Google Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro front and back camera difference

Google Pixel 10 has a massive camera upgrade this year when compared to last year's Google Pixel 9 smartphone. The new Pixel 10 has an additional telephoto camera for taking zoom shots. This upgrade makes the Google Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro equal as they both have a triple-camera setup now. It is now almost impossible to detect which one is the Pixel 10 and which one is the Pixel 10 Pro by looking at their back side. However, even though they both look very very similar, the technical specs are quite different in terms of cameras - let's dive in the article.

The triple-camera setup includes a main wide, an ultrawide and a telephoto camera. And both the Google Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro have those same camera types. The Pixel 10 Pro is $200 more than the regular Pixel 10 smartphone. So, it is obvious that the camera specs are different between them. However, the camera output is not significantly different in them. Okay, so let's first check the absolute difference in the technical specifications of their camera sensors.

Google uses 2 suppliers for the camera sensors. The suppliers are Samsung and Sony. Only the ultrawide camera sensor on the Google Pixel 10 is made by Sony, which is the Sony IMX712 sensor. Other 2 back-cameras along with the front selfie-camera are made by Samsung. That means, the wide sensor is Samsung GN8, the telephoto is Samsung 3J1 and the selfie-camera sensor is also the same Samsung 3J1 on the regular Google Pixel 10 phone. For the Pixel 10 Pro, out of 4 camera sensors, only 1 is supplied by Samsung Electronics. It refers to only the wide camera sensor, which is a Samsung GNV.

Other sensors on the Pixel 10 Pro are the ultrawide Sony IMX858, telephoto IMX858, selfie IMX858 - same Sony sensors for those three lenses. The technical details are collected from Android Authority and GSMARENA, check them out. I see a little mismatch in the details of selfie camera sensors. However, the same camera sensors can be modified and controlled to serve different purposes based on needs.

Even though the Pixel 10 got a brand new upgrade by having a telephoto camera, the resolution on the ultrawide, telephoto and selfie-camera sensors are not that promising. However, the megapixel-count on the Google Pixel 10 Pro is quite decent compared to Pixel 10 regular device. Also, all the camera sensors on the pricey Google Pixel 10 Pro are bigger in size. Let's check how the sensors measure and what they offer.

The zoom camera, the telephoto lens is being implemented differently on them. The Google Pixel 10 has 5x telephoto that does 10x optical zoom (source) via the traditional lens, which zooms up to 20x using Super Res Zoom. Pretty differently, the Pixel 10 Pro does the zoom using a periscope 5x telephoto that has 10x optical and 100x zoom using Pro Res. That is a bit confusing, it should be 5x optical - the official source says 10x optical zoom. The zoom over 10x becomes pretty soft and cartoonish quickly on the regular Pixel 10 device. The Pixel 10 Pro holds its ground a bit longer but clearly falls short against Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra's zoom.

So, compared to other Chinese flagships geared towards massive zoom by using massive resolution in camera sensors, the Google Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro can't compete with zoom. However, the image processing is very good like it had been in the past. So images come out as more sharp and detailed on the Pixel 10 Pro, especially from the telephoto and ultrawide for having more resolution. The main camera is slightly bigger and takes slightly better photos on the Pixel 10 Pro.

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The video performance on them is very similar but in a good way. It's better than last year's Google Pixel 9. Both the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro have OIS that helps to record smooth video. The judder is less noticeable with the Pixel 10, but at low light it might become a little shaky. The videos are not as good as compared to the iPhones, but it's getting close. Both have Night Sight video and Video Boost features. Check the official Pixel 10 Pro page.

By the way, the Google Pixel 10 Pro has 8K at 30fps feature via cloud upscaling and conversational image editing in Google Photos. So, from the outside, main difference is that the Pixel 10 Pro has a glossy aluminum frame vs Pixel 10's matte-finished aluminum frame. The camera sensors are much better on the Pro model that tries to justify the $200 extra price. On paper, huge difference, but in reality, not a big difference. Overall, the regular Pixel 10's telephoto camera addition is a huge upgrade.

Also, please check out the JBL Flip 7 vs JBL Flip 6 story for highlights.
IF you're interested in portable small speakers, check my Soundcore Motion 300 vs Bose Soundlink Flex article. Both speakers did well in a head-to-head comparison.