I will never call myself a Google Pixel fan.
While I think the Google Pixel 10 is the best Android phone you can buy this year, next year, and the year after that, I’m also ready to ditch my Pixel 10 Pro as soon as a better alternative comes along.
I have no loyalty to Google; my willingness to buy Pixel phones year after year is a measure of their quality, not my love of the brand.
I’ve come close to switching multiple times. Nothing pulled me in before it pushed me away with dedicated AI hardware, and OnePlus only comes second to Google because of its weaker software support.
I’ve given up on Google taking bold and innovative steps forward with its hardware, but the same can be said of every manufacturer that launched an Android phone in 2025.
But despite my satisfaction with my Pixel phone, when I look back, I see a turbulent year of ups and downs for Google.
It surprised and disappointed me in equal measure this year. Here’s how.
I celebrated radical software improvements and subtle hardware upgrades
I still notice how great Material 3 Expressive is
The highlight Android feature of 2025 for me was Material 3 Expressive. I was reminded of Material You’s launch in 2018 in all the best ways.
Far more than a UI refresh, its user-friendly design, tactile animations, and impactful customization options changed my Android experience in ways I still notice today.
Even tiny changes, like how apps bounce on the app carousel, are important as they make my phone feel responsive and alive.
2025 was also the first year that I started regularly using an AI-powered app.
Pixel Journal is subtle, clever, and has gotten me writing in my spare time more than I have since 2020.
I was sceptical of Pixel Screenshots at first, but then it saved me when Christmas rolled around. Pixel Screenshots launched on the Pixel 9 in 2024, but the disappointment of that phone prevented me from giving it a go.
On the hardware side of things, the Pixel 10 Pro impressed me with its Super Actua display and a camera that produced vivid photos; the latter feature was sorely needed after previous Pixel phones disappointed me with their muted cameras.
Google stepped up its game in all areas in 2025.
While 2024 was a year of forgettable, incremental upgrades for Google, the launch of the Pixel 10 and Material 3 Expressive marked a new era for Google.
Not an era of radical innovation, but subtle improvements in the user experience.
But there was also plenty that went wrong.
I love my Pixel phone, but I don’t trust Google
Pixel phones can’t live up to Google’s expectations
When you buy a Pixel phone, you agree to an unwritten compromise with Google.
You won’t get top-tier performance, but you get a phone that offers the best AI and machine-learning features on the market.
I’m not completely sold on Google’s AI as good features like Pixel Journal are the exception, not the norm. However, I respect the Pixel’s place in the Android market.
However, in November 2025, the Pixel’s shortcomings became clear.
Google quietly shifted some of the workload for Magic Cue to the cloud, admitting that the Tensor was incapable of handling Gemini’s requests fast enough.
To me, this undermined Google’s direction for Pixel phones. If these phones can’t handle AI, then what’s the point of them?
There are many more reasons to buy a Pixel phone, but Google is doubling down on positioning its phones as AI leaders.
It’s why I can’t trust Pixel phones anymore, as Google may keep adding features that its phones can’t support.
Even if Google chooses a new direction for its phones, it still needs to focus on practical features.
Material 3 Expressive dazzled us, but the follow-up acts were less than impressive.
Lock screen widgets made a long-anticipated return, but somehow Google managed to make them worse than iOS’s anemic efforts or the original Android lock screen widgets.
I won’t dismiss Material 3 Expressive as all style and no substance; it was too impactful.
However, I felt like it was missing practical features, something Google refused to focus on for the rest of the year.
When Google Wallet added location-based notifications for tickets, I celebrated it as a truly useful feature that ought to be expanded to all of Google’s apps. However, I’m not holding out hope.
2025 was a win for Google, but …
Overall, I’m pleased with Google’s efforts in 2025.
I’ve settled on the Google Pixel 10 as the phone to buy and keep for the rest of the decade, and Material 3 Expressive refreshed my enthusiasm for the Android OS.
However, Google’s quiet admission of Tensor’s limitations and its refusal to focus on practical software upgrades dampened my excitement for Android in 2026.
A round of applause for Google, please. But keep it a short one, as Google has a long way to go to gain our trust in 2026.
