A decade of Pixel, it’s only in the last few years that we have seen Google settle into a rhythm with smartphones. It hasn’t been smooth sailing, though.
Look back at the line-up, and it’s still hard to believe we’ve had a decade of Pixel. If you asked me back in 2016 whether Google’s in-house hardware experiment would stick around long enough to reach fully custom 3nm silicon, I’m not sure I’d have believed you.
To say that Google was late to the market is an understatement. By 2016, Apple and Samsung were already well into the swing of things. To be fair, that still is the case a decade later, but now with an even tighter iron grip over the space. I was personally distraught when the Nexus lineup was canceled to the point that I actually went with the Galaxy S8 rather than wait to see what Google had in store next.
Google’s answer to the ‘big two’ was Pixel. A phone not “officially” made by partners, but still sort of relying on OEMs while the production pipeline or groundwork was laid.
Pixel and Pixel XL (2016)
The original Google Pixel was built in a close manufacturing partnership with HTC, featuring a wedge-shaped profile that famously tapered down to eliminate any camera bump.
Let’s be real, the hardware wasn’t tearing up trees, and it looked more than a little similar to the iPhone 7/8 series. It was a conservative design, but pretty darn self-assured.
The main thing that helped differentiate the device was its built-in Google Assistant integration and HDR+ image processing pipeline for photos. Rightly or wrongly, this simple formula has more or less defined the Pixel for the past decade of Google’s mobile computing efforts.
Smart, simple software and artificial intelligence have been at the forefront from the very beginning and will remain so over the next 10 years.
Pixel 2 series (2017)
With the second generation, Google finally figured out design. The LG-made Pixel 2 XL gave us the iconic “Panda” colorway with its stark black-and-white glass back and the bright orange accent power button. You’ve told us time and time again that it’s a personal favorite for Pixel fans. It also debuted the Pixel Visual Core, Google’s first attempt at custom co-processing to let apps like Instagram use HDR+.
Add single-lens Portrait Mode that put dual-camera rivals to shame, squeeze-to-activate Active Edge, ambient Now Playing track identification, and the persistent At a Glance widget, and the Pixel 2 series genuinely felt like magic in your hand.
The first major problems started to appear, though. The blue shift on the 2 XL meant that viewing from an angle is not recommended. Screen burn-in was also something people suffered.
Pixel 3 series (2018)
The Pixel 3 era was peak camera software dominance mixed with a few just flat-out bizarre hardware choices.
That Pixel 3 XL “bathtub” notch was an absolute eyesore and was thoroughly roasted by the tech community and reviewers alike. I think in some ways, once you fired up the camera, all was forgiven. I’ve taken some incredible photos with the Pixel 3. Pictures that I still look at very fondly 8 years later.
This was the first Pixel to come with Night Sight, which arrived via a software update and single-handedly changed low-light smartphone photography forever. It wasn’t the first, but it was one of the best implementations.
You could shoot in near pitch-black conditions and walk away with a clean, detailed photo without ever touching the flash. Pair that with yet more AI-powered functions such as Call Screen, which handles telemarketers and spam in real time, and the software was doing all the heavy lifting.
In trademark fashion, the Pixel 3 had issues with RAM management and poor battery life. It was a mixed bag, but it was followed up by something truly interesting because the Pixel 3a is one of the best midrangers ever. It set the stage for a change of pace…but that wasn’t for a couple of years.
Pixel 4 series (2019)
Let’s be honest, Google swung for the fences with the Pixel 4, but it didn’t quite land.
It is almost the least Pixel-y of the entire lineup because it stands apart from all that have since followed. The black sheep in many ways. It ditched the trusty rear fingerprint scanner, they threw Project Soli into a chunky top bezel for wave-to-snooze Motion Sense gestures and 3D Face Unlock.
We also got a silky smooth 90Hz display and a telephoto lens rather than the industry-preferred and marginally more flexible ultrawide. It felt like a zig to everyone else’s zag.
