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The second half of 2025 is a compelling one for Android fans. You get to choose between the Galaxy S25 — a light and compact flagship from Samsung — and the Pixel 10, which brings Google’s first fully custom Tensor G5 chip, a triple camera setup, and a larger battery.
Both phones start at $799 for a 128 GB model, share similar screen sizes, and cater to users who want a premium experience but without going overboard on their spending. But there are some notable differences that might make you lean towards one of them more than the other.
Get the Pixel 10 at Amazon
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. You can get it at its standard price on Amazon.
The Galaxy S25 is also on sale at Samsung.com. Right now, you can save $80 on the "vanilla" smartphone. You don't have to provide any trade-ins to take advantage of the promo.
The S25 is still the best compact phone, but Pixel 10 has a good reason for its larger size
Galaxy S25 stays slim and light at 162 g, making it a rare compact flagship. | Image by PhoneArena.
The Galaxy S25 remains one of the lightest and most compact flagships around, measuring 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.25 mm and weighing just 162 g. Its slim frame and clean design make it a standout choice for fans of smaller phones.
Pixel 10 is bigger and heavier at 204 g, but adds a 4,970 mAh battery and Pixelsnap magnetic charging. | Image by PhoneArena.
The Pixel 10, by comparison, is larger and noticeably heavier at 152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6 mm and 204 g. But that extra heft has a purpose: it packs a 4,970 mAh battery and built-in magnets for Google’s new Pixelsnap accessory ecosystem, enabling magnetic wireless charging along with add-ons like stands and grips.
Pixel 10
Galaxy S25
Thickness 8.6 mm
Thickness 7.25 mm
Dimensions 152.8 x 72
Dimensions 146.9 x 70.5
Weight 204 grams
Weight 162 grams
Both phones have aluminum frames, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, and IP68 dust/water resistance. The Pixel keeps its horizontal camera bar, while the Galaxy S25 retains Samsung’s minimal vertical camera lenses.
Pixel 10 colors include Obsidian, Indigo, Frost, and Lemongrass, while Galaxy S25 colors consist of more muted shades like Icy Blue, Mint, and Silver Shadow.
Biometrics are also closely matched, with ultrasonic fingerprint scanners and face recognition on both devices. Google, however, claims its new sensor is faster and more reliable than what previous Pixels offered.
Pixel 10 edges ahead in brightness and color, while Galaxy S25 wins on efficiency with its 1Hz LTPO screen. | Image by PhoneArena.
Both phones come with 120Hz OLED panels, but the S25 goes as low as 1Hz while the Pixel 10 cannot go lower than 60Hz. This won't directly affect your user experience, but it means that the S25's screen is more energy efficient.
Pixel 10
Galaxy S25
Size 6.3"
Size 6.2"
Brightness 3000 nits (peak)
Brightness 2600 nits (peak)
Samsung’s display is a bit smaller and more pixel-dense, while the Pixel 10 stretches slightly larger and taller with a 20:9 aspect ratio. Both support HDR10+, adaptive refresh rates, and deliver excellent color accuracy.
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.
The Pixel 10 hit 2,822 nits at 20% APL and 1,940 nits full-screen (white), while the S25 topped out at 2,394 nits and 1,313 nits in our display lab tests. Color accuracy also leans towards the Pixel with a lower Delta E showing more accurate colors. Samsung goes dimmer at minimum brightness, which is nicer in a dark room.
Performance and Software
The first fully custom Tensor meets Snapdragon muscle
Galaxy S25’s Snapdragon 8 Elite crushes benchmarks, while Pixel 10’s Tensor G5 centers on smarter AI features. | Image by PhoneArena.
The Galaxy S25 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite, one of the fastest mobile chips to date, with nearly 50% GPU gains over the S24. It’s a clear powerhouse for gaming and other demanding tasks.
