Preview of the Pixel press conference: Did you call everyone here just for this?

It feels inferior to Motorola.

Before the iPhone 17 series officially meets us, a relatively small but influential manufacturer in the Android market will also release its new products, bringing us the "standard answer" from the Android camp when facing iOS 26 and Liquid Glass.

According to Google's official announcement, this year's Made by Google hardware press conference will be scheduled for 10 a.m. on August 20th (Pacific Time, USA).

Friends in China can watch the online live stream at 1 a.m. on August 21st, or follow the summary on the "ifanr" WeChat official account on the morning of the 21st.

At this year's Google press conference, products including the Pixel 10 series, a new Pixel Watch smartwatch, and the next-generation Pixel Buds headphones will be released. There's even a small chance of seeing new developments of the Android XR glasses shown at the Google I/O conference in May.

Thanks to Google's "leaky" secrecy, we basically already know the hardware parameters of most of this year's new products.

From a hardware perspective, the product strength of this year's Pixel 10 series is very weak. For those of us in the domestic market, its reference value is far greater than its market value.

Image | 9to5Google

TL;DR

• All models are equipped with the Tensor G5 processor: Finally using TSMC's 3nm process, the performance is approximately equal to that of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and the energy efficiency ratio is significantly improved.
• Pixel 10 (base model): It has a triple - camera setup with main, long - range, and wide - angle lenses. However, the main and ultra - wide - angle lenses are downgraded. The fluorescent color is very eye - catching, and the starting price remains at $799.
• Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL: The hardware remains almost unchanged, but the new color schemes are very appealing. The starting prices remain at $999/$1199.
• Pixel 10 Pro Fold (large - fold model): It's a step backward. The only advantage is that it's $200 cheaper than Samsung's model. The starting price remains at $1799.
• Pixel Watch 4: The screen brightness breaks the record again. The new charging method solves the pain points of the previous generation. The starting price remains at $349.

Pixel 10 Series: From Dual - Camera to Triple - Camera, Thicker but Same Price

Image | Instagram @madebygoogle

This product, which was once incubated from Nexus and once represented the pinnacle of computational photography technology and the "purest" form of the Android system, has finally entered its tenth year.

According to current leaks, the product form of the Pixel 10 series is not much different from last year's Pixel 9. The whole series still consists of four models: Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL, and 10 Pro Fold, and it's not rushing to join the "ultra - thin war" of Samsung and Apple.

Image | Android Authority

The most significant change compared to last year is in the base - model Pixel 10. In the latest leaks and official promotions, it's confirmed that the Pixel 10 will be equipped with an upright long - range camera, completing the triple - camera setup of main, long - range, and wide - angle lenses.

According to leaks, the new long - range lens of the Pixel 10 will use Samsung's 3J1 sensor, with an area of 1/3 inch and a resolution of 11 million pixels.

In fact, this sensor is an old acquaintance. In 2022, the enhanced 2D face recognition algorithm of the Pixel 7 relied on the 3J1 sensor as the front - facing camera.

Judging from the parameters, even with Google's powerful super - resolution algorithm, it's unlikely to extract much pure optical information from these 11 million pixels. Therefore, the long - range lens of the Pixel 10 this year is likely to be a 3x long - range lens, on par with the standard version of Samsung's S series starting at $799.

Image | Android Authority

However, with the body size remaining the same, adding a new lens necessarily means squeezing the space of the other two lenses, which is also what we see in the leaked information.

According to the exclusive disclosure of foreign media Android Authority, the main and ultra - wide - angle lenses of the Pixel 10 will use Samsung's GN8 and Sony's IMX712 sensors respectively - the same as those of the mid - range Pixel 9a, breaking the excellent tradition of the regular Pixel models sharing large - sensor with the Pro models in the past.

Compared with the relatively significant changes in the regular Pixel 10, this year's two straight - board Pro models are rather unremarkable.

The camera algorithm, a traditional strength of Google Pixel, seems to have become an excuse for not upgrading the camera hardware in the past four or five generations of models.