Alas, it was a big risk and one that ended up compromising the most. The small Pixel 4 had a tiny 2,800 mAh battery that struggled to get through an afternoon, let alone a full day. High launch prices and Soli radar frequency restrictions in key markets meant commercial success was hard to come by, and the negatives really held back the lineup. It actually triggered a reshuffle in Google’s hardware team.
Pixel 4a, 4a 5G and Pixel 5 (2020)
Faced with global disruptions in 2020 due to the emergence of COVID-19 and maybe due to some, at the time, unknown future plans, Google completely pivoted with the Pixel lineup. The Pixel 4 was a big swing, but the follow-up series went in a very different direction.
The mid-range Pixel 4a launched at just $349/£349 and became an immediate hit because it kept that flagship-grade camera performance in an understated, no-nonsense plastic body. This was an appetizer for what was to come.
Then came the flagship Pixel 5, but this wasn’t the premium phone that many expected. It skipped top-tier Qualcomm silicon entirely for the upper-mid-range Snapdragon 765G. It was the same chip used by many cheaper phones and even the more affordable Pixel 4a 5G, which was basically a bigger, bolder version of the 4a.
The 5 was coated in a bio-resin finish over a recycled aluminum frame, it brought back the rear fingerprint scanner, swapped the telephoto for an ultrawide lens, and gave us uniform bezels with reliable battery life. It lacked raw processing grunt, but it earned a cult following for simply being a reliable, compact everyday phone.
On one hand, it was good to see Google right some issues with the previous generation. On the other hand, it was confusing as it sort of signaled that maybe Pixels were not high-end phones. It was a reset.
Pixel 6 series (2021)
After a fairly unassuming and, arguably, boring preamble, 2021 was without a doubt the biggest turning point in Pixel history.
Google overhauled the design, introducing the now iconic camera bar running across the back, creating a silhouette you could spot from a mile away. We were given a proper two-tier lineup with a Pro phone that packed in a triple camera system, a larger 120Hz display, and a cheaper but still competent base model.
Most importantly, though, was the debut of original Tensor (now G1) silicon. Moving away from standard Qualcomm chips meant Google could tailor hardware directly for on-device ML—powering features like Magic Eraser, Live Translate, and Material You dynamic color themes.
As well-received as it was at launch, the Pixel 6 had some serious growing pains with a slow optical fingerprint reader, terrible modem performance, and overheating issues galore, but despite what were fairly major issues, the foundation was set.
Pixel 7 series (2022)
The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro took the foundational groundwork of the Pixel 6 and smoothed out the rough edges. Visually, the camera bar evolved into a seamless piece of 100% recycled aluminum that flowed directly out of the side rails, swapping out the all-glass visor for a sleeker metal shell with pill-and-cutout camera cutouts.
Under the hood sat Tensor G2, which paired with an upgraded Samsung Exynos 5300 modem. This finally resolved the signal drops and battery drain that plagued the previous generation. While raw computational gains were modest, Tensor G2 unlocked key software capabilities: Photo Unblur in Google Photos (which could restore old, blurry archival photos taken on any camera), Macro Focus via the ultrawide lens, and the return of a fast 2D Face Unlock system.
Mid-2023 also saw the Pixel lineup expand its footprint. The Pixel 7a raised the bar for mid-range phones by bringing a 90Hz refresh rate and wireless charging to the A-series for the first time. Meanwhile, Google made its long-awaited entry into new form factors with the original Pixel Fold, showcasing a short, wide “passport” design that prioritized a usable outer display over tall, narrow screens. It was a bit of a “fail” in the sense that it didn’t move the needle and was quickly overshadowed by others due to launching with the previous-generation processor and, admittedly, strange aspect ratios.
Pixel 8 series (2023)
In my mind, the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro were the moment the lineup transitioned from an enthusiast recommendation with caveats to a phone you could comfortably recommend to everyday consumers. Never perfect, but quietly the last Pixel that felt truly like a Pixel. These are bubbly, friendly phones in all the ways that matter.
