{"id":42373,"date":"2025-09-04T05:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T05:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/42373\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T05:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T05:08:09","slug":"an-ai-powerhouse-if-you-like-that-sort-of-thing-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/42373\/","title":{"rendered":"An AI powerhouse \u2013 if you like that sort of thing \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Price:<\/strong> \u20ac1119<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/store.google.comOpens in new window<\/a><\/p>\n

Where To Buy:<\/strong> Google<\/p>\n

Google<\/a> seems to have taken a leaf out of Apple\u2019s book with the new Pixel devices: appeal to the masses, make things as simple as possible and don\u2019t mess with a winning formula. <\/p>\n

After last year\u2019s redesign of the Pixel phone, no one was expecting another significant design update. This year, it seems, was all about making the devices more accessible to the wider population. Pixel is stepping out of the tech shadows, ready to win over the average phone buyer. <\/p>\n

One area where it is not following Apple? Integrating AI into its systems. While Apple has adopted a more cautious approach, Google has leapt in with both feet.<\/p>\n

Gemini, its AI model, has replaced Google Assistant as the voice interface on its devices. There are AI-powered suggestions through the new Magic Cue feature that bring information to you rather than making you search it out. And the camera app now has a dose of AI too, with a Pro Res Zoom that goes up to 100x and fills in the gaps with AI.<\/p>\n

This creates two photos \u2013 the original shot you have captured with digital zoom, and the AI version, with its smoother lines and sharper focus. It doesn\u2019t do well zooming in on people, which is probably a good thing. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Google Veo 3 review: Video creation steps up an AI notchOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

That is alongside the previous features: Add me, to get yourself into the shot by combining two images; unblur, to clean up photos; and best take, which combines similar shots to get the best photo. <\/p>\n

It has sparked an interesting debate on what constitutes a photograph. Is it still a photograph if AI is used to create some elements? What about filters and minor edits after the fact? Are we killing our creativity altogether by using AI to make up for our \u2013 and our equipment\u2019s \u2013 shortfalls? <\/p>\n

The good news is that the Pixel 10 Pro XL is a decent phone even without the AI features. You can delete the Pro Res Zoom model, ignore the new Camera Coach and never use the Magic Editor that will remove distractions from your shots. <\/p>\n

Google\u2019s latest device comes with a 6.8-inch display, which gives plenty of room to line up your shots. Aside from the high-quality video camera, it is, as you would expect from a Pixel, no slouch on the still-image front. <\/p>\n

The camera on the back is a triple set-up with a 50MP wide lens, 48MP ultra-wide that also has a macro focus function, and a 48MP telephoto lens that magnifies up to 5x. With the usual photo modes \u2013 portrait, night sight and so on \u2013 it is almost impossible to take a bad photo. Believe me, I tried. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch review: AI-optimised laptop makes some sacrificesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

On the off-chance that your skills are badly lacking, you can go back to that previously mentioned coach. The Camera Coach is a step-by-step walk-through for those who need a bit of help with their photography skills. <\/p>\n

Point your camera at what you want to shoot, press the Camera Coach icon in the top right corner of the screen, and Google\u2019s AI will scan the scene to see what is in frame. Then it will throw up some suggestions \u2013 a shot of a child playing might generate suggestions for perfect portraits or a close-up of colourful toys. You select the shot you want to capture and it walks you through the process step by step. <\/p>\n

A lot of it is elementary stuff, but given the number of Instagram accounts pushing phone photography lessons that seem to make it into my feed these days, Google is planting fertile ground here. <\/p>\n

The Pixel 10 Pro XL is a powerhouse. It has Google\u2019s Tensor G5 processor built in, comes with 16GB of RAM and starts at 256GB of storage, up to 1TB. It has the temperature sensor \u2013 still not for body temperature though \u2013 which comes in handy very occasionally, but is something you can live without. <\/p>\n

And while it is not cheap \u2013 from \u20ac1,119 for the base model \u2013 it comes with seven years of software and security updates. Treat it right and you will get your money\u2019s worth. Google is counting on you being in it for the long haul. <\/p>\n

The Pixel 10 series isn\u2019t targeting last year\u2019s buyers, or even the year before. There are few differences between this year\u2019s Pixel and last year\u2019s, hardware wise. <\/p>\n

There is of course the addition of PixelSnap, the new series of magnetic chargers and other accessories that iPhone users will find familiar. But people are looking for more from their phones these days than some shiny accessories, and that includes longer support. <\/p>\n

Good<\/p>\n

Google has taken last year\u2019s design and refined it a little. There was no need for a major redesign just yet; we would settle for new colours. Well, new colours and some decent hardware, which the company has managed to provide. <\/p>\n

AI has been woven well into the operating system, and many features can be disabled if you aren\u2019t keen on them. <\/p>\n

Battery life is also good, with the XL\u2019s battery easily lasting the day and then some with regular use. <\/p>\n

Bad <\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t like AI, you will be turning off a lot of features. The phone is still a solid one underneath though. <\/p>\n

Pro Res Zoom can be difficult to master at the strongest magnification, even with image stabilising active. Use it sparingly. <\/p>\n

Everything else<\/p>\n

Lots of AI. AI everywhere. It has the Pixel Studio app preinstalled too, which allows you to create your own images via a text prompt \u2013 within reason though, Google\u2019s policies prevent certain types of photos from being created, such as realistic images of children or violent content. <\/p>\n

Verdict<\/p>\n

AI is here to stay (for now, at least) and the Pixel 10 Pro XL is firmly on board. Would you expect anything less from Google?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Google Pixel 10 Pro XL \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 Price: \u20ac1119 Website: https:\/\/store.google.comOpens in new window Where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[18,823,19,17,31919,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-42373","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-google","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-tech-tools","13":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}