Why do people hate the Pixel 10 so much? [Video]

There is a quiet wave of discontent among tech fans surrounding the Pixel 10, what it brings to the table and what it doesn’t. We’re asking the question: why do people seem to hate the Pixel 10?

A quick scour of internet comments, social platforms, and even our own comments section, and you might think that nobody even likes the Pixel 10 series. We’re 10 generations into the Pixel lineup, and the Pixel 10 should at least, in theory, be the zenith. But why do the most vocal in the Android community seemingly hate the Pixel 10? Let’s examine the good, the bad, and the ugly to at least understand why people might be feeling this way.

By picking a Pixel in 2025, you are accepting certain compromises. You will not be able to run some of the most popular games at the best graphical and performance settings. Processor-intensive tasks won’t be as fast. It all stems from one problem area.

Tensor G5 is the elephant in the room.

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The chip at the heart of the Pixel 10 lineup, which is now being built in partnership with the TSMC foundry, is floundering a little. It’s barely a high-end chip. It’s an upper-midranger by 2025 standards. Was the Pixel 5 experiment with an actual midrange chip supposed to be a one-off, or was it preparation for a long-term future where a Pixel phone simply offers middle-of-the-road power in a premium chassis? It feels like, with recent Pixels, we’re coming full circle.

Sure, it builds on the previous generation, but not in enough meaningful ways for the true-blue Android nerd to be enthused about. Qualcomm is outcompeting Apple’s best mobile silicon and beating the iPhone in some areas. Right now, even if AI is touted as the main beneficiary, you can’t do common phone things as well as even last year’s best phones. Mobile gamers aren’t going to get the best experience on a Pixel.

I can’t speak for everyone who cares about specifications, but I would like to see Google at least within 5-10% of, say, last year’s best Snapdragon chip in the next year or so. That might appease some people, but it simply isn’t good enough for everyone.

Even some of the camera hardware hasn’t been updated in a number of years. Maybe persisting with a familiar system is good for the software tuning, but it limits specific capabilities. Offloading functions like Video Boost to the cloud helps hide some shortcomings in the video stakes. Yes, it makes video very competitive and arguably one of the best on mobile once Google’s servers can work some magic. Samsung and OnePlus can do 8K video on-device, and the difference isn’t quite as stark as you would expect, given the sheer power of cloud processing over a mobile CPU.

Arguably, the biggest problem and one of the main areas of hate aimed at or facing the Pixel 10 is its price. At over $1,000, you have a smartphone that will sit alongside the biggest and best in the industry on store shelves or online outlets.

This leaves the Pixel 10 almost exposed when your competitors are offering all the bells and whistles, the best performance, exceptional experiences, and making the price tag at least seem more palatable. With the Pixel having many cutbacks and setbacks, Google has nowhere to hide. At $800-900, misfires are somewhat forgivable – but maybe not entirely. Value for money is very important, and let’s be honest, the Pixel 10 does not offer that at the MSRP.

It’s clear that Google wants the Pixel to be seen as a direct alternative to the iPhone in North American markets – and sales sort of agree with this. A Pixel is seen as a premium product by shipping at a similar price point. If you sell your best phone at a markdown price, it changes wider public perception. People might think it is inferior, but having a very high retail price or one comparable to competitors means you have no excuses if you fail to meet buyer expectations. You’re judged by what that price point can get you elsewhere.

This is by far one of the biggest reasons that, rightly, the Pixel 10 has seen a fair amount of hate from fans and detractors alike. It’s one of the reasons that, in years gone by, price cuts have become synonymous with the Pixel lineup. You can overlook certain pain points if the price is right.

It doesn’t help that if Google did ship right out of the gate at under $900, the “iPhone knockoff” claims would be even stronger. There’s no denying who influenced the change to a boxy redesign. That is a separate complaint that doesn’t help the Pixel 10, as people expect more changes from the inside out if the design stays the same as the previous generation.

To simplify further still: a premium product demands better hardware in every single area and every single component.

