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Your Pixel 10 Pro XL has a mic issue that’s ruining your videos — here’s what we know

Dave LeClair

19 September 2025

Google swapped the mic and speaker positions and it’s annoying some users

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(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)

Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL is one of the best phones available today. It’s massive, comes with great cameras and has the brightest display of any phone we’ve ever tested — earning a four-star rating.

However, there’s a peculiar design choice that’s causing issues for some users: Google has swapped the positions of the microphone and speaker, inadvertently blocking the microphone when recording videos, as noted by X user Artem Russakovskii.
I can’t say it’s a design flaw per se, but it’s definitely annoying some Pixel 10 Pro XL owners.

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Why does a repositioned Pixel 10 Pro XL microphone matter?
It sounds like such an insignificant thing on the surface. So the Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 10 Pro XL have different microphone positions? Right-handed users are accidentally blocking the mic while recording videos in landscape mode, resulting in terrible-sounding videos.

The easy solution is to rotate the phone 180 degrees (so it’s essentially upside down), which will keep the microphone away from your hand. It could take some getting used to, though, as years of smartphone usage have taught us to rotate the phone a certain way when swapping to landscape mode.
There’s a positive to this change, too. Now, you’re less likely to cover the speaker while playing some of the best Android games or watching videos in landscape mode (assuming you’re right-handed). But is that worth the trade-off of ruining the sound in videos? That’s certainly open for debate, but there are times when a video is once-in-a-lifetime, and if you miss the sound, you won’t have another shot at it.
Obviously, this isn’t something Google can change with a software update, as it’s part of the phone’s physical design. Still, it’s something to keep in mind before purchasing the Pixel 10 Pro XL; however, getting used to flipping it over is probably not a significant issue.

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Dave LeClair

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Dave LeClair is the Senior News Editor for Tom’s Guide, keeping his finger on the pulse of all things technology. He loves taking the complicated happenings in the tech world and explaining why they matter. Whether Apple is announcing the next big thing in the mobile space or a small startup advancing generative AI, Dave will apply his experience to help you figure out what’s happening and why it’s relevant to your life.

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