Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Which will be the new Android king?

In the land of Android, no other matchup gets more buzz than the Google versus Samsung debate. That’s why a Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra face-off is needed to see which of these phones could ultimately be the new Android flagship king.

Nearly every aspect of Samsung’s flagship was improved to unanimously become our best phone category winner. In our Galaxy S25 Ultra review, we specifically call out the processing and battery life performance gains of the phone thanks in large part to the Snapdragon 8 Elite — but the biggest boost came from its new Galaxy AI features.

Google certainly has a tough road ahead of itself if it intends on having the Pixel 10 Pro XL beat out the Galaxy S25 Ultra. While the previous model has its own hallmark qualities, like having the brightest screen we’ve tested, the Pixel 9 Pro XL came up short against the S25 Ultra in our 200 photo shootout.

This is why Google can’t afford to come up short in any area if it wants to come out on top of this Pixel 10 Pro XL vs Galaxy S25 Ultra. We’ll take everything we know about the upcoming Pixel and compare it to our actual testing and real life experiences with the S25 Ultra to see which could come out on top.

Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Specifications

Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Release and Price

The next Made by Google event is slated for August 20, where we’ll presumably get the official Pixel 10 Pro XL announcement. If past events are any indication, we suspect the Pixel 10 Pro XL launch to happen the following week — perhaps on August 28 or 29.

Recent reports suggest that Google’s increasing the price of the Pixel 10 Pro XL to $1,199, which would be up from the $1,099 cost from before. However, this increase would merit a storage bump from 128GB to 256GB.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 Ultra launched earlier this year on February 7, 2025 after its announcement during Galaxy Unpacked on January 22. Samsung kept the same $1,299 price as before, which means that the Pixel 10 Pro XL could have the edge here if the rumors turn out true.

Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Design

Based on the leaks, not a whole lot is expected to change with the Pixel 10 Pro XL — and there's nothing wrong with that either. That's because renders of the phone show the same rounded corners from before, with that distinguishable elongated pill cutout for its rear cameras.

These aesthetic qualities make the Pixel 10 Pro XL much more inviting to look at than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, especially when it's been recycling the same design for the last few generations. Although, its titanium frame continues to give it a study feel. But despite this, the Galaxy S25 Ultra just looks way too conventional at this point and it lacks the stylish cues that the Pixel 10 Pro XL appears to be bringing again.

Google's tipped to bring 4 new colors with the Pixel 10 Pro XL: Obsidian, Porcelain, Moonstone, and Jade. Even though two of them are your typical black and white options, Moonstone and Jade add a level of appeal to the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s design that the current color options for the Galaxy S25 Ultra lack.

Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Display

Google doesn’t need to work too hard to convince people that the Pixel 10 Pro XL will have the better display, which is believed to be a 6.8-inch Super Actua panel according to specs leaks. This is because the Pixel 9 Pro XL already holds the title of the brightest display in a phone that Tom’s Guide has tested — reaching an astounding peak brightness of 2,649 nits.

In comparison, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display reached 1,860 nits. Even though this is plenty bright enough to watch videos or surf the web while outdoors with the sun out, it’s still way behind the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s reach. Obviously there’s an opportunity here for Google to widen the divide, but it appears as though Google’s also working on using 480Hz Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) dimming for the 10 Pro XL’s display to help reduce eye strain and fatigue.

Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Cameras

There are valid reasons why the Galaxy S25 Ultra is hailed as the best camera phone too. Some would argue the utility of its quadruple camera system, which consists of a 200MP main sensor, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP 5x telephoto, and 10MP 3x telephoto. Beyond the hardware, it’s the robust camera app that sets it apart — mainly for how it offers true manual controls for photos and videos, something that very few phones offer.

Furthermore, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has proven itself countless times in our various photo shootouts, like the time we captured over 200 photos between the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro XL. That one turned out to be one-sided with the Galaxy S25 Ultra cameras proving to be superior in just about every way.

Camera leaks for the Pixel 10 Pro XL doesn’t make it look promising for the unreleased phone because it appears that it will be using the same hardware as before, so that would mean a 50MP main shooter, 48MP ultrawide, and 48MP 5x telephoto. This means that any improvements would have to largely come from newer image processing algorithms, which is a common practice for many phone makers.

While both companies inject AI into its cameras and apps, it’ll be interesting to see what else Google ends up doing to make the Pixel 10 Pro XL the better camera phone. Reportedly, Google’s working on a Gemini-powered feature called Camera Coach, which would guide Pixel 10 Pro XL users to capture the best photos. Think of it as something like a professional shooter giving you shooting advice in real time by changing up the framing, lighting, and much more.

Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Performance

Historically speaking, Google’s line of Tensor chips have often underperformed against whatever’s powering Samsung’s flagship. With the Pixel 10 Pro XL, Google’s hoping to reverse the course with the Tensor G5 under the hood — which is reportedly being made using a 3-nanometer process.

Benchmark test scores have never shown the Tensor to be at the top of the class when it comes to performance, but a switch to a 3nm manufacturing process could finally give the muscle power the Pixel 10 Pro XL needs to eclipse the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Snapdragon 8 Elite powering Samsung’s flagship has already proven itself.

Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Software and AI

Both Samsung and Google have invested a lot around their software, especially when it comes to supplementing the experience with AI features. As we’ve seen with the Pixel 9 Pro XL, it introduced new AI features that still make it the best AI phone around — and this is despite the Galaxy S25 Ultra coming out later.

Samsung’s flagship made great strides with new features like cross app actions and audio eraser, while other Gemini-related features work no different from what the Pixel 9 Pro XL offered. Google could widen the gap with reports about the Pixel 10 Pro XL with a new AI assistant feature called Pixel Sense. Allegedly, this feature is supposed to take data from other Google Services to deliver a more personalized assistance. It almost sounds like Samsung’s Personal Data Engine with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but it’ll be interesting to see how Google does it.

One UI 7 on top of Android 15 is what’s currently running on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but it’s expected to get One UI 8 with Android 16 soon. The phone’s already a productivity powerhouse with its myriad of features, like Samsung DeX support, multitasking features, and S Pen. The Pixel 10 Pro XL is expected to run vanilla Android 16, but it’s unclear if any additional features outside of what the company showed off at Google I/O 2025 will be introduced.

Pixel 10 Pro XL vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Outlook

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is the top Android phone to beat, but its time on the throne could be winding down — just as long as the Pixel 10 Pro XL gets all the necessary performance boosts. What also could help it out is that it might still end up being cheaper than the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

We’re confident that AI will continue to have a central part in its story, which could end up being the biggest differentiator between the Pixel 10 Pro XL and Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, Google’s going to need to work some of its magic around the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s cameras because there’s only so much that newer image processing algorithms could do to enhance photos. We’ll have a better idea once the next Made by Google event is here in a couple of weeks.

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