is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
Google has officially announced the Pixel 10 lineup, and there’s a lot to dig into. Like last year, there are four devices — the Pixel 10, the Pixel 10 Pro, the Pixel 10 Pro XL, and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold — and the phones have some nice improvements and new features that might be worth the upgrade.
Here are some of the best new features for Google’s new phones.
They have built-in Pixelsnap magnets and support Qi2 wireless charging
Google is finally catching up with Apple by building magnets directly into the Pixel 10 series to help make sure the phones snap right onto a wireless charger. The company is branding this as “Pixelsnap,” and it will sell Pixelsnap accessories like an official charger that you can buy. The Pixel 10, 10 Pro, and 10 Pro Fold are all Qi2-certified, meaning they support wireless charging speeds of up to 15W, while the 10 Pro XL is Qi2.2-certified, so it supports wireless charging speeds of up to 25W. (The Pixel 10 lineup has faster wired charging speeds as well.)
The base Pixel now has a third rear camera
Google is adding a third camera to the Pixel 10: a 5x telephoto lens that it says offers “10x optical image quality” and “Super Res Zoom up to 20x.” However, while it’s nice that Google is no longer forcing you to buy one of its more expensive options just to get a telephoto lens, the Pixel 10’s main and ultrawide cameras are a slight downgrade from the Pixel 9, at least on paper. The Pixel 10 has a 48MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera, down from the Pixel 9’s 50MP main camera and 48MP ultrawide.
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold gets a big durability boost
Google’s newest foldable has an IP68 dust and water ingress rating, meaning that it’s significantly more resistant to dust than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and many other foldables. That 6 in the rating means the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is “dust-tight,” which is a big improvement over the IPX8 rating for the previous-generation Fold and a step up from the IP48 rating for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Yes, there are some new AI-focused tools
The company is obsessed with AI lately, and although that obsession has seeped into its phones, it seems like the Pixel 10 series could have some useful AI tricks. One feature, Magic Cue, can proactively suggest things as you’re on your phone, like pulling up flight information when you’re calling an airline. Another feature, Camera Coach, can give you nudges about ways to improve the photo you’re trying to take.
