Google's new Pixel 11 lineup is here, but despite having a new processor, it's not exactly a generational leap. It's a fairly modest upgrade, and although it's far from a bad phone, the value isn't there, especially when the Pixel 10 still offers most of the same features and capabilities. That's why last year's model could actually be a much better buy for most people.
When comparing the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro against the previous generation, there isn't really much new. Similar design and build, near-identical displays (with a minor peak brightness bump on the 11 Pro), very similar camera hardware, battery sizes, wired charging speeds, and so on.
Basically, the biggest upgrade between the two generations is the new Google Tensor G6 chip, which delivers around 20% faster performance and improved efficiency, along with a 50% more powerful Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) for faster on-device AI tasks.
Wireless charging has also been upgraded from Qi2's maximum 15W to the new Qi2.2's 25W, which is a nice-to-have if you heavily rely on wireless charging, I guess (though if you're in a rush, you should absolutely plug it in).
The last "big" change is the new HiLight LED on the back of the Pixel 11 Pro, a heavily anticipated feature alluding to the possible comeback of colored notification LEDs to alert you when the phone is flipped over.
Unfortunately, HiLight's functionality is fairly limited at launch. The LED can display a notification when a favorite contact is calling and when interacting with Gemini, but that's it.
The temperature sensor has also been removed in favor of this new LED, so one gimmicky feature got replaced with another, which you can't even really call an upgrade.
Of course, software is the real reason anyone buys a Pixel, and the 11 does feature some new stuff like Magic Capture, which takes photos and records video simultaneously, a new Gboard feature that ignores filler words in voice-to-text mode, and a slew of new Gemini stuff.
There's also a new 120x AI-upscaled camera super-zoom mode and a few other features. But since it's Pixel we're talking about, a lot of these features have already made their way or are on the path to older devices anyway, with likely only some of the camera stuff remaining exclusive to the 11 and 11 Pro.
When you put it all together, and combine that with the fact that the new Pixel 11 Pro comes with 12GB of RAM instead of the Pixel 10 Pro's 16GB in the base configuration, there really isn't much worth upgrading for.
In fact, because of the reduced RAM, you would just be making a sidegrade if you went from a base-model Pixel 10 Pro to a base-model Pixel 11 Pro, as the new CPU isn't enough to justify 4GB less RAM. At least the faster UFS 4.0 storage is now standard on all models.
Although the Pixel 11 release has been rather underwhelming, it's still a pretty good phone on its own. However, all the things that make the Pixel 11 a good $899 phone are what make the Pixel 10 an excellent phone—at a hopefully much lower price now that it's last year's model.
Looking to upgrade to a Pixel but not sure if you need all the bells and whistles of the more expensive models? You won't be disappointed with the standard Pixel 10 model. Coming in striking colors, Gemini features, and seven years of updates, you can't go wrong with this purchase.
The Pixel 10 Pro offers an upgrade over the base model with the powerful Google Tensor G5 chip, more RAM, and more storage (if you need it).
You still get excellent cameras with some of the best image processing, deeply integrated AI and Gemini features, strong Google ecosystem integration, seven years of major Android updates that arrive faster than on almost any other brand, and various other little Pixel-exclusive features like Now Playing.
