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If you are looking for a top-tier Android phone, the Pixel 10 Pro XL and Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are clearly the front-runners.
The Pixel is newer and it comes with a few new AI features, but also finally a Tensor G5 processor made by TSMC, a slightly bigger battery and magnetic wireless charging.
The Galaxy, on the other hand, is just a lighter phone, it has a cool anti-reflective screen coating for easier outdoor use, one extra telephoto camera and a built-in S Pen stylus.
Pixel 10 Pro XL at Amazon
The Pixel 10 Pro XL brings improved performance, more AI tricks, and a fantastic camera setup. The handset also packs a superior 6.8-inch OLED display. You can now buy it at Amazon without discounts.
Google has definitely found itself in a comfortable spot for the Pixel design language, as you'd have to play "spot the differences" to notice the changes between the new device and the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
That's not a bad "problem" to have, as we absolutely liked the mature and seasoned, if you will, design language of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, so we are more than glad that it will be sticking around for another year in a row.
The iconic camera strip at the rear is going nowhere, oversized as always, and the flat spacecraft-grade aluminum frame is here to stay, and we have Gorilla Glass Victus 2 all around. An understated design that definitely exudes character.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 Ultra scored some notable changes in comparison with its predecessors. It evolved some slightly curved corners that brought it up to speed with the design language of the standard Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus. The titanium frame and Corning Gorilla Glass Armor 2 up front and back remain, and so has the anti-reflective screen coating.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra still features a built-in S Pen stylus, and while rumors claim we might eventually see this iconic accessory decoupled from the phone itself in a potential future generation, the current Samsung flagship employs the essential feature.
Thanks to some bezel slimming, the Galaxy S25 Ultra now employs a larger 6.9-inch screen, up from the 6.8-inch one on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Pixel 10 Pro XL
Galaxy S25 Ultra
Dimensions 162.8 x 76.6
Dimensions 162.8 x 77.6
Thickness 8.5mm
Thickness 8.2mm
Weight 232 gr
Weight 218 gr
Size-wise, the Pixel 10 Pro XL is largely identical to the Pixel 9 Pro XL and measures 162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5 mm. Interestingly, the flagship is heavier and tips the scales at 232 gr. At the same time, the Galaxy S25 Ultra measures 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm but is much lighter at 218 gr, so it definitely seems like Samsung has the upper hand in terms of overall design efficiency.
Both phones share the IP68 water and dust resistance, now standard among flagships and many mid-rangers alike.
While both the Pixel and the Samsung employ a standard and pretty similar button layout, those are inverted: the Galaxy S25 Ultra has the power button below the volume rocker, while the Pixel 10 Pro XL has the volume rocker below the power button. It's a matter of getting used to, but definitely worth pointing out.
In terms of colors, the Pixel 10 Pro XL will launch in Moonstone, Obsidian, Porcelain, and Jade colors. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is available in Titanium Whitesilver, Titanium Silverblue, Titanium Gray, and Titanium Black. Jadegreen, Pinkgold and Jetblack are exclusively available on Samsung.com.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL arrives with a 6.8-inch OLED Super Actua screen with LTPO (1-120 Hz refresh rate) support, but the true highlight here is the super-high peak brightness of 3,300 nits. That beats the older generation by some 300 nits and definitely establishes the Pixels as some of the brightest phones around.
Sure, we lack a dedicated anti-reflective coating here as on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but the extra brightness might very well make up for that.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S25 Ultra arrives with a large 6.9-inch display that's capable of achieving around 2,600 nits of peak brightness. However, the Galaxy S25 Ultra arrives with an anti-reflective display coating, which greatly boosts the legibility of the screen and somewhat helps it hold its own in terms of legibility against brighter adversaries.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
Other than that, the display itself is a Dynamic OLED 2X one, with a super-smooth 1-120Hz refresh rate, and the signature exceptional color and gamma properties of a flagship Samsung screen.
Performance and Software
Tensor finally playing in the 3nm league, but would that be enough?
After years of its Tensor chips being built around Samsung's Exynos architecture, Google can finally make its Tensor chip from scratch. That's right, the Tensor G5 uses a custom AP (application processor) and is built by TSMC on its 3nm manufacturing process.
That's an exciting development, which could potentially finally elevate the Tensor chip to the performance levels of the latest Snapdragons and Apple's own mobile chips.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL comes with 16GB of memory and three storage versions ranging from 256GB to 1TB. Yes, the entry-level 128GB flavor is gone.
At the same time, the Galaxy S25 Ultra comes along with the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, a custom and slightly overclocked version of Qualcomm's flagship chipset. It's a proper powerhouse that routinely dwells at the top of the performance charts at the moment. The Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with 12GB of RAM, as well as 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB versions as well.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is on the cusp of getting Android 16 and One UI 8, which are reportedly very close to official release. Currently, the phone runs on Android 15 and One UI 7.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL, on the other hand, comes with Android 16, and its market release should coincide with the official rollout of the Material 3 Expressive redesign that is hailed as the most intriguing new feature of Android 16.
