I’ve had enough — Google still has these 5 Pixel problems to sort out in 2026

I’m a true Google Pixel enthusiast.

As much as I enjoy using devices from other smartphone brands, including phones with 10x optical zoom or OnePlus devices with massive batteries, I have found myself returning to the Google Pixel 10 Pro as my daily driver over the past few months.

It’s not because the Pixel 10 Pro is the perfect Android smartphone, but because of the overall experience it has delivered lately. The Pixel experience has felt close to complete, almost right there.

But, as with every Android smartphone maker, there are still many issues with the lineup that need fixing.

Google is very close to nailing the Pixel experience for me and turning me into a full-fledged Pixel loyalist, but there are still a few things the company needs to address heading into 2026 that could make it a much stronger contender next year.

Flagship Pixels need louder and better-tuned speakers

Audio quality still feels behind rivals when watching content

There are always some intangibles we talk about when discussing the smartphone experience, and speakers are usually one of them.

While most smartphone reviews focus on display quality, performance, battery life, charging, and cameras, speaker performance often gets overlooked.

I’ve used a lot of flagship smartphones this year, and among them all, the Pixel 10 Pro has some of the weakest speakers. They are not outright terrible, but for a $1,000 smartphone, you definitely expect something better.

Almost every other phone in this price range, including the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, and even the OnePlus 15, offers noticeably better speakers than the Pixel 10 Pro.

The Pixel 10 Pro speakers sound muffled and flat, and the audio feels like it is coming from a very small source, which limits depth.

One thing I really hope Google improves in the Pixel 11 series is speaker quality, with louder output, clearer sound, and better audio depth.

Pixel camera processing feels safe and predictable now

Google needs to take a look at its competitors

In the Android world, Google Pixel smartphones are known for their camera processing and post-capture AI work.

When you take a photo on a Pixel phone, you generally know what to expect, regardless of lighting or location. Low light, harsh light, or night shots usually result in evenly lit images with natural-looking colors and restrained processing.

However, that consistency has started to feel a bit boring in 2025.

Other smartphone brands, especially Chinese competitors like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, have taken bigger risks with advanced camera hardware, modular camera attachments, and more aggressive processing improvements.

As a result, Google’s camera experience has begun to feel somewhat stagnant. This is something Google needs to address in 2026.

Whether Google tackles it by reworking the camera pipeline from the ground up or by offering users more customization options, such as color profiles or stronger control over shadows and highlights, this is something that needs attention.

Google needs a stronger mid-range phone and new form factors

Pixels should experiment more instead of playing it safe every year

While 2025 was a strong year for Google in catching up to other flagships with the Pixel 10 series, the company’s mid-range A-series lineup fell a bit behind.

I liked the design direction and overall approach of the Pixel 8a in 2024, which delivered a compact mid-range phone while closely mirroring the flagship Pixel 8 series.

The Pixel 9a, however, went in a completely different direction. The Pixel 9a debuted with an extremely minimal design, dropping the camera bar identity that defined Pixel phones.

Sure, it offers a large battery at an aggressive price, but Google removed much of the device’s charm.

Other aspects also did not feel like meaningful upgrades compared to competing phones in the same price range.

I think Google needs to rethink and revamp its mid-range smartphones in 2026.

The Pixel A-series should offer more than just an entry-level Pixel experience, develop a clear identity of its own, and improve in key areas, especially processor and display.

That said, it is starting to look like the Pixel 10a may offer largely the same experience we saw with the Pixel 9a this year.

Beyond the A-series, Google needs to experiment with new form factors in 2026.

The company has already done a solid job with book-style foldables in 2025 with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, offering IP68 dust and water-resistance, the latest Tensor chipset, and software optimized for foldable screens.

Now, Google needs to branch out further.

I would love to see a Motorola Razr-style flip phone from Google that runs stock Android and delivers Pixel-level camera processing.

Software bugs and long-standing issues need real fixing

Great features mean little when basic reliability still feels inconsistent

One of the biggest issues with Google Pixel smartphones is that you never quite know if the experience will remain the same from one week to the next.

Pixel phones have earned a reputation for fixing things that are not broken, which often leads to a fragmented and inconsistent experience for users.

For example, users have recently reported that some Pixel devices fail to save photos when shots are taken in quick succession. In these cases, images get stuck in a processing loop and are eventually discarded, never being written to the file system.

I have never heard of anything like this happening on other smartphones, yet many Pixel users have run into this issue.

This is just one example of the bugs Pixel users have encountered recently.

There are countless other issues reported on a regular basis that, even if Google eventually fixes them, should not exist in the first place if the company wants to be taken seriously as a smartphone brand.

Google needs to make major changes to how it develops and tests software on Pixel phones. Google needs to understand that the reputation the iPhone enjoys today is not on hardware alone, but on years of stable, consistent software that users can trust.

Unless Google addresses this at a foundational level, what it is doing now is simply not sustainable heading into 2026.

Tensor must improve if Google wants the Pixel lineup to be taken seriously

Performance and efficiency gaps are becoming harder to excuse now

Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police | mundissima / Shutterstock

We say this every year, but in 2025 it feels more true than ever. Google seriously needs to ramp up its work on Tensor chipsets if it wants to be taken seriously as a smartphone brand.

The shift to TSMC for the Tensor G5 on the Pixel 10 series delivered some improvements, with better cellular reception and reduced heating compared to previous generations.

However, the performance numbers the Pixel 10 series puts out still fall short of other $1,000 flagship phones.

Pixel phones also cannot be relied on for gaming in the same way as competing devices, and there are ongoing day-to-day issues that users continue to report, including general sluggishness.

Google has tried to do what it does best: fixing hardware shortcomings through software. Still, five generations in, it is clear this has become a hardware-level problem.

I hope the Tensor chip in the Pixel 11 brings meaningful performance gains and finally catches up to Qualcomm and MediaTek. If not, it is worth asking why Google does not simply use chipsets from those companies instead?

My Pixel wish list for 2026

This is my Google Pixel wish list for 2026, and I can’t wait to see how Google builds on the Pixel 10 legacy next year. As for brands like Samsung, my colleagues think it’s time for the Galaxy Note to make a comeback.

SoC

Google Tensor G5

RAM

16GB

Storage

128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB with Zoned UFS / 1 TB with Zoned UFS

Battery

4870mAh

Operating System

Android 16

Google’s latest Pro Pixel packs a faster yet efficient Tensor G5 chip, an upgraded ISP, and a brighter display. Plus, an array of new AI features that make it one of the best Android phones to launch in 2025.