Google Pixel 10 Pro XL – Review

Amidst the competitive smartphone market, the Google Pixel series has always made its mark as a competent all-rounder, balancing its clean, user-friendly UI with a powerful software-enhanced camera. On top of the hardware, there is seamless integration with Google’s ecosystem, alongside its proprietary AI assistant Gemini, all while maintaining a more approachable price point compared to its competitors.

Its latest-generation additions, the Google Pixel 10 lineup, continue in this tradition, offering a larger emphasis on AI integration this time around. Like its predecessor, the series comes in three editions – a base model and two Pro iterations, with the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL leading the charge as the beefiest brother of the trio. 

Adopting the same updated design of the Google Pixel 9 series, the Pixel 10 Pro XL features the return of a pill-shaped cutout for its rear camera module in favour of the previous edge-to-edge bar. Elsewhere, the device is virtually identical in design to its predecessor, bar slight adjustments to the location of its SIM card tray, which now sits at the top of the device in favour of having a dual speaker setup at the bottom alongside its USB-C port, which is much more practical compared to the previous iteration’s single bottom speaker setup.

Weighing in slightly heavier than its previous counterpart at 232g, which makes it 5g heavier than the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Despite the increase, the device retains its comfort in the hand due to its similar bottom-heavy design to the Pixel 9, and also comes with a matching case for extra grip, which is always nice to see.

In terms of hardware and performance, the Pixel 10 Pro XL packs an upgraded Google Tensor G5 processor alongside an Imagination DXT-48-1536 GPU. Its screen, however, remains mostly the same as the previous iteration, boasting the same 6.8-inch (2,992 x 1,344 resolution) Super Actua LTPO OLED display capable of outputting a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, but now at a higher peak brightness of 3,300 nits.

Much like the Pixel 9 Pro XL, this newest iteration offers an enjoyable viewing experience with deep blacks, strong contrast, and smooth visuals, but on the other hand, it also retains the same annoyances, such as its overly reflective nature and lack of anti-glare technology, meaning trying to read what’s on screen while under direct sunlight will prove a frustrating affair.

When it comes to performance, the Pixel 10 Pro XL offers a smooth experience during day-to-day usage, like texting, swapping between apps, binge-watching shows on Netflix, or scrolling through social media. Putting the device through its paces with higher intensity use, like gaming, performance unfortunately isn’t as great compared to recent flagship smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 or the Xiaomi 15 Ultra.

Where the Pixel 10 Pro XL shines, however, is in its thermal management, as even under extreme loads, like when playing graphically intensive titles like Zenless Zone Zero or Wuthering Waves, the phone maintained some of the lowest temperatures when compared to similar devices on the market.

Battery life is another positive point, too, as the device now packs an upgraded 5,200mAh cell, allowing it to power through a typical day of use effortlessly. The only downside, however, is that the phone once again doesn’t come packaged with a fast-charging cable, only a USB-C 2.0. For those looking to minimise wires and clutter, the phone is also compatible with Google’s proprietary Pixelsnap wireless charging, although only those that are Qi2.2-certified.

As the beefiest and largest phone in the Pixel 10 lineup, the Pixel 10 Pro XL, like its name suggests, has the edge up in terms of its size. By comparison, both the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro only feature a 6.3-inch display, with the former having a 2424 x 1080 resolution Actua display while the latter having a 2856 x 1280 Super Actua display, with other notable differences being reduced battery capacity and a less substantial camera setup on the base model. 

The Google Pixel series has always been known for its photography props, and this time around, the Pixel 10 Pro XL boasts a light improvement over its predecessor, housing a triple rear camera system comprising a 50MP wide lens, alongside a 48MP ultrawide lens with Macro Focus. There is also the 48MP telephoto lens with up to 5x optical zoom and up to a staggering 100x Pro Res Zoom with the assistance of AI upscaling, with its front camera housing the same 42MP setup seen on the Pixel 9 Pro XL.

With its camera’s various software enhancements, it’s easy for casual photographers to emulate professional-grade shots. Details are crisp and colours are accurate, with motion adjustments kicking in automatically to ensure that even those with shaky hands can capture a decent shot. A dedicated night mode also helps to make lights and colours stand out against the darkness, although light glare still remains a prevalent issue here.

