Every year, buying a Pixel feels a little bit like making a deal with Darth Vader. What started as an incredible-sounding concept slowly became less desirable. Even when something gets better, something else seems to get worse. I can almost hear Google telling me to pray it doesn’t alter the deal any further.
Case in point: the Google Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL. This year, you’ll get less base RAM, a slightly smaller battery, and a GPU that’s still not particularly capable. But you’ll also get amazing new features like Magic Capture, Creator suite, instant Night Sight, live translation for videos, and the new Rambler voice keyboard.
Are those enough to make us forget about these devices’ shortcomings? In some ways, absolutely, as Pixels are designed to appeal to the masses (who often don’t care as much about raw performance or other metrics), and we were initially impressed with many of the new Gemini features arriving on the Pixel 11 series during our hands-on.
However, a year with the Pixel 10 Pro and more time with the Pixel 11 Pro have shown me that Google is more focused on figuring out its next big AI toy than on putting good work into creating truly great phones.
Last year, Google removed the physical SIM tray in U.S. models, and this year brings about its own reductions. The entry Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL models ship with 12GB of RAM to start, 4GB less than last year, and the XL is $100 more than last year on top of that. RAMageddon is certainly causing problems Google can’t control, but it still feels bad to get something worse for a higher price.
Both models feature smaller batteries and, somehow, slower charging, despite claiming otherwise. Data from our parent company’s Future Labs backs up this claim (see below). Google also no longer includes a year of Gemini Pro with these phones, instead giving just six months of the service to Pixel owners.
|
Charging |
Pixel 10 Pro |
Pixel 11 Pro |
Pixel 10 Pro XL |
Pixel 11 Pro XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
15-minute charge (45W) |
27% |
27% |
33% |
27% |
|
30-minute charge (45W) |
55% |
51% |
63% |
54% |
And while Tensor G6 is supposed to be a bit more efficient, our battery tests show near-identical battery life between equivalent Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro models. Tensor G6 is most certainly faster than the G5 in many areas, but overall performance still puts this chip several years behind the competition.
To make matters worse, while the PowerVR GPU here performs better than the one in the Pixel 10, it still doesn’t support the latest Vulkan API, meaning games that require Vulkan for advanced performance or graphics (like Minecraft’s Vibrant Visuals setting) will give you worse visuals on a Pixel 11 Pro series phone. This is particularly disappointing because this year’s GPU performs much better than last year’s.
I also can’t say I’ve found better cell coverage on these phones despite the change in modem. My calls get dropped in the same areas as the Pixel 10, while phones from Motorola and Honor (for example) hang on to the signal without issue.
And, of course, there’s the display. Google loves to highlight how color-accurate and insanely bright its displays are, but the company’s use of low-frequency PWM dimming continues to make its phones unusable for flicker-sensitive people year after year.
None of these things would be quite as egregious if Google weren’t charging as much as Samsung or Apple, but the reality is that these are too expensive for what you get.
Experience over performance
Pixel has long focused on delivering a unique experience that trumps raw performance, and most of the new features fit that mantra. Magic Capture, a new camera mode that automatically takes pictures for you, feels like the first time the term “Magic” was correctly applied to one of Google’s Gemini experiments.
It’s an upgraded version of what Honor introduced two and a half years ago, and it feels truly magical to use. Open the camera, select Magic Capture, tap start, and you’ll soon have a video plus truly amazing pictures to share. I’ve used it many times over the past week, and it never gets old.
Creator Suite is a godsend for anyone making videos for social media, as it places the script right on screen for you to read while recording, plus additional tools that help with editing. Instant Night Sight is the perfect execution of a feature Google has excelled at for years, and the difference in capture speed in low-light situations compared to any other phone on the market is truly impressive.
Hearing the Pixel real-time translate someone’s voice (and language) in a video into one I understand is magic. And while Rambler isn’t a Pixel 11 exclusive feature, it’s still the evolution of voice typing that many have wanted for years.
Now, while I had high hopes for HiLight, the feature is mostly useless. That glowing LED on the back lights up for phone calls, messages, and when you talk to Gemini, but that’s it. There’s no customization, making this an inferior version of Nothing’s Glyph Interface. Likewise, Gemini Proactive Intelligence didn’t seem to do anything of note for me, much like last year’s Magic Cue feature.
One of the highlights of this release is a set of new cameras, all of which show notable improvements over the Pixel 10 Pro series. The main camera produces very fine detail, aided by Google’s willingness to include grain in the image. I rather prefer this look, as it feels a bit like looking at film rather than an image from a digital sensor. That said, the colors are often too muted for my taste.
Telephoto performance is somewhat disappointing, but it has its highlights. While I can see some improvements over the Pixel 10 Pro’s poor telephoto experience, it’s still not as good as most Chinese phones’ telephoto cameras (although it has a slight edge over the iPhone 17 Pro series). The new 120x zoom is surprisingly effective in some scenarios, though it’s not something you’ll use regularly.
Google also finally seems to have figured out how to make a food portrait mode, and I can happily report that the terrible artifacts and digital noise that appeared in Pixel portrait photos for the past several years are gone. Plus, the selfie camera no longer has that awful, compressed-image look that Pixel 10 Pro selfies suffered from, so overall, a very good camera upgrade year.
Should you buy it?
I can only genuinely recommend getting a Pixel 11 Pro or Pro XL for the Magic Capture feature. Google hasn’t said anything about it coming to other Pixels, which makes sense given Tensor G6’s improved TPU. Aside from this one amazing feature, however, the cost of these Pixels far outweighs the benefits.
But in addition to the downgrades, Google has simply given away too many Pixel-exclusive features to other phones (such as Gemini Automation and Rambler). I can’t help but feel like it cheapens what the unique Pixel experience used to be. Maybe next year, Google.