Paul’s Pixel 10 Diaries: All the Small Things ⭐

Two weeks into my Pixel 10 series experience, I’m moving from the Pixel 10 Pro XL to the base model Pixel 10.

This will be... interesting.
? Size matters
For the most part, I’ve stuck to the largest possible model of any given smartphone over the years. This is mostly pragmatic in that it’s easier on my middle-aged (or older) eyes and my large hands. But I’ve also been swayed by unique features, usually camera-related, that are often only available in the largest models.

There were exceptions, of course. I bought a Samsung Galaxy S25+ earlier this year rather than the usual Ultra model in part to experience a device that wasn’t quite top of the line. I had seriously considered the iPhone 16 Plus last year, for that same reason, though it has a larger display and has now been replaced by an iPhone 17 Air with a sort of in-between display, size-wise. But most small phones are, for me, too small. For example, the Pixel 4a, with its tiny 5.8-inch display was delightful, but just not for me, and I felt more comfortable with the 6.2-inch Google Pixel 4a 5G that year.

(“That year” being five years ago now. Where does the time go?)

The last “small” phone I bought for myself, I believe, was the iPhone 13 Pro, in 2022. It was a terrific smartphone for the day, but I found its 6.1-inch display to be problematic (eyes/hands). Ditto for the Pixel 6a, also from 2022, and also with a 6.2-inch display.

All my other phones in the years since, iPhone and Pixel, have all been the largest (and more premium) choice each year. On the Pixel side, that’s been the Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL.

I have no regrets per se. In keeping with my “optimize for the every day” mantra, I find it odd when people choose a smaller phone specifically because it fits better in their pants pockets or whatever. That’s when you’re not using it. On the other hand, I would love to carry something smaller around in the same way I occasionally wish I was a foot shorter so I could fit better into a coach airplane seat. I guess I see both sides.
? A Pixel-to-Pixel (to Pixel) comparison
With the Pixel 9 and 10 series phones, Google has offered two Pro models, one a standard Pro with a 6.3-inch display and the other a Pro XL with a 6.8-inch display. And they have done this right, in my mind, meaning that the two Pro phones are just about functionally identical and differ from each other mostly by display and battery size. The only notable exception this year is in charging functionality: Where the Pixel 10 Pro supports up to 30-watt wired and 15-watt Pixelsnap (wireless) charging, the Pixel 10 Pro ups both, to 45-watts and 25-watts, respectively. (You can also configure a Pixel 10 Pro with just 128 GB of storage, where the Pixel 10 Pro XL starts at 256 GB.)

The base Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro likewise share many attributes, though there are major differences, too. And that’s relevant to any buying decision because the Pixel 10 starts at...