Most people who use or have used a Pixel often feel the same way about how good the software is compared to the competition. Even with the compromises, as mentioned earlier, it’s actually a credit to Google that the Pixel lineup can shoehorn its way into the conversation of “best phones” almost solely on the pure experience alone.

Material 3 Expressive is a big step toward an identity somewhat lacking elsewhere on Android. We’re already seeing OEMs lean more heavily into Apple’s clone status as “Liquid Glass” has leaked out of the walled garden and into the open meadows beyond. No other Android device maker, save Nothing, appears to be willing to try its own things and put a unique spin on their vision of a mobile OS.

While we lament a little bit of the lack of video prowess – at least locally processed video – there is no doubt that Pixel photography still ranks highly. Again, it’s all down to tuning and honing as the Pixel 10 camera hardware is almost identical to the Pixel 8 series. Bigger sensors could make a difference, but we see many Chinese OEMs go for bigger, better camera hardware only to fail at getting the tuning right. A Pixel phone almost always ekes every last drop from the camera hardware available, and that hasn’t changed since day one.

Features like Pro Res Zoom are controversial. When they work, they elevate the capabilities of the admittedly tiny sensors that ship on modern smartphones. Google is good at software, and AI is getting good at lots of things. That combination is going to be key in the future. We’re all going to have to accept some level of AI integration or at least hope that someone else offers an alternative AI-free mobile software experience. Honestly, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

What’s more, if functionality like Magic Cue can be built on and integrated into more places, there are some very impressive things that can be effectively automated on your phone. Right now, it’s too limited to be considered a real selling point.

Design changes can be both a positive and a negative trait simultaneously. Do we need our phones to wildly vary from year to year? Sticking to a popular design isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Tweaking and refining rather than trying to reinvent the wheel each year has led to massive problems on past Pixel phones. It’s good to see Google being confident in a visual design language and, instead, working to improve all areas. There is certainly room for improvement, but you’re able to do that better within the pre-established framework. The upgrade path is less divergent, though.

Tensor G5 also addresses the major overheating complaints of previous generations. Since its introduction with the Pixel 6, it has been a killer for practically every Tensor-powered phone. The faster storage on specific models makes everything feel snappy, and it means your phone ages more gracefully.

There are a few ways to approach the question: “Is the Pixel 10 a good phone?” and, as it is every year, the answer is nowhere near as simple as it should be.

Yes, the Pixel 10 is a decent device in lots of ways and in particular a few key areas. The frustration is that, more than ever, not all Pixel 10 devices are created equally. What’s arguably a bigger pain point is that this year is the most competent set of Google hardware we’ve ever seen. There is a confidence in the product that may have been less obvious in years gone by.

If you want the best Google has to offer, just get the Pixel 10 Pro XL – 1TB for the even faster zoned UFS 4.0 storage. For anyone wanting all the best bits but a smaller size, get the 256GB model of the Pixel 10 Pro. If you want the best base model Google sells, then the 256GB Pixel 10. Only the Pro XL comes with a baseline of 256GB storage and UFS 4.0 out of the box.

Now the bigger complaint is the generational performance gap between the best of the rest and Google’s own hardware lineup. Why should someone from an older phone upgrade if there isn’t a major leap in the day-to-day experience? Maybe Google has painted itself into a corner, given the impressive history of the best core software feel on Android.

There is literally nowhere for Google to hide at the top and bottom of the market anymore. Cheap phones are excellent, and expensive phones leave no stone unturned to try to validate the exorbitant fees. The company needs to at least attempt to do a better job of pleasing everyone. You can’t forget about the community using your products for years just to throw the baby out with the bathwater in search of new customers and fans.

In that regard, yes, some of the hate toward the Pixel 10 is probably justified. Maybe some have gone overboard, but most people will agree that despite the foibles, flaws, and annoyances, there is another damn good phone under all that bluster. That’s not an apology for Google; we just want to at least see improvements year over year, and maybe hardened Android fans might start to change their stance.

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