Google Crams a Tiny Telephoto Camera into the Pixel 10

After we released the renders of the upcoming Pixel 10 series a couple of weeks ago, many were surprised to see a third camera on the Pixel 10. Typically, the base Pixel has only had two cameras – a primary and an ultrawide. So seeing a telephoto on the base model for the Pixel 10 was a bit surprising. Now, Android Authority is shedding more light on this, and giving us camera specs for the Pixel 10 lineup.

For the Pixel 10, we’re looking at a 50-megapixel 1/1.95″ primary sensor, which is the Samsung GN8. While Google is continuing to use the Sony IMX712 for its ultrawide, which is 13-megapixels and 1/3.1″ in size. The new telephoto is the Samsung 3J1 sensor. This is 11-megapixels with a 1/3″ sensor size. That’s still larger than what Samsung uses for its Galaxy S25 Ultra 3x telephoto lens. This same lens that Google is using for the telephoto will also be used for the front-facing camera.

This means that the Pixel 10 is going to be using a pretty small sensor for its telephoto chops this year. And that likely will mean that it’s not going to be a great option. Though, Google does pretty well with its computational photography and algorithms, so we could be wrong here. This could also be what Google uses to justify the price increase for the Pixel 10 this year.

Google’s Pixel 10 Pro will sport largely the same sensors as Pixel 9 Pro

Moving over to the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL, we’re looking at basically the same sensors as last year. With the ultrawide, telephoto, and Selfie cameras using the same sensor – Sony IMX858. This is a 1/2.55″ sensor that’s 48-megapixels. The primary camera will continue to be the Samsung GNV, which is a 1/1.31″ sensor at 50-megapixels. This means the selfie camera is getting another upgrade this year, going from 42-megapixels to 48-megapixels.

As expected, not many changes to the actual camera hardware this year. Google does typically stick with the same sensors for years on end, and that’s because of all of the optimisation that Google tends to do with these lenses. Remember, Google stuck with the same 12-megapixel camera for a good 3-4 generations of Pixel.

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