The Pixel 10 Professional’s free AI Professional plan is a lure, do not get fooled

The Pixel 10-series is Google’s most aggressive guess on AI but. 12 months on 12 months, the corporate retains tacking on extra AI-first options. From the digicam to the notes app and elsewhere, the pitch is evident. This isn’t simply one other smartphone. As an alternative, it’s a showcase for a way Google’s AI technique ties on to its {hardware}. However whereas the on-device LLM can do loads, with regards to heavy lifting, Google desires you to pop over into the Gemini app. Extra particularly, Gemini Professional. And to drive that time additional, Google bundles in a free 12 months of the Gemini AI Professional plan with the telephone.

Actually, I’d go so far as saying that the free 12 months of Gemini Professional and 2TB of cloud storage are a key a part of Google’s advertising and marketing to make the telephone appear as if a discount. Two terabytes of cloud storage, entry to Google’s finest AI options, together with Deep Analysis with Gemini 2.5 Professional. Add to that AI-enabled extras in entry to AI filmmaking instruments through Move, picture to video creation, and a 1000 month-to-month AI credit. Google even frames the price of the telephone as decrease than it truly is by subtracting the $239 worth of the subscription’s sticker worth. It sounds beneficiant. Besides, it’s not. This perk is designed to funnel you into recurring funds, and storage is the bait.

Let’s begin with the less complicated of the 2 first. Two terabytes of free cloud storage appears like a steal. It’s a huge improve from the 15GB that comes with an ordinary Google account, although likelihood is you have got been paying for an improve anyway. With 2TB, you get loads of room to again up pictures, movies, information, system information, and extra. I get it. It’s handy. Not solely are your pictures being backed as much as cloud servers that don’t require any upkeep at your finish, however these pictures, movies, and information are then accessible throughout platforms through apps and browsers. If you’d like a no-nonsense strategy to preserving your information safe, going cloud first is a viable technique. However there’s a catch.

When you begin backing up all of your information to the cloud, you might be locked in. When the primary 12 months’s trial plan runs out, it’s a must to determine. Both downgrade the plan and lose entry to information, begin deleting information to match a decrease paid tier, or settle for the $20 month-to-month charge to maintain every little thing. That is when Google’s free perk reveals its precise value.

The reason being simple. No one desires to delete information, particularly private pictures and movies. As soon as your information stay within the cloud, strolling away turns into more durable than paying up. Sure, you possibly can obtain every little thing, reorganize your storage, swap to a different supplier, and even self-host. However Google doesn’t make that simple. Exporting terabytes of information is gradual and messy. Household libraries, shared albums, and system backups make switching much more painful. Google is aware of this. The trial isn’t generosity. It’s a buyer acquisition spend to be written off by advertising and marketing.

This additionally masks Google’s {hardware} compromises. We’re heading into the top of 2025, and the Pixel 10 Professional nonetheless ships with 128GB of storage as the bottom in lots of markets. That may be a no-go for a flagship, particularly when Apple and Samsung have moved to 256GB because the baseline. Google’s pitch is that the two TB of cloud storage makes up for it, nevertheless it doesn’t.

Elsewhere, the maths is equally flawed. Upgrading from 128GB to 256GB prices about $100 upfront. The bounce from 256GB to 1TB on the Pixel 10 Professional XL? A one-time $350. That one-time fee offers you extra space for the lifetime of the telephone. Contemplating Google now guarantees seven years of updates, that’s cash properly spent. Evaluate that with $20 a month for cloud storage. After the free 12 months, you may be paying $240 yearly. Maintain the telephone for its full seven-year assist window, and you might be at $1,440 only for storage. The $100 you saved on the bottom mannequin has shortly became far more than the worth of a brand-new telephone.

Okay, nice. It’s not simply storage that you simply get totally free. Storage may be a primary want, however entry to superior AI may be fairly seductive too. The included 12 months of free Gemini Professional unlocks Google’s most superior mannequin, the one able to longer reasoning, higher summaries, and extra complicated duties. All of which may sound very interesting. You should use it to condense analysis papers, summarise lengthy PDFs, draft emails, polish writing, create quick video clips, or brainstorm concepts in NotebookLM. The pitch is that you simply spend a 12 months weaving these instruments into your workflow and are available to depend on them sufficient that you’ll pay for the comfort as soon as the trial ends.

The issue is that for most individuals, Gemini Professional isn’t important. The free tier covers the fundamentals properly sufficient. Accessing the top-tier mannequin is sweet, however it’s not essential for day-to-day use. You would possibly mess around with it, you would possibly even prefer it, however few will genuinely must spend $20 a month to maintain it. The distinction between storage and AI is that you could stroll away from the AI options with out dropping something. Attempt unsubscribing from storage after a 12 months, and you will note why that’s unattainable.

Google isn’t the primary firm to go down this path. Apple has been doing it for years. iCloud comes with simply 5GB of free storage. The second you arrange your iPhone, backups and photograph sync begin consuming via that quota until you flip them off. Earlier than lengthy, you might be nudged into paying $0.99 a month, then $2.99, then $9.99 as your library grows. The trick works, however Apple doesn’t promote that the iPhone is cheaper due to iCloud. Google is way extra blatant. It promotes the Pixel 10 Professional as if subtracting the sticker worth of Gemini Professional makes the telephone a greater deal. And it’s not refined about it both. Head on over to the Google Retailer itemizing for the telephone, and it’s proper up there with the highest advantages of shopping for a Pixel 10 Professional, proper alongside trade-in advantages. Let’s be actual right here. In actuality, the free Gemini AI Professional provide is a hook right into a subscription cycle that’s troublesome to flee.

Samsung can be displaying the place this highway leads. Galaxy AI launched as a free trial throughout the Galaxy S24 line, with Samsung mentioning that a few of these instruments may very well be locked behind a paywall in some unspecified time in the future. Which means the instruments that assist you translate calls, summarize notes, or clear up pictures are being positioned as short-term freebies designed to make you reliant on them. Fortunately, that day hasn’t come but for Samsung customers. Google, then again, is taking the identical strategy, solely with a steeper price ticket. The Pixel 10 Professional is not only a telephone with AI in-built. It’s, regrettably, being positioned as a supply mechanism for a subscription that Google hopes will outlast the lifetime of the telephone itself.

The Pixel 10 Professional could also be among the best telephones Google has made, however the Gemini AI Professional bundle isn’t the deal it seems like. The AI options are fascinating however not important. The storage is helpful, however it’s also a lure. When you begin utilizing it, quitting turns into practically unattainable with out both dropping information or paying up. And sure, I’m conscious that you could simply cancel it, or select to not use it. However that’s in addition to the purpose.

So, if you’re serious about shopping for the Pixel 10 Professional, ignore the free subscription if you make your determination. Pay the additional $100 for a better storage mannequin and save your self years of ongoing charges. The so-called free 12 months of Gemini AI Professional isn’t free. It’s bait, and the actual value solely exhibits up a 12 months later when it’s too late so that you can return.