By
Jon Gilbert
Published 9 hours ago
Jon has been an author at Android Police since 2021. He primarily writes features and editorials covering the latest Android news, but occasionally reviews hardware and Android apps. His favorite Android device was the Pixel 2 XL, and he regards the three months when he owned an iPhone as a time of the utmost shame. Jon graduated with a History degree in 2018, but quickly realized his writing skills were better put to use writing about tech rather than essays. He started writing and editing for startups shortly after graduating, where he did everything from writing website copy to managing and editing for a group of writers. When he's not sitting at his computer, you can find him working at Warhammer World, reading sci-fi, or turning his speakers up to 11.
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My first Google Pixel phone was the Pixel 2 XL, and after using a Samsung Galaxy S7 for three years, I felt like I had jumped into the future.
Here was a phone that looked good, felt good, and offered none of the bloat I had tolerated since my first Android phone.
However, it wasn't until the Pixel 6 that I felt Google had finally discovered its muse.
The iconic Pixel bar changed to a pill shape with the Pixel 9, but it remained iconic. You could spot a Pixel phone from across the room; no other phone looked like it.
The Pixel 10 is the culmination of this design philosophy, pairing iconic design with premium materials.
Google is reaping the fruits of its labor, but it might have to make some drastic changes or risk being overshadowed.
Read our review
The Google Pixel 10 is the Android you buy when you’re sick of using an iPhone
The entry-level Pixel delivers value
Posts 4 By Stephen RadochiaApple took a leaf out of Google's book, and that's ok
It's an iconic look. Why wouldn't you copy it?
I don't think it's unfair to accuse Google of copying Apple. The Pixel 10's design language is taken straight out of Apple's playbook.
It's the first Pixel phone we think can compete head-to-head with iPhones for everyday consumers, but Google needs to sustain this appeal.
The iPhone Air tapped into a trend for ultra-thin phones, and whether you think manufacturers should prioritize thin phones, one thing was undeniable.
In a strange twist of fate, Apple had directly copied Google's design language.
I've spotted a few iPhone Airs in the wild, but at a glance, they look like Pixel 10s. Take a look at the iPhone Air and Pixel 10 in black side-by-side.
The differences are obvious with a side-by-side comparison, but in the hands of someone across the restaurant from you? A glance won't help you.
This isn't a problem for us. The Pixel 6 was unusual in that it didn't look like other phones.
If the iPhone Air looks like the Google Pixel 10, then so what?
From a consumer's point of view, I hope Google adopts the smoother contours of the iPhone Air's camera bar. I'm sick of cleaning dust and lint from the corners of my Pixel phones. However, it's a serious problem for Google.
It doesn't matter which came first, just which is more iconic
Does a phone look like the iPhone Air or the Pixel 10?
Phones are a social symbol.
While Android phones don't have the same nerdy reputation they once did, carrying an iPhone is the easiest way to fit in with peers. Android phones are alternative, weird, and only for enthusiasts.
I'm impressed that Google has not only broken this stereotype with the Pixel 10 but established it as a serious contender to the iPhone socially. It's iconic, beautiful, and no longer unique.
If you haven't heard of Vivo, I won't blame you. The brand is virtually unknown in the US, but it has a higher market share in China than Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo.
Vivo just released two new phones, the Vivo S50 and S50 Pro mini, and while they aren't available outside China, the design instantly caught my eye.
The Vivo S50 Pro mini boasts a pill-shaped camera bar with triple cameras. The camera bar, while slightly rounded, has a sharp edge, which protrudes directly from the top of the phone's rear, leaving clear blank spaces between it and the phone's edge.
Let's bring up that comparison image again, but this time add in the Vivo S50 Pro.
Apple has stolen the Pixel's hardware identity
It was a good run while it lasted, Google
Due to the phone's lack of availability outside China, most English publications covering it keep to a brief description of the phone's specifications.
However, the Vivo S50 Pro and the Honor 500 (which is nearly identical) sparked the following comparisons, which I saw scattered across news publications and social media.
"The Honor 500 ... clear Apple inspiration" (via GSMArena). "The new Vivo S50 Pro mini looks more like the iPhone Air" (via NotebookCheck). "(Honor 500) looks like iPhone" (via Reddit).
Everywhere I look, discussions about these two phones are about how much they look like the iPhone Air.
There are jokes about the Honor 500 being the "Temu iPhone Air" (from Reddit, if you couldn't guess), but nowhere could I find the Pixel 9 or 10 mentioned.
Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. To me, the iPhone Air was the newcomer, stealing the Pixel 10's signature look.
But despite Google's growing Pixel sales, it only occupies 2% of the global smartphone market share.
The iPhone Air is the cool thing to emulate now, but where does that leave Pixel phones?
Google has a lot of work to do to retain the Pixel's identity
A few weeks ago, someone glanced at my phone and said, "Did you get the new iPhone Air?" One polite correction later, they responded with "Oh, well, it looks like one."
As I've discussed, this is a completely reasonable mistake to make. But how long will it be before the Pixel's iconic design becomes Apple's iconic design?
I'm fascinated to see where Google goes from here.
Tech publications and smartphone enthusiasts are already identifying the pill-shaped camera bar as an Apple design.
Will Google double down and try to match Apple's cultural awareness? Or will it try again to form a unique hardware identity for its smartphones?
Either way, I'm excited to see how Google faces the reality of its global smartphone market irrelevance again.
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Credit: Google
Google Pixel 10
$599
$799
Save $200
SoC
Google Tensor G5
RAM
12GB
Storage
128GB / 256GB
Battery
4970mAh
Operating System
Android 16
This striking-looking addition to the Pixel line offers a slew of Gemini features, an 5x telephoto lens, and seven years of updates, making this a smartphone that will last you a while.
$599 at Amazon $599 at Google Store $599 at Best Buy Expand Collapse -
Apple iPhone Air
SoC
A19 Pro
Storage
256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Battery
Up to 27 hours of video playback
Ports
USB-C
Operating System
iOS 26
Front camera
18MP
The iPhone 17 Air is lighter, thinner, and promises to have all of the features as the rest of the iPhone 17 line.
$999 at Apple Expand Collapse
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Phones
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The Pixel 10 camera bar makes the phone ugly. Pixel phones are also too heavy, such as my 9a. I want a lighter phone and I don't care if it is made out of plastic.
2025-12-17 18:09:12 Upvote 1 Downvote Reply CopyiPhone is like the Yankees, Cowboys, Celtics, Canadiens....the default leader.
2025-12-17 19:08:56 Upvote Downvote Reply CopyI dont see money or phones as status symbols. When it's time to die every dollar in the world won't buy one another minute of life nor will their phone.
2025-12-17 20:48:40 Upvote Downvote Reply Copy"Phones are a social symbol",
I don't see this. Phones are commodity products with little functional difference between brands and models.
2025-12-17 18:11:27 Upvote Downvote Reply Copy