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Stephen Headrick / Android Authority
My smartphone is more of a camera than a phone to me. In fact, I originally switched to Android (Google Pixel 2 XL “panda edition,” which is still one of my favorite designs) specifically because I liked the images that Google’s camera app produced. Year over year, camera upgrades brought significant upgrades that — for me, at least — warranted buying a new phone each year. But in more recent years, the improvements have been less dramatic and, in many cases, not very noticeable to the average user. As someone who has continued to upgrade most years, this made me wonder how Google’s latest device stacks up against one of its predecessors, so I decided to compare the Pixel 8 Pro to my latest Pixel 10 Pro. Let’s dig into the pixels to see how a two-year-old device stacks up against Google’s latest efforts.
What is the most important factor when choosing your next smartphone?
17 votes
Battery life
41%
Camera
47%
Other internals (processor, RAM, etc.)
12%
Something else (let us know in the comments!)
0%
Are you sure we’re using two different devices?
Let’s start with the main camera. The lens itself is identical on both devices, so in theory, the images should be relatively similar.
If I didn’t already know these were taken on different devices, I would’ve guessed they came from the same camera. Even when you zoom in to examine the details, you’ll have a difficult time spotting differences, especially in photos taken on the main lens at 1x zoom. In our first sample with the palm trees, both cameras do a great job capturing rich colors and fine details, even in the shadows.
Staying on the same lens, this next photo hints at one of the major differences I started to notice between the Pixel 10 Pro and the Pixel 8 Pro: a subtle shift towards warmer colors in Google’s latest device. The difference is rather small here in this sample, but still notable. You may not notice at first glance, but it’s especially easy to see in the red paint to the top left of the white building. The 8 Pro’s red looks a little washed out to me, while the 10 Pro’s image comes out a bit more bold and confident in its colors. My eyes prefer the 10 Pro’s camera here.
Other than that rather minor difference, you’ll see you’re still getting a great photo from both devices, with similar amounts of detail in the shadows.
With every smartphone opening up to the main 1x camera, this is likely the most-often-used camera on any phone, and as you can see, the two-year-old Pixel 8 Pro is still putting up a strong fight when compared to Google’s latest flagship. If you are thinking of upgrading from the 8 Pro, the main camera is not a reason to do so.
Warmer or cooler, which do you prefer?
2x zoom uses the same main lens we were just discussing, but I started to notice some differences in how each device handled challenging scenes.
In the above scene, you can very visibly see that warmer color tone in the wood of the restaurant. Especially in the wooden fence, the color appears far more consistent and vibrant in the 10 Pro’s image. I also quite prefer the 10 Pro’s take on shadows. The image still has a good contrast in the shadows, but it also does a lot better job of preserving the colors and details on the 10 Pro. The umbrella looks maroon, as it should, instead of almost black in the 8 Pro’s image. You can even see the inside of the umbrella on the 10 Pro, while it comes out almost completely flat on the 8 Pro.
In this portrait mode picture, you’ll see some pretty glaring differences. In the name of consistency, I didn’t tap on the screen to focus for any of the photos. The 8 Pro consistently struggled to see the palm tree as the subject, and you’ll see the resulting photo didn’t even come out in portrait mode, even after multiple attempts. Conversely, the 10 Pro produced a beautiful shot, with beautiful warm tones and a silky smooth background blur.
In this example, both phones produced a pleasant image with good background blur, although with differing amounts of blur. The 10 Pro’s blur includes more of the street behind it than the 8 Pro’s. You’ll also still notice the difference in color tones here.
I also want to note that I’m pretty disappointed in either device’s ability to handle edges in portrait mode. Going back to that palm tree sample, you’ll see that even Google’s latest device leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to edge detection on the subject. The straight lines of the traffic cone subject came out pretty nice, but those palm tree leaves need some attention. This has long been a struggle for all smartphones, and unfortunately, the Pixel still has a lot of room for improvement.
