The Google Pixel 10 has landed, but if you’ve already got a Pixel 9, then you might be wondering whether it’s worth upgrading to – or if you don’t yet have either, you might be considering saving some money by buying the older phone instead.
What you should do in these circumstances ultimately depends on what you value most in a smartphone, but to help you decide, we’ve highlighted the biggest differences between the new Google Pixel 10 and the older Google Pixel 9.
These include the chipset, the camera, and other key features. But plenty is staying the same, too, and if you don’t see something significant mentioned below, it has likely remained unchanged for the new model.
A new chipset
One of the biggest – if perhaps least exciting – differences between these two phones is their chipsets, as while the Google Pixel 9 has last year’s Tensor G4, the Google Pixel 10 has the brand-new Tensor G5.
We say this is a relatively unexciting update because it was an entirely expected upgrade, but it should still be beneficial. The new chipset should be delivering extra power to speed up AI tasks, improve gaming performance, and more.
So if you’re looking for a phone that feels like a flagship fit for 2025, then the Pixel 10 might be a worthwhile upgrade.
An extra camera
One difference that we consider more interesting is the cameras, primarily because the Google Pixel 10 has an extra lens. A 10.8MP f/3.1 telephoto camera (offering 5x optical zoom) joins its 48MP f/1.7 wide camera, its 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, and its 10.5MP f/2.2 front-facing camera.
The Google Pixel 9 doesn’t have a telephoto camera, so the Pixel 10 is a better choice for zoom photography. That said, this isn’t quite as much of a clear-cut upgrade as you might expect, because the Pixel 9 has a 50MP f/1.7 wide camera and a 48MP f/1.7 ultra-wide, along with the same selfie camera as the Pixel 10.
Interestingly, the Google Pixel 9 actually offers more megapixels in two of its lenses compared to the Pixel 10. We’ll let you know how much difference that makes once we’ve put this new phone through a full review, but this might mean that the Pixel 9 is a better choice for photography if you don’t often take telephoto shots.
A brighter screen
The Google Pixel 9’s display can already get reasonably bright, topping out at 2,700 nits, but the Pixel 10 has it beat, with a peak brightness of 3,000 nits.
That could help make the Google Pixel 10’s screen easier to see in bright sunlight, but otherwise the two phones have largely identical displays – they’re both 6.3-inch OLED screens with a 120Hz refresh rate, a resolution of 1080 x 2424, and a pixel density of 422 pixels per inch. They’re also both protected with Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
So, unless you often find that your phone’s screen isn’t bright enough, you probably won’t find the Pixel 9 overly lacking compared to the Pixel 10 on the display front.
A bigger battery
A phone is only useful while it has power, so a long-lasting battery is a desirable feature for most people, and on that front, the Google Pixel 10 should have an edge.
This phone has a 4,970mAh battery, which Google claims can last upwards of 30 hours between charges, or for up to 100 hours if you enable Extreme Battery Saver mode.
The Google Pixel 9, on the other hand, has a smaller 4,700mAh battery, which Google claims should last upwards of 24 hours on a single charge. So, you could be getting around six additional hours of battery life with the Pixel 10. That said, the Pixel 9 is said to offer a similar 100-hour life with Extreme Battery Saver mode turned on.
Different colors
You’ll also be able to choose from a different selection of colors depending on which of these phones you buy.
The Google Pixel 10 is sold in Indigo, Frost, Lemongrass, and Obsidian shades, while the Google Pixel 9 comes in Obsidian, Porcelain, Wintergreen, and Peony colors. So, Obsidian is available for both, but the other options differ.
Aside from the colors, though, these are quite similar-looking devices, with a similar weight and dimensions too – though the Pixel 9 is marginally lighter at 198g to the Pixel 10’s 204g.
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