The Pixel 10, meanwhile, debuts the Tensor G5 — Google’s first fully in-house SoC, built on TSMC’s 3nm process. Instead of chasing benchmarks, Google focuses on AI. The chip delivers a 34% faster CPU, a 60% stronger TPU, and 2.6× faster Gemini Nano execution compared to the Tensor G4. A new ISP also powers features like motion deblur, default 10-bit HDR video, and sharper low-light footage.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite inside the Galaxy S25 is has an obvious lead. In Geekbench, it scored nearly 75% higher in multi-core performance and comfortably outpaced the Pixel in the single-core.
Our GPU benchmarks tell a similar story: the Galaxy S25 reached 5,959 in 3DMark Extreme (High), compared to the Pixel’s 3,368, giving Samsung a clear advantage when it comes to gaming and other graphically intensive tasks.
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But it is important to mention that the Tensor G5 in the Pixel 10 isn’t about brute force. It’s Google’s first fully in-house SoC, designed with AI at the center. Compared to the Tensor G4, CPU performance is up by 34% and the TPU is 60% faster, enabling on-device features like Magic Cue, Camera Coach, and expanded Gemini Nano tasks. Day-to-day use is smooth, even if benchmarks don’t sound that impressive compared to the S25.
As for the software, both phones promise 7 years of OS and security updates, so long-term support is a given.
The Pixel 10 launches with Android 16 and new AI features like Magic Cue, which can proactively suggest actions (for example, pulling up your flight details when you call the airline). It also introduces Pixel Sense, a next-generation on-device assistant that ties into Gmail, Calendar, Maps, and more for deeper, context-aware help.
The Galaxy S25, by contrast, shipped with Android 15 and One UI 7, powered by Galaxy AI. Useful tools like Circle to Search, Live Translate, and Chat Assist are here, but many of the most impactful features still come from Google. Samsung’s own additions, like the Now Bar, show promise but feel less refined.
Camera
Equal at last?
Both camera systems are solid, but there are key differences that might affect your choice. | Image by PhoneArena.
For the first time, the Pixel 10 gets a triple-camera setup, complete with a 5x telephoto lens. This gives it more reach than the Galaxy S25’s 3x telephoto, though Samsung’s shorter zoom can be more practical for portraits.
The S25 has a slightly larger main sensor, which helps in low light, and 8K video recording. Google has also introduced new features like Camera Coach (which we found a bit gimmicky), a refined HDR+ pipeline, and 10-bit HDR video across all cameras.
The Galaxy S25 leans on the same camera hardware from a few generations back, relying more on software tweaks than anything else. You do get new tricks, though, like Log video recording, Audio Eraser to remove unwanted sounds (the Pixel 10 also has this), and further refinements in night photography to keep it competitive. Despite its older hardware, the S25 continues to deliver strong results without major hardware changes, as you will see from our samples below.
PhoneArena Camera Score:
Photo
Video
Phone
Camera Score
Photo Score
Main (wide)
Ultra Wide
Selfie
Zoom
Google Pixel 10
147
156
83
22
26
25
Samsung Galaxy S25
147
151
80
21
27
23
Phone
Camera Score
Video Score
Main (wide)
Ultra Wide
Selfie
Zoom
Google Pixel 10
147
138
76
18
25
19
Samsung Galaxy S25
147
142
74
21
26
21
Find out more details about photo and video scores for all phones we have tested on our PhoneArena Camera Score page
In our Camera Score, both ended up equal at 147 points, but got there in different ways. The Pixel scored higher in photos, while the Galaxy pulled ahead in our video recording test. At the end of the day, though, the experience is quite similar.
Main Camera
< Pixel 10Galaxy S25 >
The truth is that the main cameras on both phones offer excelent image quality. That said, there are a couple of differences worth mentioning.
At closer inspection, the Pixel 10's new HDR+ seems to be working well, as ther eis a lot more detail in the highlights (the bright areas). Something else I notices is that the Pixel has more realistic colors. The S25 is a bit more saturated, although not as its predecessors used to be years ago.
< Pixel 10Galaxy S25 >
In an environment with less light, the two perform even more similarly. When it comes to the HDR, though, things seem to have flipped. The S25 was able to capture more detail both in the shadows and in the highlights (look at the right side of the image, where the curtain is).
Both phones did a good job with skin color.