One promising new feature arriving with the Pixel 10 Pro XL and utilizing the latest in Google AI technology is called Magic Cue. This is a proactive system that will bootstrap your data and unique usage patterns to suggest relevant pieces of information when possible. For example, if someone messages you about a lunch reservation, Magic Cue will scour your Gmail for reservation confirmation emails and automatically recommend a relevant answer right there in the thread, acting as your virtual butler agent of sorts.
Both devices will be supported for seven years, including software updates, security patches, and feature drops.
Camera
Long-zoomers, unite!
The Pixel 10 Pro XL comes with a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide, and 48MP telephoto with 5X optical zoom camera setup at the rear, quite similar to what we got on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The signature feature here is the new Pro Res Zoom, which can zoom up to 100X! Such a long zoom is pretty much on par with all other Android top phones right now, which usually offer around 100X zoom.
It's not just a digitally assisted in-sensor crop, though: Google says the new zooming utilizes bespoke Tensor G5 algorithms and AI know-how to intelligently clean up far shots of people and buildings.
Another cool new feature is the built-in Camera Coach functionality, which will use AI to intelligently nudge you to change your composition, move around, or incorporate different settings to achieve the best possible photo with your phone. Has the potential to be a decent addition, that one.
PhoneArena Camera Score:
Photo
Video
Phone
Camera Score
Photo Score
Main (wide)
Ultra Wide
Selfie
Zoom
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
151
162
85
23
26
28
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
158
165
87
23
27
28
Phone
Camera Score
Video Score
Main (wide)
Ultra Wide
Selfie
Zoom
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
151
140
76
19
25
20
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
158
150
75
21
28
26
Find out more details about photo and video scores for all phones we have tested on our PhoneArena Camera Score page
How does the Galaxy S25 Ultra compare? On our PhoneArena Camera Score, the Galaxy outshines the Pixel by 10 points in video recording (especially when it comes to zoom video), and it is also slightly better with still photos.
Samsung's flagship comes with a quad-camera setup at the back, helmed by a high-res 200MP wide-angle camera, a 50MP telephoto camera with 5X optical zoom, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 10MP telephoto with 3X optical zoom. Maximum zoom here is 100X yet again, allowing for a pound-for-pound comparison between the Galaxy and the Pixel.
Pixel 10 Pro XL
Galaxy S25 Ultra
Wide 50MP F1.68
Wide 200MP F1.7
Ultrawide 48MP F1.7
Ultrawide 50MP F1.9
Periscope 48MP 5X zoom, F2.8, 100X Pro Res Zoom
Periscope 50MP 5X zoom
-
Telephoto 10MP 3X zoom
Front 42MP F2.2
Front 12MP
Main Camera
Portrait Mode
< PixelGalaxy >
Zoom Quality
Ultra-wide Camera
Selfies
< PixelGalaxy >
Battery Life and Charging
Could the Pixel easily have the upper hand?
The Pixel 9a's tenure as the Google phone with the largest battery was fairly short-lived, as the Pixel 10 Pro XL arrives with an enormous 5,200 mAh battery in the trunk. That's by far the biggest battery on a Pixel phone... for now, at least!
Such a large battery could play very well with the more efficient Tensor G5 and OLED screen up front, hinting at a strong battery endurance that could easily overshadow the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
That one continues to rely on a 5,000mAh battery for yet another year in a row, when most of Samsung's rivals are already flirting with batteries pushing 6,000mAh or more.
Surprisingly, the Pixel 10 Pro XL has scored some pretty exciting changes to both the wired and wireless charging. We get 45W wired and 25W wireless charging, with full support for the latest Qi 2.2 standard.
The Pixel 10 series also introduces Pixelsnap, Google's version of MagSafe, which integrates the necessary magnets straight inside the device itself. Pixelsnap is compatible with all MagSafe accessories so that you can easily start using your MagSafe collection immediately. Moreover, all of Google's new cases for the Pixel range also support Pixelsnap, and Google has a trio of charging accessories and stands as well.
When it comes to wired charging, both the Pixel 10 Pro XL and the Galaxy S25 Ultra come with equal 45W speeds.
At the end of the day, the Pixel 10 Pro XL feels like a gradual update for Google. The slightly faster chip and new AI tricks are nice to have, but probably the biggest change is the support for Qi 2.2 magnetic wireless charging. We were also a bit underwhelmed by the hit-and-miss Pro Res Zoom feature that was heavily touted by Google.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra feels just a bit more polished to our eyes. It has the faster chip, the lighter weight, the anti-reflective screen and an extra camera, plus that S Pen.
Ultimately, this boils down to your preference: if you like the clean Android look of a Pixel and distinct computational photography style that comes with it, the Pixel 10 Pro XL is a good choice. But if you prefer a slightly more powerful device with a One UI flavor, the Galaxy looks like a slightly more refined overall package.
Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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