Google Pixel 10 Pro could get a much-needed display upgrade — but the base model’s getting left out

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The future of the base Pixel is looking dim

google pixel 9 review shots of phone
(Image credit: Future)

A new report has indicated that the Google Pixel 10 Pro series screens will offer improved PWM dimming compared to the basic Pixel 10 — both good and bad news for potential users' eyes.

According to a recent report by Android Authority, Google may use displays with 480Hz Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) dimming for the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL. For comparison, the Pixel 9 Pro is capped at 240Hz.

If you’ve not heard of the term before, PWM refers to how the backlight or pixels of a mobile device's display rapidly turn on and off at different rates to increase or decrease its perceived brightness. You'll never notice this flickering with the naked eye, but at lower brightness levels, when there are larger gaps between the pixels being lit, using the screen can cause eyestrain and headaches in some people, as our friends at Android Central have covered.

What other differences could there be?

Google Pixel 9 Pro review

(Image credit: Future)

This rumor follows others that appear to indicate that Google could limit advancements coming to the new Pixels to the Pro models only. For instance, we recently heard that Google might not incorporate a vapor chamber into the base Pixel 10, but will do so on the Pros. That same leak also claims that the Pixel 10 won’t support Wi-Fi 7, which is a confusing omission as it is available on the Pixel 9.

On the plus side, there are indications that the Google Pixel 10 will finally feature a telephoto camera, just like the pro models. However, it still appears that some of the features reportedly coming for the Pixel 10 Pro, like the Ultra Res Zoom or Ultra Stable video recording features, won’t make an appearance on the vanilla Pixel 10.

We have a lot of questions about the next range of Google Pixel phones. While we’d expect the Pixel 10 Pro to find a place as one of the best phones on the market, there’s a chance that the base Pixel 10 will simply fall by the wayside when the phone releases. While we don’t have a set date yet, we’d expect this to happen around August, which would match the release of the Pixel 9 series.

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Josh Render
Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer. 

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