The Pixel 10 Pro XL Goes to Paris: Out of Hundreds of Photos, These Are My Favs

The phone’s hardware hasn’t changed much from last year, with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 48-megapixel telephoto camera offering 5x optical zoom. 

With the new processor and a host of software improvements, Google says it’s made its best camera phone yet. To test the company’s boasts, I headed out onto the streets.

I was testing the Pixel 10 Pro XL, which has an identical camera setup to the base Pixel 10 Pro. Note, too, that to reduce file sizes for display online, all images were first imported into Adobe Lightroom and saved as JPEGs at 3,000 pixels long on the longest edge. No other adjustments have been made unless otherwise stated.

My first shot was mere yards from my hotel: a dude on a one-wheel, carrying a tiny fluffy dog. It’s a classic scene, but what’s more impressive is the speed at which I could shoot and how the phone captured the fast motion with no blur. He looks stationary, but he was zipping by. 

Further down the road, I found a better animal: this cat cozying up on a mat. The overall exposure is solid, and the details are pin-sharp. Nice work from the Pixel here.

This scene is great, not just because of the iconic vintage Citreon car, but because of the vibrant colors the phone has captured. That orange really pops and the overall exposure is spot on.

Beautiful views are down every road in Paris. 

No, really, down every road. This is a great example of the phone’s HDR capabilities, actually. It’s kept the bright sky under control but also maintained plenty of detail in the shadowy parts of the scene.

It’s the same here, too. Despite being a very contrasty scene, the Pixel has not only captured it evenly, but it’s done it without making it look too “processed,” largely by not lifting the shadows to an unnatural extent. It looks balanced but also realistic. I’m really impressed.

And even under these trees, there’s still great exposure overall. 

Switching to the ultrawide camera, it’s the same story. Crucially, there’s also no shift in colors when you switch between the lenses. I’ve tested many phones where there’s a noticeable difference in colors when you go wide, but the Pixel has nailed this. 

The ultrawide has done a cracking job here, too, with a beautiful blue sky overhead.

I used the ultrawide intentionally here to emphasize the curve of the road and the railing and give a more dramatic framing to the cyclist. I love how the phone has rendered this image. 

I also shot this in DNG raw, and I found there was a decent amount of latitude to give the scene my own “look” in Adobe Lightroom. 

In this subtly lit church, the ultrawide lens struggled a bit more with the fine details, but it’s still a good-looking shot with solid exposure.

An old storefront, taken at 2x zoom.

A more vibrant storefront, also taken at 2x zoom. I love the bold colors here — the Pixel’s color rendition is exceptionally accurate.

The red of those parasols really pops here.

Taken with the main camera, the exposure and detail on the cathedral is superb.

Zooming in to 5x using the telephoto lens still results in a pin-sharp image.

You can zoom in further up to 30x and the phone’s AI will simply upscale the details to bring out some extra clarity. It works well. 

Zoom in even further up to 100x and the phone will actually use generative AI to reconstruct lost details in a scene. On the left is the original version, while on the right is the AI version. It’s definitely made it a lot sharper. 

This person’s blue umbrella could not have been better placed. 

The AI tool hasn’t worked quite as well here, with the faint image of the plane in the original image (left) being turned into an odd jumble of sticks with a red nose in the AI image (right).

But it does bring up an important question: If the phone is using generative AI to recreate details in a scene, is it really a photo that you’re taking? Google is certainly trying to get ahead of some of the moral issues here in that it says this AI tool will not be applied to faces “to prevent inaccurate representations.” 

Taken with the main lens, this scene does look a little unnatural, with the overly darkened blue sky, but it’s certainly vibrant. 

Crisp details on this man overlooking the city.

I love the colors in this shot.

This dog was not happy about its photo being taken, but in its defense, it was with an iPhone user.

I used the 30x zoom to take this shot of an adorable sausage dog. While I don’t love the somewhat mushy details, I do love that it’s captured the epic side-eye from the dog itself.

Other new AI features include Auto Best Take, which automatically merges multiple group photos into one where everyone is smiling and looking the right way. This was a feature on older Pixel phones, but the process is fully automated now. 

There’s a selfie camera, too. Look at this guy. What’s his story? Is he cool? He seems super cool.

It was only after I’d climbed all the way up the steps that I realized there was a funicular. You can almost feel my rage in this picture.

Oh, it’s another beautiful Parisian street. I think I had a glass of wine down here soon after. 

Close-up details that remain lovely and crisp. 

This macro shot of chips (yes, we call them chips here, French Fries are not actually French) is packed with detail. And salt.

The other major AI tool on the phone is Camera Coach, which uses AI to analyze the scene in front of the camera and provide you with steps to help you take a better photo. Here, the phone suggested I use portrait mode and put the person in the center of the frame. As a professional photographer of well over a decade, I was grateful for this much-needed advice.