A few more AI functions made their debut: Best Take, Audio Magic Eraser, Video Boost, and, as a headline addition, 7 years of full updates for the first time. Basically, making these the industry standard for smartphone support. Google leapfrogged Samsung and even Apple for software support windows.
No, no reinvention of the wheel. Tensor still didn’t hit the heights many wanted, which is to say it was fine.
Pixel 9 series (2024)
The Pixel 9 was a rapid design departure in a number of ways. Firstly, it ditched the friendly, playful looks that had been a trademark of the series. Instead, it took a very boxy route that instantly felt familiar to anyone who may have tried an iPhone.
It was a really polished upgrade and sort of put to bed some of the tricky hardware issues that plagued many of the older Pixel models. Google also began leaning into yet more AI-powered functionality, with Gemini now being a key component.
Google unified the launch across all phones, coming on day one, but also switched from the standard October release cadence to a late-summer August release. Pitching the Pixel ahead of the iPhone has been a huge change. Allowing the company to lay out plans and getting even more hype around a launch lineup.
Pixel 10 series (2025)
Although on the surface, almost the exact same, the Pixel 10 was the first 3nm chip for the lineup, and it was the first to be fabricated by TSMC. It signaled the end of the Samsung Foundry partnership that was the start of the Tensor era.
Any lingering thermal issues were gone, Gemini was integrated even further and into even more places, like the camera, and the first steps of multimodel intelligence were added with Magic Cue. I’d stop short of saying the Pixel 10 delivers on some of the promises made way back on October 4, 2016, but it came as close as it ever had until that point.
Finally, we had a flagship-level device with Qi2 magnets at the back too. It took until 2025 for one of the biggest Android brands to adopt Magsafe or, in this case, Pixelsnap. With that one move, the Pixel 10 opened up a whole world of accessories to be attached without the need for a case. It’s so elementary, it’s a wonder we haven’t seen more try to do it.
Pixel 11 series (2026) and beyond
A decade later, we’re here with the Pixel 11. The peak of the Made by Google series thus far. There are still pain points, namely a design that hasn’t evolved too drastically, performance from the Tensor processor still feels decidedly mid-range at times, and a heavy emphasis on AI functionality to make up for this raw performance gap.
A sometimes lazy observation of the original Pixel was that it was the “iPhone of Android,” but that seems to have been taken to heart, and a decade after launch, we have the most “iPhone-y” Pixel to date. Maybe that is a symptom of where smartphones have stalled, but it’s a really interesting evolution. The advantage is that you know what to expect. Gemini is becoming more and more prominent and yet a more integral component in Pixel phones, and that isn’t likely to cease any time soon.
What’s easy to see is that Pixel has been a bigger success than the Nexus lineup. Getting hold of the full end-to-end user experience has helped drastically. I don’t think anyone can argue that the best Nexus phone is easily surpassed by the best Pixel phone.
It would be remiss of anyone talking about Google products without some fears over whether we’ll get another decade of Pixel, but with so many internal changes at the company and bigger marketing budgets thrown at actually marketing the devices, it seems that, at least for now, the Pixel is here to stay.
The past decade has proved that Google was never really trying to build the highest-spec hardware on the market. Instead, Pixel has always been an engine designed to deliver Google’s software vision. From early HDR+ algorithms on single camera lens setups and now to custom TSMC Tensor silicon wired for Gemini integration, it’s hard to argue that Google’s Pixel has succeeded in changing how we evaluate a smartphone: not by how fast its CPU clocks, but by how helpful it is throughout the day.
Maybe sales will eventually catch up, but the main thing is to keep making solid devices, and playing the long game might start to be the best decision Google could have made after entering the market late.
There have been plenty of bumps in the road along the way, but here’s the next decade of Pixel. I’m sure it’ll be a wild ride.
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