Also according to Android Authority's disclosure, the triple - camera sensors of the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL are unchanged compared to the previous generation, still maintaining the combination of a 50MP Samsung GNV sensor for the main camera, and Sony IMX858 sensors for both the ultra - wide - angle and 5x long - range cameras - no change in either the soup or the medicine.

The Pixel 9 Pro looks like this, and the Pixel 10 Pro does too | Android Police

In terms of performance, this year's Tensor G5 might be the reason why Google dares to be stingy with hardware upgrades. After all, judging from the appearance and configuration, the Pixel 10 is undoubtedly the most "stingy" generation since the Pixel 6 switched to a self - developed processor.

Based on early prototype leaks and recent information, the specifications of the Tensor G5 are almost certain. First and most importantly - the Tensor G5 uses TSMC's second - generation 3nm process (N3E), with a benchmark performance close to that of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and is expected to see a leap in energy efficiency ratio and heat control.

In addition, compared with last year's Tensor G4, the Tensor G5 has an interesting change. Its GPU doesn't use ARM's public - version Mali architecture but switches to Imagination Technology's PowerVR architecture:

Image | GSMArena

For early iPhone users, this name is very familiar. Before Apple adopted its self - developed GPU architecture in 2017, all the GPUs used in the A - series processors were from Imagination.

The manufacturer that once provided GPUs for the iPhone is now developing GPUs for Google Pixel again. It's a turn of events for Pixel to "learn from Apple".

Image | NotebookCheck

Also according to leaks, this year's Pixel 10 series is expected to support the complete Qi2 charging protocol, including the built - in positioning magnets in the body.

Google also plans to use magnets to launch its own magnetic accessory product ecosystem "PixelSnap". Leaks indicate that there will be many first - party magnetic accessories in the future.

In terms of appearance, according to the tweet from Evan Bliss, in addition to Google's traditional Obsidian black, the Pixel 10 will also come in Frost blue (similar to iPhone's Alpine Green), Indigo (similar to Samsung's Phantom Blue), and Lemongrass (a color with a saturation similar to fluorescent green):

Color schemes of Pixel 10 (left) and Pixel 10 Pro (right) | X @Evan Blass

The Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL will also have new color schemes. In addition to the traditional black and white (Obsidian and Porcelain), the two new color schemes include Jade (light - green back panel with a misty - gold frame) and Moonstone (with a bit of gray - blue tone in the promotional picture).

Pixel 10 Pro Fold: The Most Inconspicuous Large - Fold Model

In addition to the triple - camera Pixel 10 and the thicker Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL, Google's large - fold model is also expected to appear at this year's Made by Google press conference and officially enter the annual - update mode.

According to the currently known information, the appearance of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is exactly the same as that of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. However, even under such circumstances, the main camera has been downgraded, making the already limited imaging ability of the foldable screen even worse.

Pixel 9 Pro Fold | Android Central

Cross - verified by multiple sources, the main - camera sensor of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will change from the 64MP 1/1.73 - inch Sony IMX787 sensor on the 9 Pro Fold to a 50MP 1/1.95 - inch Samsung GN8 sensor, resulting in a double - downgrade in sensor area and resolution.

If the main camera is downgraded, there's even less hope for the ultra - wide - angle and long - range cameras.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold still uses last year's 12MP Samsung 3J1 sensor. It's obvious that Google is fully betting on AI to improve the imaging ability. Even Android Authority commented that "Google is playing a dangerous game".

Worse still, apart from the changes in camera specifications, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has no other notable improvements. There are no changes in screen specifications, battery, or other hardware.

Image | PCMag

In other words, this year's Pixel 10 Pro Fold is quite disappointing, as if it's just a routine update of the processor and version number, just to tell everyone that "our product line still exists".

Although the competition in the overseas foldable - screen market is not very fierce, after Samsung launched the Z Fold7 this year, the situation of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has become even more awkward.

Pixel 9 Pro Fold (left) and Z Fold7 (right) | Android Central

In terms of appearance, although the Pixel 10 Pro Fold nominally belongs to the Pixel 10 Pro series, it won't have all four color schemes. Instead, it will only come in