This week, we noticed the primary set of leaked Google Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Professional renders. If correct, Google’s upcoming Pixel 10 collection appears to be like a lot like the present era. Visually, the generational similarity might make even Samsung blush.
I do not suppose it is a dangerous factor that Google’s holding onto the Pixel 9‘s normal vibe; the Pixel 9 collection has a definite look that helps it stand out from the gang, and after 9 consecutive generations of Pixel telephones persistently trying radically totally different 12 months over 12 months, it is about time Google picked an aesthetic path and caught with it. However as a lot as I just like the Pixel 9’s exterior {hardware}, it is from excellent — and I am a little bit disillusioned Google would not appear to be enhancing the formulation this 12 months.
The Google Pixel 10 appears to be like extraordinarily acquainted
At a look, it is exhausting to see any bodily variations between the Pixel 10 renders and the present Pixel 9 telephones. They have the identical flat edges, the identical pill-shaped digicam bump, the identical button placement — it is almost copy-paste.
CAD renders of the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Professional, and Pixel 10 Professional XL.
Look a little bit nearer and the variations come into focus: the SIM tray appears to have been moved from the underside fringe of the telephones to the highest, making room for symmetrical speaker and microphone cutouts on the underside. It additionally looks as if the bottom Pixel 10 shall be getting a telephoto digicam — a captivating change that would essentially change the worth proposition of the ten Professional. That is about all of the seen distinction there may be, although.
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Android Headlines’ reporting additionally included information in regards to the Pixel 10 telephones’ bodily footprints. When it comes to dimension, the ten, the ten Professional, and the ten Professional XL are all almost an identical to their Pixel 9 counterparts. They’re truly all a little bit bigger: the Pixel 10 and 10 Professional are reportedly 8.6mm thick exterior the digicam bar, in comparison with the 9’s 8.5mm, and the ten Professional XL shall be a fraction of a millimeter taller than the 9 Professional XL.
The prevailing Pixel 9 collection is already notably thick in comparison with its competitors. The iPhone 16 is 7.8mm thick; the Samsung Galaxy S25 is a lithe 7.2mm. I believe Samsung and Apple’s dedication to make exceptionally skinny telephones within the S25 Edge and the iPhone 16 Air is a little bit foolish, contemplating how ethereal their telephones are already. However Google might definitely have stood to shave a very good millimeter off the Pixel 9’s profile — making its already thick design even thicker is an uncommon alternative.
The Pixel 9 Professional subsequent to the Galaxy S25.
I am particularly miffed that the Pixel 10’s digicam bar would not appear any thinner than the Pixel 9’s. Measured at its digicam bump, the Pixel 9 is a full 12mm thick. The cameras take good images, however that capsule is chunky. The Pixel 10’s digicam bump looks as if it will be an identical, proudly sporting the identical 3.4mm thickness because the Pixel 9’s digicam array.
A thick Pixel 10 is a missed alternative
In a vacuum, I do not suppose that the Pixel 9 is too thick, and including one other 0.1mm to the Pixel 10 definitely will not break the expertise for me. However in utilizing the Pixel 9 Professional and the Samsung Galaxy S25 again to again, my favourite facet of the S25 expertise was simply how skinny and light-weight the cellphone felt in comparison with the Pixel I used to be used to. On the time, I would hoped that Google’s next-gen telephones would slim down a little bit to really feel extra like different fashionable flagships. Sadly, it is not trying like that’ll be the case.
Making the Pixel 10 collection almost an identical to the Pixel 9, 9 Professional, and 9 Professional XL however only a fraction of a millimeter bigger additionally signifies that equipment made to suit the last-gen telephones shall be *so shut* to becoming the brand new fashions, however that 0.1mm distinction signifies that any case made for a Pixel 9 shall be virtually imperceptibly too small for the ten collection. It does look like the ten and 10 Professional would be the similar dimension once more, not less than — however they’re each a hair thicker than the 9 and 9 Professional.
If the Pixel 10 collection’ marginally bigger chassis means this 12 months’s telephones include markedly improved battery life over final 12 months’s Pixel 9 telephones, I will be glad to be fallacious on this. However because it stands, the Pixel 10’s barely bigger construct looks as if a swing and a miss from Google.
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