Pixel 10 vs Pixel 8: glow-up time!

Google’s Pixel line has reached its 10th generation, can you believe that? What started as a rather unique and a bit unexpected underground hit has continued to evolve into the quirky yet elegant design that we have today. The Pixel 10 has just been announced, coming with a slew of incremental updates that keep it in the game, staring down the competition.

So, what’s new, what is improved, and is it worth getting a Pixel 10 if you are coming from the now two-year-old Pixel 8?

The Pixel 8 was a safe bet — a solid performer with Google’s vision of AI and clean Android baked in. But it also played things very safe. Tensor G3 wasn’t exactly a powerhouse, the display was 60Hz short of perfect, and the dual-camera setup was showing its age. 

Pre-order Pixel 10 with a $100 gift card

The Pixel 10 is finally here! The latest model features the new Tensor G5 chip, paired with 12GB RAM, providing incredible AI features and a smooth performance. Pre-order yours with a $100 gift card at Amazon.

Pre-order at Amazon

Google Pixel 8 is 26% off at Amazon

$184 off (26%)

The Google Pixel 8 is available at Amazon right now. Currently, you can buy the 128GB variant in Rose for 26% off its original price, which saves you $184.

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Pixel 10 vs Pixel 9 expected differences:

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Honestly, if you catch a Pixel 10 in the wild, it’ll be a bit hard to discern if it’s the new model or not, but that’s compared to the Pixel 9. The old Pixel 8 does have the camera bar that goes all the way through, like a vizor. The new models have the pill-shaped camera island on the back instead. I did like the old vizor look, but the new bar still retains that quirky and fresh aesthetic of the Pixels.

The dimensions of the new Pixel 10 are not vastly different to the Pixel 8 — 152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6 mm vs 150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9 mm. It’s slightly taller and wider, to accommodate that slightly bigger screen. It’s also a bit heavier at 207 g, compared to 187 g — probably that new camera, plus the magnets inside adding a bit more weigh. Oops, let’s not spoil everything just yet!

The Pixel 8’s 6.2-inch OLED display was good. 120Hz refresh? Nice. But brightness? Eh. It has been outdone in that department since it was released. Not that 2,000 nits peak is something to snark at, it’s just that flagship phones can hit higher nowadays.The Pixel 10 is back in the game. It comes with a 6.3-inch OLED panel, pushing 3,000 nits peak brightness. HDR videos from YouTube, Instagram content, and your own library will look popping and vibrant even under direct sunlight.

It is also to maintain the cleaner, more symmetrical bezels introduced last year with the Pixel 9. It’s subtle stuff, but it adds polish. The extra-secure Face unlock that’s powered by AI returns, but so does the in-screen fingerprint scanner, if you prefer that. No difference between the Pixel 10 and Pixel 8 in biometrics, basically.

If you’re on a Pixel 8, you’ve been living with the Tensor G3 — a chip that tried to be smart, not fast. And it showed. Performance was fine for day-to-day stuff, but gaming or heavy lifting? Not its strong suit.The Pixel 10, though, will come with some gains. The new Tensor G5 is now built by TSMC on a 3nm process — finally meeting the competition’s standards. Google says about 34% improvement in CPU power, which means it will still not out-muscle the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite nor the Apple A18 Pro, but it will get closer to them. And it will definitely be much faster than the Tensor G3 inside the Pixel 8.

But, as before, it’s not about raw power. It’s about on-device AI. And here, Google is pushing the envelope.

The Pixel 10 will come with Magic Cue — on-device AI will analyze on-screen content, cross-reference between your apps such as Calendar, Contacts, Maps, et cetera, and give you one-tap actions or replies. For example, if someone asks you about you evening plans, or arrival time — Magic Cue will generate an actually accurate auto-reply. All on-device, with the Tensor G5 power backing it. If that’s too much for you — you will be able to disable Magic Cue or choose which apps it has access to.

Pixel Screenshots can now take and transcribe voice notes as well. And a new Pixel Journal app will help you… well, journal, much like Apple’s Journal. But with the added power of AI to also include and sort through transcribed voice notes, pictures, and screenshots. Again, not sure if that won’t trickle down to the Pixel 8.

Plus, the Pixel 10 will ship with Android 16 and a full seven years of updates. The Pixel 8 will also be eligible for Android 16 and still has 5 more updates to go before end-of-support.

Let’s be real: the Pixel 8’s dual camera setup — 50MP main and 12MP ultra-wide — was fine. Solid processing, great skin tones, smart HDR. But versatility? Limited.

Pixel 10 might table the turns here and change what we expect from a “budget flagship”. It’s finally getting a triple-lens setup, with a 48MP main, 13MP ultra-wide, and — surprise — a dedicated telephoto camera with a 10.8MP sensor and 5x zoom. It’ll support SuperRes zoom to 20x, unlike its Pro siblings that’ll now hit 100x. But hey, it’s an upgrade for the base model and we’ll take it!

Our battery test showed that the Pixel 8 can give us 15 hours of browsing time. With a 10% improvement in battery, the Pixel 9 should be able to increase that to 16.5 – 17 hours, right? We’ll see when we get to put the device through its paces!

Charging has been upgraded — now 30W wired and 15W wireless, from 27W wired and 18W wireless. Wait, those wireless numbers are a bit off? The new Pixel 10 series are Qi2 compatible, meaning they actually have magnets inside to stick to Qi2 chargers — like Apple’s MagSafe. Sadly, the Pixel 10 doesn’t get an increase in charging speed here, only the Pixel 10 Pro XL goes up to 25W. But fine, at least you will have access to the new Pixelsnap chargers and vertical stands to enjoy!

Let’s not dance around it:

If you’re on a Pixel 8 and feeling the itch for better battery, a real zoom camera, brighter display, and actual AI magic — this is the upgrade you’ve been waiting for.

If you’ve been content with the Pixel 8’s stable performance and mostly just shoot ultra-wide or main camera? You can probably hold off another year, unless Magic Cue or the new chip calls your name.

But make no mistake: Pixel 10 is the most complete base Pixel Google’s ever made.