Zoom Quality
< Pixel 10 5x (optical)Galaxy S25 5x (digital) >
Both phones have a dedicated telephoto camera, but the Pixel's comes with 5x optical zoom, and the S25 has 3x zoom. Naturaly, this means that at 5x, the Pixel 10 produces the better image. In comparison, the S25 looks overprocess and oversharpened, most likely compensating with software.
< Pixel 10 3x (digital)Galaxy S25 3x (optical) >
At 3x zoom, the image from the S25's telephoto camera looks much better. However, the Pixel definitely has the more color-accurate image in both the 5x and 3x scenarios, which gives it an edge, in my opinion.
Ultra-wide Camera
< Pixel 10Galaxy S25 >
The ultra-wide image taken with the Pixel 10 shows more in the shadows and, again, has more accurate colors.
Selfies
< Pixel 10Galaxy S25 >
Both phones capture great selfies, but they handle the colors differently. In this case, the scenario is rather difficult for the phone to figure out, as there is a pink hue coming from the surroundings. Whether the S25 took that into account and offered a more "natural" skin color, we can't know, but at the very least its wider angle makes it better for group selfies.
More Camera Samples
Battery Life and Charging
Google is the first to add magnetic wireless charging in the Android world
Battery life and charging speeds might be simillar, but it's nice to have magnets! | Image by PhoneArena.
The Pixel 10 carries a significant battery capacity advantage, with 4,970 mAh vs the Galaxy S25’s 4,000 mAh. We expect that to result in better battery life from the Pixel, especially with the custom-built Tensor G 5 chip inside. Google claims 30+ hours of use on a charge.
Charging is also an area where the Pixel 10 stands out. Now it supports Qi2 magnetic wireless charging with Google’s Pixelsnap ecosystem of chargers and stands. Samsung sticks to standard 15W wireless charging without magnets.
The Pixel 10's larger battery definiteyl played its role in our browsing and video playback tests, where it comfortably outlasted the Galaxy S25. Overall battery life was slightly better too — we estimated 7h 16m on the Pixel vs 7h 06m on the Galaxy.
Where Samsung hit back was gaming. The Galaxy S25 lasted over 12 hours in our gaming test, more than double the Pixel 10’s 5 hours.
Charging speeds are not that different. The Galaxy S25 hit 54% in 30 minutes and fully charged in 1h 22m, while the Pixel 10 managed 50% in 30 minutes and a full charge in 1h 29m. Google’s advantage is Qi2 magnetic wireless charging, making it the first Android flagship with MagSafe-like accessory support.
Charging: USB-C 30W wired 15W wireless Qi2 magnetic
Charging: USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless No magnetic
Summary
Image by PhoneArena.
The Galaxy S25 is still the compact king. It’s thin, light, and that Snapdragon 8 Elite makes it a performance monster. Sure, the camera hardware is looking a little old, but Samsung keeps squeezing out excellent results, proving it doesn’t need new sensors every year to stay relevant.
The Pixel 10, though, just feels fresher. That extra telephoto lens was the right call, as it finally puts the base Pixel on equal footing with Samsung’s base model, and it even gains some lead compared to the just-released iPhone 17. Add in magnetic charging and Google’s latest AI tricks, and it feels like the more modern phone. Magic Cue and Camera Coach aren’t perfect yet, but they’re real hints at where the industry is going.
So what’s the smarter buy at $799? If you want the smallest, most future-proof flagship with raw power, grab the Galaxy. If you want a phone that feels new and different, one that pushes AI harder and isn’t afraid to experiment, the Pixel 10 is the one that might do it for you.
Aleksandar is a tech enthusiast with a broad range of interests, from smartphones to space exploration. His curiosity extends to hands-on DIY experiments with his gadgets, and he enjoys switching between different brands to experience the latest innovations. Prior to joining PhoneArena, Aleksandar worked on the Google Art Project, digitizing valuable artworks and gaining diverse perspectives on technology. When he's not immersed in tech, Aleksandar is an outdoorsman who enjoys mountain hikes, wildlife photography, and nature conservation. His interests also extend to martial arts, running, and snowboarding, reflecting his dynamic approach to life and technology.
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