Why the Google Pixel 10 Pro & Pro XL Are the Tech World’s Biggest Overhyped Letdown

Hello everyone. Let’s talk about Google’s shiny new attempt at convincing you to part with a thousand dollars while making you swear the emperor has, in fact, donned brand-new clothes. Spoiler alert: he hasn’t. Google’s Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL have landed, dressed in the same stylish-but-familiar outfit as last year’s Pixel 9, wielding the marketing buzzwords of “Tensor G5” and “Magic Cue” like they’re world-ending ultimatums. Strap in, because this is going to be a rant, a roast, and a reluctant nod of appreciation all rolled into one overly caffeinated review.

Design Déjà Vu: Haven’t We Seen This Movie Before?

Google must love Groundhog Day, because the Pixel 10 looks eerily familiar. Same camera bar. Same shiny metal edges ready to catapult your phone into orbit when it inevitably slips out of your butterfingers. Same glass back just begging to smudge, crack, or do both simultaneously. Sure, it’s “classy” – in that way that dentist’s waiting room chairs are classy if you squint hard enough. And speaking of dentists, let’s talk about colors. Google now offers a new “soft mint,” which looks exactly like the dulled paint of a mid-90s orthodontist’s office. And somehow, that’s their selling point. Bravo, Google. At least it isn’t beige.

“Slippery edges. Use a case if you’re clumsy.” Translation: buy a case immediately or say hello to shattered regret.

Screens: Big Phone or Even Bigger Phone

Pixel 10 Pro: 6.3 inches. Pixel 10 Pro XL: 6.8 inches. In other words, either you like wrangling an unwieldy slab of glass like it’s a comically oversized RPG weapon, or you go for the “smaller” model that’s still the size of a thin paperback novel. To Google’s credit, the XL is readable in direct summer sunlight – tested in Paris, because apparently we all buy $1,199 gadgets just to show off in cafés with silverware and designer cameras in frame. Naturally.

The Silicon Snake Oil: Tensor G5

Both models get the Tensor G5 chip and 16GB of RAM. That’s right – no performance differences between the Pro and Pro XL beyond screen and charging wattage. Which means the XL is basically a glorified “plus-size” version, like extra fries at the tech industry buffet. Don’t get me wrong – 16GB of RAM is impressive for a phone. But let’s not forget every year’s Tensor chip is sold as the second coming of silicon, and every year it falls somewhere between “meh” and system update apocalypse. Remember, this is Google. This is the same company that once thought social media dominance would come from “Google+.” Trust accordingly.

AI Features: Magic or Just a Fancy Pickpocket?

Okay, here’s where things veer into spicy conspiracy territory. Magic Cue is the headliner AI tool, and it basically reads your personal emails to pop up “helpful” info in your texts. What could possibly go wrong? Totally not invasive at all. It’s not like Google has an empire funded by mining your personal data and turning it into ad revenue like tomorrow’s petroleum. But sure, let’s call it “helpful AI assistants” and not “corporate surveillance cosplaying as productivity tools.”

• Magic Cue: Pulls your emails into your conversations. Convenient if you enjoy creepy techno-butlers rifling through your inbox.
• Camera Coach: The phone literally tells you how to take a picture. Helpful, or insulting to anyone who accidentally discovered “auto mode.”
• 30x AI Zoom: Because blurry photo artifacts are fine once Google just invents fake pixels to replace real ones.

Cameras: Incremental Improvements Hidden Behind AI Confetti

Same camera lineup as Pixel 9 – 50MP main, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto. Nothing new under the optical hood. But sprinkle some AI confetti on top – zoom “enhancements,” generative detail restoration, and wizard-like photo advice – and suddenly you’re paying a grand for what is essentially Google Photos Premium: Mobile Edition. The pictures are indeed gorgeous, but when are they not in well-curated reviews with setup lighting? Let’s see reality: half of you will use these cameras primarily to photograph your cats, coffee cups, and receipts. Let’s not kid ourselves.

Charging: Finally Catching Up to 2019

Thirty watts. Forty-five watts. In 2025. While other brands are essentially reloading their battery like Call of Duty players swapping mags every ten seconds, we’re here still applauding Google for crawling toward what Chinese phones did half a decade ago. It’s like applauding a surgeon for finally washing his hands before operating – yes, you should, but why is this remarkable now?

Software: Android 16 and the UI of the Future (Maybe)

Android 16 arrives here with Material You 3: “Expressive” – which is just a polite way of saying, “we added more curves and fonts.” It’s all fine, but no one is buying a $1,000 phone for fonts. People just want performance, longevity, cameras that don’t need AI trickery, and updates that don’t break their phone. This is the equivalent of reskinning an MMORPG character every season and pretending it’s “new content.”

Pricing: $999 and $1,199 – The Standard Scam Ceiling

$999 for the Pixel 10 Pro. $1,199 for the XL – which is quite the tax for an extra half an inch of screen space and a few extra charging watts. Promotions are happening, sure, because Google’s pricing strategy is essentially modeled after the loot box economy. Hook you in at a “discount,” then keep nudging your wallet like a clingy MMO subscription.

Final Verdict: Familiar, Fancy, and Fundamentally Flawed

The Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL are gorgeous devices – there’s no denying it. But they’re lazy iterations propped up by AI gimmicks, recycled design, and pricing that sits smugly alongside the rest of Silicon Valley’s oligarchy. Yes, the screens are good. Yes, the cameras are excellent. Yes, the phone looks pretty enough to pose next to a wine glass in a Parisian café. But for $999+, shouldn’t innovation be more than paint jobs and AI that rifles through your emails?

So where does that leave us? If you already own a Pixel 9 Pro, there’s almost zero reason to upgrade. If you’re buying into the Pixel ecosystem for the first time, fine – enjoy your slick glass brick. But don’t let Google gaslight you into believing this is technological progress. It’s an expansion pack at best, a reskinned operator bundle at worst.

Verdict: Good phone, bad innovation. More of the same, wrapped in dentist-paint green.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.

Article source: I Still Love the Look of Google’s New Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL, https://www.cnet.com/pictures/i-still-love-the-look-of-googles-new-pixel-10-pro-and-pro-xl/