How do the Android flagships compare?

Price and Availability

The Pixel 10 Pro XL is the second-most expensive of the Pixel 10 lineup, bested only by the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, with a starting price of £999/$999 for its 256GB handset. 

Although the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has a pricier starting RRP at £1249/$1299, as it’s slightly older, it is possible to find a generous price drop for the handset. 

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is larger

Although its name suggests a hefty handset, the Pixel 10 Pro XL is actually slightly smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, at 6.8 inches compared to 6.9 inches. Both, however, are packed with premium display technologies, which is unsurprising for phones in their price range.

Both boast an LTPO-enabled 120Hz refresh rate, which helps conserve energy while ensuring scrolling and on-screen animations look smooth, plus both are fitted with Gorilla Glass iterations too for scratch-resistance and durability.

However, the S25 Ultra does boast a slight upper hand here, with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel compared to the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s (OLED-based) Super Actua screen. 

As we’re yet to review the Pixel 10 Pro XL, we can’t comment on how the screen looks in day-to-day use, however considering it’s the same as last year’s Pixel 9 Pro XL, which we hailed as being “able to compete with some of the best screens around”, the Pixel 10 Pro XL should offer a solid viewing experience. 

Tensor G5 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy

While Samsung uses a custom version of Qualcomm’s flagship processor, coined Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, Google uses its own custom Tensor G5 processor.

Both Samsung and Google share their premium processors across their entire flagship handset series, with even the cheaper Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 10 sporting the same chip as their pricier siblings. 

In true Google fashion, the Tensor G5 processor promises to prioritise AI capabilities over raw power. As we have yet to review the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, we can’t yet confirm how well the chip runs just yet. 

Having said that, based on our experience with last year’s Tensor G4 chip, we can expect the Tensor G5 to run well in everyday use, albeit without achieving the high benchmarking scores we’ve seen with Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Most importantly, Tensor G5 should ensure the smooth running of Google’s AI toolkit. With the Pixel 10 series, you’ll not only find Google AI favourites like its photo and video editing suite, built-in Gemini and Call Screening, but there are also a handful of new features found within the Pixel 10 Pro XL, which we’ll detail more later.

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL has a larger battery

With a capacity of 5200mAh, the Pixel 10 Pro XL has a slightly larger battery compared to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 5000mAh. As we’re yet to review the handset, we can only repeat Google’s promises, which say the phone should see over 30 hours of battery or up to 100 hours when Extreme Battery Saver is enabled. 

Comparatively, we found the S25 Ultra would end most days with around 20-30% left in the tank, after around four hours of screen time. 

Otherwise, although both promise to offer fast charging, we are rarely left blown away by the speeds Google or Samsung offer. Google promises the Pixel 10 Pro XL can reach up to 70% in just 30 minutes when using a 45W charger, which matches our testing of the S25 Ultra, which also saw a 70% charge in 30 minutes. 

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has four rear cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is made up of a whopping four rear cameras: a 200MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP periscope and 10MP telephoto. As the handset boasts a spot on our best camera phone list, it’s fair to say we were impressed with its ability to snap vibrant, detailed shots even in low light.

Not only that, but we were especially impressed with its 30x zoom, which provides heaps of detail too.

In comparison, the Pixel 10 Pro XL sports three Pro rear cameras, all housed in the pill-shaped bar that was introduced in the Pixel 9 series. Made up of a 50MP wide (main), 48MP ultrawide and 48MP 5x telephoto, the handset is similar to last year’s Pixel 9 Pro XL, which is also on our best camera phone list. 

The Pixel 10 Pro XL, however, benefits from Pro Res Zoom of up to a whopping 100x, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro XL reached 30x. We’ll be interested to see how the Pixel 10 Pro XL compares, and whether it’ll take its predecessor’s spot on our best list. 

Otherwise, both the Pixel 10 Pro XL and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with heaps of photo editing tools, which use AI to remove unwanted distractions, move objects and even reimagine aspects of your picture. 

One of the most significant similarities between the Pixel 10 Pro XL and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is their respective AI toolkits. Both Google and Samsung have long dominated the smartphone AI market, with Apple only releasing its own Apple Intelligence kit in a basic form at the end of 2024.

As mentioned earlier, the Pixel 10 Pro XL boasts new AI tools that are exclusive to the Pixel 10 series. These include the Gemini-powered Camera Coach, which offers advice on how to take the best possible photo based on what you’re capturing and Magic Cue. Essentially, Magic Cue promises to “connect the dots across your apps” and will suggest relevant action or information whenever you need it. 

There’s also Daily Hub, which is a personalised digest that shows information like your calendar events, reminders, recommended playlists and more. Although we haven’t tested Daily Hub yet, it sounds similar to Samsung’s own Now Brief. 

Speaking of Samsung, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is equipped with an abundance of AI tools, all housed within the Galaxy AI toolkit. These tools include Samsung’s photo editing tools and Live Translate alongside some of Google’s own AI functions, such as Circle to Search and even built-in Gemini too.  

Early Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is easily one of our favourite flagship handsets of 2025 so far, thanks to its brilliant camera set-up, powerful processor and Galaxy AI toolkit. As we have yet to review the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, we’ll refrain from giving a conclusive verdict just yet.

Having said that, it seems like the Pixel 10 Pro XL gently tweaks and enhances the Pixel 9 Pro XL, which we hailed as one of the best phones of 2024. With this in mind, the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s specs look set to offer a similarly premium flagship experience.

We’ll be sure to update this article once we’ve reviewed the Pixel 10 Pro XL.