Technologies

The Google Pixel 10 Pro Might Have the Best Phone Display for Gaming

While lagging behind in other areas, Google’s flagship is a standout in showing gameplay.

Google launched its latest Pixel 10 series, including the standard model and the more powerful Pixel 10 Pro, back in September, offering iterative hardware upgrades and new AI features. But for those of us who love to burn through our battery life playing games on premium phones, there’s another concern: How is gaming on the Pixel 10 Pro?

As a flagship phone with the most powerful specs Google has ever put into a (nonfolding) phone, the Pixel 10 Pro exceeds the baseline expectations for a $999 phone. (As I write this, you can buy a Pixel 10 Pro for $799 — $200 off.) It has a sharp OLED display and high-performance specs, so it has little trouble playing the latest games.

But some of Google’s hardware choices make the Pixel 10 Pro limited in ways that the OnePlus 15 and iPhone 17 Pro are not — namely, in storage and charging. Google’s phone also has a lot to live up to with its gaming capabilities, as previous Pixel phones haven’t been known for their processing power and graphics rendering, regularly scoring lower on performance benchmarks than Apple’s and OnePlus’ flagship phones, which pack some of the most powerful processors available today. Ultimately, the Pixel 10 Pro isn’t quite the absolute best pick for gaming among the best phones you can buy today.

Yet there are a few ways the phone shines as bright as — if not literally brighter — than the best Android phones and iPhones. Its gaming aptitude adds value to an already powerful phone with standout photo and AI capabilities.

How it feels to play games on the Pixel 10 Pro

On a basic level, the Pixel 10 Pro is great for firing up games and playing to your heart’s content. Its design is easy to hold, with flat metallic sides and curved corners that fit my fingers nicely when I rotate the phone horizontally to play most games. When I want more analog control with buttons and triggers, the handset slides in securely to my Backbone One external controller.

Games on the Pixel 10 Pro are a sight to behold. Its 6.3-inch OLED display shows sharp details with its 2,856×1,280-pixel resolution, and colors are vivid with its HDR10 Plus support. Action is smooth with the screen’s 120Hz refresh rate, whether in slower platformers or fast-moving first-person shooters like Call of Duty: Mobile.

Best of all, its 3,300-nit maximum brightness makes the screen easily seen in full daylight and nearly lights up a room in full darkness. This makes hues really pop in vibrant games like Dead Cells — it’s a true leg up over other smartphones with screens that don’t get as bright. The latest premium phones have gotten similarly bright (the iPhone 17 Pro Max tops out at 3,000 nits), but even phones a year or two older are substantially dimmer, with my personal iPhone 15 Pro Max reaching up to 2,000 nits brightness.

The Pixel 10 Pro’s Tensor G5 chip may not have topped our charts in benchmark tests, falling more in line with performance from 2024’s flagships, but it’s plenty powerful enough to run the games I tested on it. The phone’s 16GB of RAM contributes to that smoothness: I cranked Genshin Impact up to its maximum graphics settings, and despite a warning that my phone might overheat (I didn’t notice it get that much warmer), it handled 60 frames per second gameplay just fine.

The phone’s other capabilities were fine for gaming, including serviceable speakers and a respectable battery life. The latter surprised me, as older Pixel phones seemed less efficient and drained faster than competing premium handsets — and indeed, the Pixel 10 Pro ranks below the top 10 phones with the best battery life released last year, according to our lengthy battery tests of 2025 phones. While playing games, the battery didn’t drain particularly quickly, losing around 2% for each 4-5 minute match in Call of Duty: Mobile.

The Pixel 10 Pro’s gaming challenges, and where it sits for us

The Pixel 10 Pro’s biggest gaming flaw is its storage. It’s pretty shocking to see it start at $1,000 yet only pack 128GB, while most other premium phones have bumped their starting storage up to 256GB for the exact same starting price.

When some mobile games can be 50GB or more, this is a paltry amount, which shrinks quickly for people who take a lot of photos and videos at high resolutions. As I was loading up games on my Pixel 10 Pro, I was shocked that I had run out of space to download graphical extras in Call of Duty: Mobile and had to go delete some videos I’d taken.

A lesser issue lies in keeping the phone charged up. The Pixel 10 Pro’s battery gets decent but not spectacular life, with a 4,870-mAh capacity that’s surpassed by many of its premium rivals, especially the 7,300-mAh OnePlus 15.

But topping off Google’s flagship phone takes time, as it has a maximum 30-watt wired charging speed or 15-watt wireless charging. That likely means it’ll take over an hour to get it back to full from 0%, which takes a lot longer than some of the faster-charging phones out there, like the OnePlus 15, which went from 1% to 73% in half an hour thanks to its 80-watt wired charge rate. Compare that to the Pixel 10 Pro, which added 44% in the same amount of time.

Read more: The OnePlus 15 Is One of the Best Mainstream Phones for Gamers

Unlike some other premium phones, the Pixel 10 Pro does have its own MagSafe-like magnets aligned in a circle on its rear cover, called Pixelsnap, which is convenient for wireless charging, even if it’s slow. Google phone fans can get faster charging with the Pixel 10 Pro XL, which supports 45-watt wired and 25-watt wireless charging, though they’ll have to pay more for the bigger phone.

Neither of these issues are huge setbacks that impede the Pixel 10 Pro’s gaming capability — there’s just nothing in its features that make it stand out above other premium phones, aside from its bright and vivid display. That’s not surprising, as Google’s phone excels in nongaming aspects, including AI photo features like Auto Best Take and Camera Coach.

If you’re a Pixel fan who also plays games, you’ll enjoy firing them up on the Pixel 10 Pro, which is a good all-around device. For those who want a phone with features that are specifically better for gaming, there are other handsets that’ll satisfy, like the OnePlus 15.

Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know