Here’s what Google’s Pixel lineup has in store for 2025 and beyond

Thanks to a series of leaks in recent weeks, we now know a great deal about Google’s plans for its future Pixel smartphones and tablets right out until 2026. There’s been an awful lot to keep track of, so here’s a recap of everything we’ve learned and the key need to knows about the Pixel product roadmap.

The series will debut Video Generative Machine Learning features, bringing generative AI to Google’s video editing capabilities. We don’t know the specifics yet, but this sounds like Google’s photography-based Magic Editor but made for video. Could we be removing pesky background people from our videos in the near future? Quite possibly. The feature might also be available in the YouTube app, specifically for YouTube Shorts. Speaking of video, there’s reportedly support for 4K 60fps HDR video, up from the 30fps limit on today’s handsets, resulting in better-looking content even without the need for AI.

Editing features seem to be at the forefront, as the leak also mentioned a “Speak-to-Tweak” mode, where you and I will be able to simply speak aloud what we’d like to see edited in our pictures. There are also plans for “Sketch-to-Image,” which might end up being part of Gemini and should be somewhat like the feature already available in Samsung’s Galaxy AI.

These new features will be powered by Google’s next-gen Tensor G5 chipset, which sports a few more interesting changes. The first is that it’ll use TSMC’s 3 nm-class N3E manufacturing process. That marks a significant improvement over Samsung Foundries’ 4nm process, bringing with it significant efficiency improvements for better battery life.

Other than that, the G5 appears to be a half-step upgrade on the Pixel 9’s Tensor G4, introducing five new Cortex-A725 cores, dropping down to two A520, and sticking with the Cortex-X4 as its powerhouse CPU core. So, it’ll be a bit quicker in heavily multi-threaded workloads, but it’s not going to make your apps feel much snappier. The bigger change is in the GPU department, which will see it switch to Imagination Technologies DXT-48-1536, complete with a modest performance boost, virtualization support, and ray tracing. AI number crunching is also expected to see a modest +14% boost. The Pixel 10 is not going to top the benchmark charts, but it’s something.

Barring any major revisions to the phone’s design, display, or other specifications, the Pixel 10 is shaping up to be very much an incremental upgrade on the Pixel 9. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; the latest iteration is in a really good spot, and additional features will certainly keep the new look feeling fresh enough for another year.

The Pixel 11 is further out, so it may or may not be in for some broader changes. However, based on what we know, Google’s 2026 flagship series will continue in the same vein as its predecessors in terms of core feature improvements.

Google’s Tensor G6 processor is the most curious piece of the puzzle so far. Costs seem to be at the forefront of the chip’s development priorities, resulting in a side-grade to the GPU originally intended for the canceled Tensor G4 “Redondo” project. It’ll lose ray tracing just a year after gaining it, and Google also intends to shrink the DSP and chop the system-level cache in half to save on expensive silicon area. If you were hoping Google would push on with vastly more powerful Tensor chips in the coming years, think again.

However, it will move to TSMC’s next-gen N3P process node. The CPU will adopt a single unannounced Arm Cortex-X930 and six A730 cores. This smaller seven-core configuration will benefit from architecture performance improvements, if nothing else, and is the most efficient arrangement Google tested in a confined space. Fixing Tensor’s historically iffy power consumption seems to be the second priority on the list for the Pixel 11.

The Tensor G6 also sports a new TPU for next-gen machine learning capabilities, alongside a new nanoTPU to handle lower power tasks more efficiently. The nanoTPU may power background health-related features, such as breathing, cough, and fall detection, as well as sleep stage monitoring. Runners may also benefit from “coachable pace” and “balance & oscillation” analysis. It seems that using AI for health tracking will be a key focus of the Pixel 11.

Thankfully for the couch potatoes out there, traditional Pixel customers are in for AI upgrades too. The Pixel 11 is expected to debut 4K 30fps Cinematic Blur and a new “video relight” feature to tweak lighting in post. “Ultra Low Light video” is also mentioned in the leaked documents. This will bring Google’s Video Boost feature down from the cloud to run on-device, which will work in very dim light levels as low as 5-10 lux. 100X upscaled zoom may also debut on this handset, giving photographers and videographers plenty of new tools to play with.

While a lot could still change with the Pixel 11, the handset is shaping up to really test Google’s theory that photography and AI features are more important to consumers than outright performance. I guess we’ll see.

Google may have canceled the Pixel Tablet 2, but the third-generation model — if we can still call it that — remains in the works, and the recent leaks revealed a few things about it too.

One of the key hardware changes we know about is the addition of a second USB-C port. That might not sound like much, but this port will support USB 3.2 and DisplayPort output, allowing users to daisy chain two external displays to the tablet. Two such ports allow for up to four displays to be connected — a truly overkill setup for an OS not built for multitasking. By comparison, the single USB-C port on the current model only supports charging and data.

The Pixel Tablet 3 will be powered by the same Google Tensor G6 processor destined for the Pixel 11, but with a slight tweak. It’ll be mounted in an IPoP package instead of the better FOPLP, making it cheaper to manufacture but with poorer heat-dissipation properties compared to the Tensor G6 found in premium smartphones. Google is also considering using this chip for its future affordable Pixel 11a, which certainly makes a lot of sense as far as costs are concerned.

Power users need not despair; Google might also be building a “Pro” version of the tablet to directly compete with Apple’s iPad Pro. We don’t know much about it, but with an Android and ChromeOS merger in the works, Google’s next tablet could take a more focused approach to productivity. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons Google has decided to skip a generation.

Google’s Tensor chips have been a constant source of controversy, and that doesn’t look set to change with Google’s upcoming projects either. Those who were hoping future Tensor chips would catch up with the market leaders in terms of raw performance will be disappointed for at least a couple more generations. Still, the Google Pixel Watch 5, which will presumably arrive in 2026, will also receive a custom Tensor chip that could yield some more interesting results for wearable features and battery life.

Instead, Google appears to doubling down on its unique selling points and focusing on core strengths, using its Tensor core to build additional photography, video, and artificial intelligence use cases into its next-gen smartphones and tablets. If you like what Google has done so far in terms of features, you’ll probably be eagerly awaiting what’s in store in the next two years. The enhanced productivity potential of the Pixel Tablet 3 is also particularly intriguing in light of Android and ChromeOS merging into one.

With months or years until these devices arrive, a lot could change, and there’s still plenty more to discover about Google’s Pixel 10, 11, and next-gen tablet before they arrive. Still, there’s already plenty to discuss and get excited about.