My Pixel 10 Pro’s camera is pretty popular in its own right

It’s been almost a decade since Google launched the original Pixel, and it still isn’t a draw as strong as it once wasOne of the reasons to buy a Pixel he always had his camera. It’s one of the reasons I bought the Pixel 10 Pro after years of disappointing Samsung cameras, and I couldn’t be happier with the decision. I’m not the only one who is happy to have this phone. The Pixel has been stolen almost every day for the past six months so my wife can take a thousand photos of the cat. Thankfully, the Pixels have a killer feature that makes a family member running away from your phone less annoying.

So, why does my Pixel get ripped out so often? Shooting delay or lack thereof. Shooting delay has plagued Samsung phones for years, including my Galaxy S23 Ultra and Z fold 7 and my wife’s Galaxy Z Flip 6. It’s fine if you’re taking photos of landscapes in good lighting, but things go downhill fast as soon as things get dark and introduce moving objects. The Pixel doesn’t suffer from this problem, and it delivers photos that we’re always happy with. Since we got our cat (Bandit) six months ago, we’ve taken 1,500 photos and videos of him almost exclusively with the Pixel. The difference is so stark that it’s practically a daily occurrence to grab my phone from my desk while I’m working, only to be returned with half a dozen more photos of a furry, snoring lump.

Not only did it leave me pixel-free for a few minutes, my 10 Pro also went on day trips to gigs without me, where it was once again used as the main camera of the day. My husband went to the concert with his best friend, who is both an avid photographer and an iPhone enthusiast. Before the opening act finished their set, my 10 Pro impressed said friend enough that the iPhone 16 Pro Max ended up in the bag for the rest of the night.

I will not say that these are beautiful, mind-blowing photos. Zoom in and you’ll find noise and areas of photos that are too soft. So why did I include them? Because they were all taken well beyond 10X zoom, given the concert’s dim lighting and reliance on digital zoom, these photos are impressive and, more importantly, good enough to evoke memories of the night, which is what photos like this are all about.

Make the lighting conditions even more extreme and the Pixel continues to impress. When we went to the annual light show at a park near our house, we once again fought for the Pixel 10 Pro because we both wanted to take pictures with it. A half hour walk turned into an hour as we both wanted to stop and take pictures with the Pixel. It was fun, smartphone photography just wasn’t for me in the last few years of using Samsung phones.

Despite my attempts at humor suggesting otherwise, I have no problem with the Pixel going on photo adventures with my wife. Seeing the creative and inventive ways he uses it is beyond fun for me. One thing that might have been a concern was my Google Photos library. I already have 50,380 photos stored in my Google Photos account, and cluttering it up with photos I didn’t take wasn’t something I was keen on. But it’s a Pixel, and Google has a solution for that.

Android has supported multiple user accounts on smartphones since Android 5.0 Lollipop, which I almost forgot because Samsung insisted on removing any feature from its tablets. With the switch to switch accounts while the phone is locked, my wife can keep her place on the Pixel, and all the photos and videos she takes are synced to her library, not mine. It’s a thoughtful feature that makes it easier to temporarily share your phone with a loved one instead of a hassle, and Samsung should stop removing it from the Android version for smartphones.

Have a friend or family member with Pixel envy? Or do you use multiple user accounts for other reasons? If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.