Google’s Pixel 10 locks 3 GB RAM for AI, leaving just 8 GB for apps and games

The Google Pixel 10 has arrived with plenty of buzz around its upgraded AI features and new Tensor G5 chip. But for all the hype, one detail is frustrating some users: the phone ships with 12GB of RAM, yet you can’t actually use it all.

Google has confirmed that around 3GB of memory on the Pixel 10 is permanently locked away for its AICore service and the Tensor’s TPU. This means just 8–9GB is left for apps, games and multitasking, even though the spec sheet proudly advertises 12GB.

It’s a shift in strategy from last year’s Pixel 9 lineup. The standard Pixel 9 left all 12GB available for apps and only loaded AI models into memory when needed, while the Pro versions with 16GB dedicated about 3GB to AI. Now, Google has decided to bring that Pro-style approach to every Pixel 10, ensuring AI tools are always ready — but at the expense of user-accessible RAM.

Why does this matter? AI features such as live translation, call transcription, and Pixel Journal demand huge amounts of memory compared to normal apps. Even the smallest AI models can take up several gigabytes, far more than a typical mobile game. Loading them each time would feel sluggish, so Google keeps them resident in memory for instant responsiveness.

The upside is clear: AI tools feel as quick as opening a text message. Tap to translate or launch Pixel Journal, and it’s ready immediately. The downside, however, is that power users who want to juggle heavy apps or play demanding games have less headroom. That locked 3GB is unavailable, no matter what else is running.

For most people, the change may not matter much. Eight gigabytes of usable RAM is still more than enough to run multiple apps, stream video, scroll social feeds and even play graphically intensive games without issue. Multitasking should feel smooth for the majority of everyday users.

But for those who push their phones to the limit — whether through gaming, video editing or running multiple demanding apps side by side — the sacrifice is more noticeable. These users may feel short-changed, especially since on paper the Pixel 10 matches rivals with 12GB RAM. In practice, though, it functions more like an 8GB device.

Google clearly sees AI as central to the Pixel experience, and the decision to lock off RAM is part of that philosophy. With the Pixel 10, AI isn’t an optional extra — it’s baked into the core system, prioritised even above user-accessible memory. That may make the Pixel feel futuristic and responsive, but it also raises questions about who really controls the hardware’s resources: the user or Google’s AI.

Those who want both maximum RAM and top-tier AI may need to look at the Pixel 10 Pro, which starts with 16GB of RAM. With 3GB reserved, that still leaves a more generous 13GB for apps and games, a better fit for heavy multitaskers.

For casual users, though, the Pixel 10 will likely perform smoothly. The phone’s locked RAM ensures Google’s most hyped features — real-time AI translations, instant transcriptions, and background learning tools — are always ready. But if you rarely touch those AI functions, it’s hard not to feel like a chunk of your expensive hardware is sitting idle.

The Pixel 10 shows where smartphones are headed: less about raw app performance, more about seamless AI. Whether that trade-off is worth it depends entirely on how much you value Google’s vision of the future.