My favorite Pixel 10 feature is a hidden upgrade

There’s a lot to love about the Pixel 10 lineup. PixelSnap is the Android version of MagSafe we’ve been teased with for years, and nifty upgrades like Thread and UWB support make even the base Pixel 10 the most versatile Pixel yet.

I’m not keen on the increased presence of Gemini on the device, but overall, it’s a great upgrade to the Pixel lineup that could make me abandon my well-loved Pixel 8.

Still, my favorite feature on the Pixel 10 isn’t its flashy magnetic accessories, but a storage upgrade that is far more than it seems on the surface.

Each Pixel 10 device, except those with 128GB of storage, features a UFS 4.0 chip. This chip enables faster storage speeds and reduces power consumption.

Unlike PixelSnap, this isn’t an innovative step for Google; Samsung has used UFS 4.0 in its phones for years.

I’m surprised Google doesn’t tout this feature front and center on its store page for the Pixel 10 because I think it is the best feature of the phone.

What is UFS 4.0 and ZUFS?

Harder, faster, better, stronger

UFS (Universal Flash Storage) is the technology behind your phone’s storage. It affects how fast you can transfer files, open apps, save video recordings, and more.

UFS 4.0 is the latest version of the storage specification, with UFS 4.1 introducing Zoned Storage, which we’ll touch on later.

UFS 4.0’s benefits over UFS 3.1 are clear:

• Up to 2x faster read and write speeds. UFS 3.1 (1840 MB/s -1580 MB/s) vs. UFS 4.0 (3490 MB/s – 2930 MB/s)
• 46% more power-efficient.

UFS 4.0 is faster and more power-efficient than UFS 3.1. It’s the standard for flash storage going forward, so it’s not massively surprising to see it on the Pixel 10.

My only guess as to why Google dragged its feet on installing it on the Pixel 10 is that UFS 3.1, like Tensor chips, is fast enough for most people.

So UFS 4.0 is faster and more power-efficient, but not in a way that will dramatically affect your everyday use of your phone. However, UFS 4.1 and Zoned UFS (ZUFS) are much more exciting.

ZUFS is only available on Pixel 10 devices with 512GB or more storage. This technology organizes data into different zones in storage, improving speed and lifespan of storage.

ZUFS apparently can increase storage lifespan by 40% and can improve on-device AI performance through its more efficient storage management.

Upgraded storage arrives at the right time for the Pixel 10

It’s not just Tensor that powers on-device AI

Before you get too excited, let’s place these statistics in the real world.

On my Pixel 8 (which uses UFS 3.1 storage), I’ve never felt like the device struggled to open apps or transfer files. UFS 3.1 is fast enough for most situations, unless you do heavy video editing or regularly transfer large files on your Android device.

Think about the last time you transferred a large file to your Android phone or opened an intensive game like Genshin Impact. Now halve that time. But improving my load and transfer times by a few seconds isn’t why I like UFS 4.0. Longevity is.

When Google announced a seven-year lifespan for the Pixel 8 and all future devices, the big question was “will it last?”

Software longevity doesn’t matter if the hardware doesn’t match up. Storage degrades over time.

Part of the reason old devices don’t perform as well after a factory reset is due to the slow corruption of storage. The more you write data to storage, the faster it degrades.

Guess what newfangled technology uses a lot of storage space? That’s right, AI.

I rarely use Gemini on my Pixel phone, so the AICore app (which handles on-device AI processing) takes up an insignificant proportion of my phone’s storage.

However, even after just a few weeks of Gemini use, the user data stored in AICore can balloon into the gigabytes.

With NotebookLM built into Pixel Screenshots and Recorder, along with Gemini Live, Magic Cue, and 4K video recording, the Pixel 10 will make significantly more use of storage than previous phones, even for casual users.

The Pixel 10 finally introduces useful AI features

I’m ready to use AI on my Pixel

I struggled to fit Generative AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini into my life at first, as my ability to think made them irrelevant.

However, a number of AI tools have emerged that manage to solve problems rather than creating them.

NotebookLM is a potent AI assistant that I wish I had in university. Magic Cue saves endless scrolling through photo galleries for key information. Using Pixel Screenshots means you’ll never lose a screenshot.

I still consider myself an AI sceptic, but I’m thankful that Google finally decided to start solving problems with AI.

If I pick up the Pixel 10, I will make heavy use of all these features. Thanks to UFS 4.0, I won’t have to wait as long for AI to generate a response, or worry about storage degradation years down the line.

Hardware upgrades must be paired with software upgrades to feel meaningful

If Google had introduced UFS 4.0 with the Pixel 9, I would have written it off as a mostly irrelevant upgrade. But Google has subtly supercharged the new software on the Pixel 10 by upgrading the storage specification.

It’s meaningful upgrades like this that draw me to a new phone, not flashy junk like Gemini Live.

The only catch is that I’ll need to upgrade to the Pixel 10 Pro for the ZUFS benefits. Perhaps it’s time to go Pro at last.