Google Pixel 10 Pro Xl is the most advanced smartphone in artificial intelligence

Smartphones in the age of artificial intelligence should be judged differently than in the past. An AI phone review should assess how well a phone governs itself with voice, what it knows about us, what suggestions it can give us, in essence how well it knows us and can anticipate our wishes.

Pixel 10 Pro XL, after a week-long test, is the most ambitious phone ever to come out of Mountain View, but also the most talked about. The Wall Street Journal likened it to a manifesto of mobile artificial intelligence, underlining with a blue pencil Google's advantage over Apple. As some trade journals have pointed out, Pixel 10's new features such as real-time voice translation, intelligent suggestions ('Magic Cue') and 'Camera Coach' mode are fun, not perfect, but clearly suggest how smartphones will change if they are to survive the new generation of AI-enhanced objects (smart glasses, wearable devices, etc.).

"Magic Cue" is the most interesting but is not yet available in Italy, as is "Camera Coach". While I found the integration with NotebookLM very useful: Journal and Recorder transcripts can be added to NotebookLM for easier organisation and research. Pixel uses on-device AI to provide writing prompts or reorganise ideas and, for those who are for example journalists, it is also a really useful tool for managing the day's diary.

Also fun is the music creation in Recorder to turn voice recordings into music tracks by selecting a desired style. The feeling is really that of having an up-to-date assistant in my hand: I used it with Pixel Bud earbuds (the ones from last year) and I have a subscription to Google AI Pro (the 21 euro a month one). You can now share screen, images, files or YouTube videos more easily. You can share the camera in Gemini Live to talk about what you see. Gemini Live chats and shared content are stored in Gemini app activities, and you can manage and delete your activities at any time. I have enjoyed working, calling and informing myself without looking at the screen. It's not all smooth, it often doesn't do what you want it to do, but I think this is the clearest direction of the so-called AI phone.

Technically, however, Apple still has an advantage in terms of graphics performance and energy efficiency, despite the smaller battery. On the photographic front, the Pixel focuses everything on artificial intelligence, while the iPhone maintains a more consistent quality with lenses and sensors. Two different philosophies: Google seems to want to focus everything on computational photography, Apple continues to believe more in the physics of light and thus in hardware. And so do the other direct rivals on Android, such as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.