The only lens with a real upgrade
Let’s move on to the telephoto lens, and sticking with the default zoom options in the camera app, this lens kicks in with the 5x button. On the 10 Pro, this lens gets a major upgrade with the addition of optical image stabilization. That said, the resulting images are still rather similar to the naked eye, with the key difference once again being a shift in color science.
This is one of my favorite images I captured for this article, and to my eyes, the warmer tones produced by the Pixel 10 Pro are beautiful. I’m also seeing ever-so-slightly more fine detail in the 10 Pro’s image, and that’s likely due to the optical image stabilization. Are these reasons to upgrade, though? You could likely adjust the warmth of the 8 Pro’s image in the Photos app to achieve a similar look if that’s what you prefer, so I’d venture to say this still isn’t a great reason to upgrade to the 10 Pro, as the differences are so minuscule.
Here’s another sample from the telephoto lens, and they both look great. My eyes still prefer that warmer tone coming from the 10 Pro’s camera.
Zooming in a bit further to 10x, this sample really shows where the 10 Pro’s warmer colors shine. The 8 Pro’s cooler tones drown out the building’s beautiful green color. You can see the same with most colors in this shot.
I’m seeing a similar result here, specifically with the yellow flower. It almost looks like the 8 Pro has a filter over the entire image that makes all the colors just a bit washed out. I like that the 10 Pro consistently lets colors shine through and appear more true-to-life than the 8 Pro.
Here’s another telephoto sample (at 10x zoom), and I think this is a clear example of where that optical image stabilization shines. Zoom into the cloth on the traffic light or the trees below that, and the difference in fine detail becomes extremely apparent.
The ultrawide is more of the same
The Pixel 10 Pro’s ultra-wide camera has a slightly faster aperture — so it can let in a bit more light — and its field of view is three degrees narrower than the 8 Pro’s camera, but the images come out largely the same.
As you can see, even the colors come out pretty similarly in these photos. Of all the lenses, this one is the least likely to convince someone to upgrade from their trusty 8 Pro.
More megapixels doesn’t always mean a better photo
On paper, the 10 Pro’s 42 megapixel selfie camera got a pretty substantial upgrade from the 8 Pro’s 10.5 megapixel camera. It also has a wider field of view (103 degrees compared to 95 degrees). That said, they both have autofocus and the same aperture, and the images come out largely the same to my eyes. I do like the 10 Pro’s wider lens, but that alone isn’t a great reason to upgrade.
A major upgrade for long-range photos, with a caveat
If you happen to take a lot of long-distance pictures, then the 10 Pro may finally have a good reason for you to upgrade. But there’s a caveat: you have to be okay with AI being used to make your photos look good. The Pixel 10 Pro’s Pro Res Zoom is extremely impressive, but only with the help of Google’s AI upscaling. Take a look at the difference between a 30x zoom photo on the 8 Pro compared to the 10 Pro:
The result is pretty astonishing, but not everyone wants AI used in their photography. I personally really enjoy having this available to me on my 10 Pro, but I also don’t think people take enough long-range photos for this to be a reason to upgrade. It’s more of a nice bonus if you happen to be in the market for a new phone, not a vital part of the camera experience.
Do you need to upgrade just because of the camera?
I’m really impressed with how well the 8 Pro holds its own against the 10 Pro. After all, two years used to be an eternity in the smartphone world, with major advancements in that amount of time.
Does the 10 Pro produce good photos more consistently, with better colors and finer details?
, but the differences aren’t mind-blowing. Is Pro Res Zoom a fun party trick that’s sometimes useful? Sure, but only if you are okay with AI. Are the resulting images different enough to spend $1,000+ on a new phone? Not in the slightest.Both devices will give even the most novice user fantastic images, and with just a few taps, the main differences — color tone and detail level — can be adjusted to have your two-year-old device’s camera looking just like the latest and greatest.
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