Summary
- The Pixel 10 would need some radical additions to get me to switch from the iPhone.
- Those might include innovative camera and battery tech, and a more dependable version of Gemini.
- Making Android a haven for gaming would also go a long way.
I’ve been using iPhones as my daily driver for years, but I’m not an Apple fanboy — it just makes the most sense for my situation. I’ve owned a few Android phones as well, and sometimes glance over with envy at what the top-of-the-line models are capable of these days. iPhones are popular for a reason, but with a guaranteed upgrade audience, Apple doesn’t have as much incentive to push the boundaries as its rivals.
It’s likely I won’t buy any new smartphone in 2025, to be honest, but I thought it’d be fun to explore what might tempt me back to Android. I’d almost certainly choose Google’s rumored (and really, inevitable) Pixel 10, even if there would be some major hurdles for the phone to cross in my case.
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1 A superior telephoto lens (with or without going Pro)
Make my phone a real DSLR alternative
One gripe of mine is that if you buy the entry-level version of a flagship phone, it’s de facto that its secondary rear camera will be an ultra-wide, not a telephoto. I come from a professional photo background, and know that one of the most basic rules of composition is to fill the frame with your subject. That makes a telephoto almost essential in my eyes, whereas I only use a phone’s ultra-wide lens when I’m shooting macro shots or scenic vistas. Otherwise, a wide-angle camera is more than sufficient.
10x stabilized zoom would be a game-changer.
I’d love it if I could buy a non-pro Pixel with a telephoto lens, which might make it financially appealing. But I’d take a look at a Pixel 10 Pro too if it had a meaningfully better telephoto system than my iPhone 16 Pro. The Pixel 9 Pro already has a higher megapixel count, but pairing that with 10x stabilized zoom would be a game-changer. Think of zooming on the lead singer at a concert versus just the stage they’re on.
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2 Two- or three-day battery life
A man can dream, can’t he?
This is one everyone can get behind, I think. While you’ll occasionally hear anecdotes of people stretching out their runtime, the everyday reality is that without battery-saver modes and light usage, most smartphones last about a day, if that. I always charge my iPhone overnight, and sometimes midday as well if I expect to be out of the house for a while.
The reason phone makers don’t oblige is profit margins. Lithium-ion batteries are expensive, and a 48-hour battery life isn’t as appealing to consumers as new cameras, a faster processor, or a slightly larger display. But it would have a greater impact on daily life — no more panicking because you forgot to plug in before bed, or because the electricity went down during a storm. I could use a Pixel 10 for watching movies on a cross-country flight without crossing my fingers for a USB port.
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3 A flawless version of Gemini
Still waiting for the AI miracle
Siri remains a mediocre voice assistant. I use it, but mostly to set timers, turn on the TV, or control my bedroom lights. Major upgrades are in the works — yet it’s going to be a while before people start talking about Siri as cutting-edge again.
Like all generative AI platforms, Gemini is still more hype than reality.
Google Gemini is already superior, capable of handling far more than you see in Apple Intelligence. Like all generative AI platforms, though, it’s still more hype than reality. It makes too many mistakes, so I’m more likely to use apps or search the web when it comes to complex actions or questions. A bulletproof version of Gemini would be revolutionary, to the point that the Pixel 10 would leave the iPhone 17 in the dust. Simply being able to count on Gemini for my journalistic research would be miraculous.
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4 Unobstructed access to better games
Open up the playground
Sony
Apple and Google are both battling legal efforts to get them to open up to third-party app stores. They claim interests like security and quality control, but the obvious, unspoken motivation is money — currently, companies claim as much as 30 percent from each transaction at their own app stores. That translates into billions of dollars in annual revenue.
With more equitable revenue sharing, developers might be encouraged to charge upfront for higher-quality titles.
If Android were as flexible as Windows, we’d not only be able to buy from any store we choose, but possibly get a better selection of games that take advantage of the Pixel 10’s technology. As things stand, the Google Play Store model encourages low-quality games with ads and in-app purchases, since those can be infinite sources of revenue.
With more equitable revenue sharing, developers might be encouraged to charge upfront for higher-quality titles, like the sort that dominate the charts on Steam or the PlayStation Store. The Pixel 10 probably won’t be running Cyberpunk 2077 except via the cloud, but there’s no reason we couldn’t be playing Helldivers 2 or Tactical Breach Wizards.
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