The device’s macro mode, however, doesn’t fare quite as well, as it’s often a meddling affair to try and capture the perfect close-up shot, with its imprecise subject separation leading to blurred edges most of the time. Once again, the Pixel 10 Pro XL sits firmly in the casual photography space, and photography enthusiasts are better off looking for a device more specific to their needs.

Much like recent entries to the Pixel lineup, AI leads the charge in terms of device features. Alongside the previous suite of AI-enhanced capabilities like Gemini Live, Add Me, Auto Frame, and Reimagine features introduced in its previous iteration, the Pixel 10 Pro XL comes with a brand-new arsenal of tools to help make the user experience more streamlined.

Kicking off with the aforementioned Pro Res Zoom for its camera capabilities, which allows up to 100x zoom, using AI upscaling thereafter to provide a sharp image at extreme ranges. In practice, the tool does wonders when it comes to upscaling the resolution of images, smoothing out the blurry, jagged edges of faraway objects into a cohesive form, but the results are often a mixed bag.

With AI involved, the use of generative imagery means that the additional details added using AI don’t always match what’s being photographed. Taking an image of a LEGO set from far away, or a shot of a Transformers toy, for example, and the AI doesn’t know how to fill in the blanks appropriately, resulting in a distorted, unnatural image. The same goes for AI’s biggest weakness – text – meaning that any words within the scene often turn into a nonsensical mess of symbols.

The best use case for Pixel 10 Pro XL’s Pro Res Zoom, then, comes when shooting fauna, buildings or vehicles, things that the AI can identify much easier. Even then, limitations arise, as birds, for example, need to be photographed at a certain angle (their side profile) for the upscaling to work best. Capturing far shots of vehicles also often presents an unnatural look to the finished product, with exaggerated lines on the edges of cars making them look like drawings instead of actual photos.

Two other main AI-assisted camera highlights of the Pixel 10 Pro XL include Camera Coach and Auto Best Take. The former acts like a guide of sorts, generating suggestions to help frame more unique shots when presented with a particular scene. Using a soft toy lying on a couch as a baseline, the AI generated a few suggestions on how to best frame said toy, such as extreme close-ups or taking a low-angle shot from the surface of the couch. Once a suggested method is selected, on-screen prompts will guide a user through each step of the process, leading up to the final proposed angle, which is helpful for beginners looking to spice up their photography skills.

Auto Best Take, on the other hand, is built to prevent instances of an individual having their eyes closed during group photos. This feature automatically takes consecutive photos of the same scene, then merges the best expressions of each individual into one, presenting multiple end products for a user to choose from.

Outside of camera features, Magic Cue marks the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s newest unique feature. This assistant helps to streamline conversations across phone calls and messages, like providing reminders for previously set meet-up locations during SMS conversations on the Messages app, or pulling information from emails to show in real-time during phone conversations, such as displaying appointments on screen when calling a doctor, or making suggestions in certain apps like Google Maps based on calendar information.

The device also features a handy Voice Translate feature for phone calls, which automatically translates a user’s sentences using AI to match the caller’s spoken language. Although accurate, this feature requires patience on both parties’ end, as it takes time for the AI to translate each sentence spoken. Supported languages are also currently limited to French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, with Google rolling out additional support over time.

Like any device reliant on an AI suite of tools, the current state of technology means that reliability is still rather dodgy, with features only working as advertised during specific instances, and it isn’t positioned as a replacement for manual work, just a way to make processes slightly easier. 

With prices starting at S$1,739, Google’s latest and largest flagship comes in at a roughly S$200 price bump compared to its predecessor, and almost S$300 more than its regular Pro counterpart. Considering the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL’s differences compared to the regular Pro variant are limited to just having a bigger screen, higher resolution, better battery capacity and a larger base storage space of 256GB instead of 128GB, there isn’t much reason to get this variant over the latter, apart from those looking for the beefiest option of Google’s latest flagship trio.

Kevin Low

Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.