Three ways the Pixel 10 beats the Galaxy S25 - and three ways it doesn't

Google has announced its latest Pixel 10 phones with updated Android 16 software, new colours, new processor and tweaks that improve them compared to last year's Pixel 9 series.

If you want to read up on the details, check out our news coverage of the Pixel 10, 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL here, while we also covered the launch of the high-end foldable Pixel 10 Pro Fold here. Google also unveiled a new Pixel Watch 4.

We're here to decide if the Pixel 10 is the new sub-£1,000 Android flagship phone for you, or if the Samsung Galaxy S25 is the better option.

The regular Pixel 10 costs £799, the same as the Galaxy S25. The two phones appear relatively similar on paper with screens nearly the same sizes, triple cameras on the back, fun colour options and, of course, Android.

But look closer and there are several differences between the two phones. I've found three ways I believe the newer Pixel 10 beats the Galaxy S25, which has been on shelves since February, and they might be reasons for you to consider buying Google's phone instead of Samsung's.

Despite that, there are also three ways the Galaxy S25 beats the Pixel 10 - on paper at least - and could mean that Samsung's phone is the one for you.

Since the iPhone 12 in 2020, the iPhone has had MagSafe, a simple but effective magnetic connection system built into the devices that allows for easy wireless charging and the use of accessories such as cases, stands and wallets. It's baffling that Android manufacturers have taken so long to copy something this good, but it's finally here with the Pixel 10, and it's known as Pixelsnap (though shout out to the HMD Skyline, which was the first and only Android phone with a similar system until now).

Google can't call it MagSafe as that's Apple's branding. But the Pixel 10 has the Qi2 charging standard built into it, which includes the same circular magnetic tech as MagSafe, meaning you should be able to use existing MagSafe accessories on Google's new phone.

Google sells Pixelsnap cases, stands and a charging stand to start with, but expect the market of accessories to grow. Samsung's S25 is Qi2 compatible, but the magnets aren't built into the phone - only the company's official cases. Not the best solution, and a win for Google.

How long a phone's battery last depends on many things. How much you use it during the day, how bright the display is and what you're doing on it being some of the main factors. But science is science, and larger batteries mean longer battery life - and the Pixel 10 has a significantly larger battery than the S25.

The Pixel 10 has a 4,970mAh battery, an impressively large cell that is in fact nearly the same size as the £1,249 Galaxy S25 Ultra. Not bad for a £799 device.

The regular S25 is stuck with a significantly pokier 4,000mAh. That means the Pixel 10 has very nearly 25 percent more battery than the Galaxy, which could very well result in longer battery life. I've tested the S25, and while it does make it through a day with my usage, it tipped towards the red more often than I'd like it to. These specs suggest the Pixel is the better pick if you want a relatively small flagship phone with solid longevity.

OK, this one is a little more subjective but I believe the Pixel 10's AI to be better integrated and more appealing than what Samsung is offering. Where the S25 offers Galaxy AI tools such as live translation, email summaries and options to rewrite your emails in a different tone of voice, Google offers simpler quality of life AI such as Call Screen, which uses an AI voice to screen calls from unknown numbers.

If you are put on hold when calling a business or service, you can tap Hold For Me, and the Pixel 10 will do just that, letting you get on with your day until someone is ready to talk to you.

The Pixel 10 also introduces a new feature called Magic Cue, which says it'll anticipate what you need in Google apps and suggest them on the screen. An example is a friend texting you asking for an Airbnb address - Google says the Pixel will be able to search your Gmail and pop the address up on the screen in the Messages app as a suggested reply, saving you diving into your emails to dig out the information.

Sure, this is my opinion rather than cold hard specs, but the Pixel 10's AI seems more useful to address daily tech annoyances compared to the S25's headline AI features.

But that's not to say the Pixel 10 is the best phone for you out of the two.

Synthetic benchmarks only tell part of the story, but the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite in the Galaxy S25 is, on paper, more powerful than the Tensor G5 chip in the Pixel 10. It's worth noting that the majority of people won't notice a difference, but it depends what you want to use your phone for. If you're considering one of the ese phones to have a smaller but powerful device to play high-end mobile games on, the S25 will be the better pick.

The 8 Elite is a supremely well-specced processor, and the version inside the S25 is a 'For Galaxy' version that's overclocked and technically even more powerful than the version you will find in other phones with the regular 8 Elite.

Tensor G5 is Google's latest chip, and is geared towards the smoother function of on-device AI. It depends what you want your phone to do - and you really may not care which chip your phone has - but if you want as much power on paper as possible for the price, the Galaxy wins this round.

Both the Galaxy S25 and the Pixel 10 have pin-sharp 6.2-inch and 6.3-inch OLED displays respectively, and both are capable of 120Hz refresh rates. This helps apps and texts to scroll smoother than on displays with only 60Hz (such as the iPhone 16), but running this tech eats up battery life.

To counteract this and to save on juice, both phones can cleverly scale down the refresh rate depending on what you're doing on your phone. If you're reading text on a website, you don't need 120Hz, so the phone will automatically crank the refresh rate right down. Where the Galaxy beats the Pixel here is that the S25 has an LTPO screen capable of scaling right down to 1Hz, whereas the Pixel can only scale down to 60Hz.

It's a minor thing, but it could actually be part of the reason the S25 manages to last a day on a charge despite its HD screen and relatively small battery. If you are a spec aficionado, it's notable that the Pixel lacks an LTPO screen, something you'll only find on the pricier Pixel 10 Pro models.

Over in the US, the Pixel 10 is the first Pixel to not include a physical SIM slot, as Google follows Apple's lead in ditching it. Thankfully there's no such nonsense in the UK, where the Pixel 10 has a normal nano SIM card slot - but only one slot. The Galaxy S25 has a dual SIM card slot so you can easily swap out SIMs, whether it's for personal, business or roaming use.

The Pixel does have eSIM capability, so you can run your UK SIM card as normal and still grab a cheap eSIM for roaming abroad with data when on holiday, but you might have two physical SIMs currently and prefer to run your phone that way. If that's the case, the Pixel won't work for you, but the S25 will.

Samsung and Google have both long since got rid of hardware perks such as headphone jacks or microSD card slots on their flagship phones, and a cautious look across the pond suggests it might not be long until our phones in the UK have no SIM card slots either. But if you are loath to give up your SIMs, the Galaxy S25 has room for two, beating the Pixel 10's one.