance; 2,700-nit peak brightness; 27W fast charging (charger not included); 15W wireless charging with Google Pixel Stand (second gen); 12W wireless Qi-charging; Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7; NFC; Bluetooth 5.3; dual-SIM (eSIM + nano SIM); Add Me; Best Take; Magic Eraser; Magic Editor | 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7 | Gorilla Glass 2 Victus cover glass; 3,300 nits peak brightness; Satellite SOS; Dual-eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; NFC; Bluetooth 6; 30W fast charging (wall charger not included); Qi2 15W wireless charging; support for PixelSnap magnetic accessories; Google VPN; Pro Res zoom up to 100x; Camera Coach; Add Me; Macro mode; Face Unblur; Auto Best Take; High-Res Portrait mode; IP68 rating for dust and water resistance; 7 years of OS, security, and Pixel Drop updates; Corning Gorilla GlassVictus 2 silky matte back with polished finish aluminum frame; ultrawideband chip | Gorilla Glass 2 Victus cover glass; 3,300 nits peak brightness; Satellite SOS; Dual-eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; NFC; Bluetooth 6; 45W fast charging (wall charger not included); Qi2.2 25W wireless charging; support for PixelSnap magnetic accessories; Google VPN; Pro Res zoom up to 100x; Camera Coach; Add Me; Macro mode; Face Unblur; Auto Best Take; High-Res Portrait mode; IP68 rating for dust and water resistance; 7 years of OS, security, and Pixel Drop updates; Corning Gorilla GlassVictus 2 silky matte back with polished finish aluminum frame; ultrawideband chip |
| US price starts at | $799 (128GB) | $799 (128GB) | $800 (128GB) | $999 (128GB) | $1,199 (256GB) |
| UK price starts at | TBD | Converts to £640 (128GB) | £799 (128GB) | TBD | TBD |
| Australia price starts at | TBD | Converts to AU$1,210 (128GB) | AU$1,399 (256GB) | TBD | TBD |
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Technologies
Anthropic Warns of New ‘Vibe Hacking’ Attacks That Use Claude AI
In its Threat Intelligence Report, Anthropic lists a highly scalable form of extortion scheme as one of the top emerging AI security threats.
Anthropic, the company behind the popular AI model Claude, said in a new Threat Intelligence report that it disrupted a «vibe hacking» extortion scheme. In the report, the company detailed how the attack was carried out, allowing hackers to scale up a mass attack against 17 targets, including entities in government, healthcare, emergency services and religious organizations.
(You can read the full report in this PDF file.)
Anthropic says that its Claude AI technology was used as both a «technical consultant and active operator, enabling attacks that would be more difficult and time-consuming for individual actors to execute manually.» Claude was used to «automate reconnaissance, credential harvesting, and network penetration at scale,» the report said.
Making the findings more disturbing is that so-called vibe hacking was considered a future threat, with some experts believing it was not yet possible. What Anthropic shared in its report may represent a major shift in how AI models and agents are used to scale up massive cyberattacks, ransomware schemes or extortion scams.
Separately, Anthropic has also recently been dealing with other AI issues, namely settling a lawsuit by authors claiming Claude was trained on their copyrighted materials. Another company, Perplexity, has been dealing with its own security issues as its Comet AI browser was shown to have a major vulnerability.
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