You can understand a lot about a product from its first couple of hours, and if that is anything to go by, the Pixel 11 feels like an adequate but modest update that is likely only of interest to people wanting a “new” phone.

Table of contents

The less it changes, the more it stays the same…obviously

It’s really tough to talk about the Pixel 11’s design when it’s practically identical as last year. I’m exaggerating a little bit, but the outright biggest change is the full glass camera bar section, which I didn’t even notice during my initial hands-on. However, it’s a great change. It looks very consistent and makes it stand out for the better.

Not many people will make the switch over from the Pixel 10, but the weight reduction of around 7g is genuinely noticeable. I figured I wouldn’t care, but I like it. Maybe the lack of metal around the camera bar helped shave some mass and depth; the phone now sits a little flatter when upright on a desk.

The Pixel 11 and Pixel 10 feel almost identical. Chunky, stable, very comfortable to hold. I paired it with the brand new Pixel Clear Case. I dislike the exposed lip on the bottom edge; it’s not worth $50, but otherwise, this is an acceptable starter case.

There are some tangible gains that you can’t see right away. Last year, I was critical of the weakness of the Pixelsnap magnets. The good news is that Google listened, and the magnets are marginally stronger this year versus last year. When you attach a kickstand or similar, the “snap” is stronger, the connection feels more stable, and it’s harder to wobble things off with a vigorous shake. I would like it to be a little stronger still, but it’s a nice year-over-year improvement.

How fast do you want your phone?

The performance at least feels better than the previous generation. I don’t doubt that Google has tailored the experience to make it feel fast and smooth out of the box. If you have come from a phone with the slower UFS 3.1 storage, then I hope you can feel it too.

Apps do load marginally faster from a cold start, but we’re talking milliseconds. There’s an smoothness that is hard to quantify on a Pixel; you know it when you see it or feel it.

I don’t know why the display stays tuned to 60Hz out of the box or by default. It should be set at the full flow 120Hz, because there’s only one chance to make a first impression.

Coming over from the Pixel 10 Pro XL, I switched without a hitch, and Android 17 just feels like a warm pair of slippers at this point. There isn’t much here that feels particularly standout from a core OS experience, and that is both a positive and a negative.

Even the new Tensor G6 chip feels identical to the G5 day-to-day. Maybe there are some minor upgrades that I haven’t noticed, but for all the kinds of things I’ve been doing, I couldn’t tell you how things have improved. I’m just glad that this is the only device in the lineup to keep RAM parity at 12GB.

Of the new software features, there really isn’t much to write home about, or at least nothing that will change how you use your phone day-to-day. I have used Rambler a little bit, and it works really well, but it doesn’t fill text in real-time like Google’s previous (and still very good) voice dictation. You talk, then hit the microphone icon, and all the text appears at once. I’ll be honest: that isn’t ideal, but it handles stutters, changes, and course corrections perfectly. I’d hesitate to call it a killer addition, though.

One minor point of contention that I have to note, but I’m not sure if it’s merely a blip with the new modem, is that my phone had some severe connection problems while connected to a VPN and a 5G network on the Three carrier here in the UK. I had to flip in and out of Airplane Mode to get pages to load and apps to refresh while connected to Proton VPN or Google Pixel VPN. However, this was only in a couple of locations in my town/city.

The connection has otherwise been really solid, but this blip has concerned me somewhat. I haven’t had that problem with any recent Pixel device in the same places. I’ll be sure to test this the longer I use the phone and work out if it was just a temporary or unique issue. For what it’s worth, nobody else on the team has had modem or connection issues at any stage thus far. I’m keeping an eye on this and hoping it was user error or a VPN issue. It could have been the two fighting while on a weaker network signal.

Camera quality and improvements

The only major hardware changes that you’ll find on the Pixel 11 this year relate to the camera. A return to a better main sensor means marginally better photos. I haven’t yet come to a definitive conclusion, but the camera is improved over the previous generation.

I find that the camera functions make bigger leaps this time around, though, rather than the hardware stack.

Take, for example, Camera Looks. They’re an overdue but important step forward for customization. I like playing around with Camera Looks, but I’ve found the controls a little finicky. As part of the Quick Access Controls options within the viewfinder, you can double-tap to bring up four tools.

Then you can scroll to access or on-device Looks. I personally would like an adjustment to how this activates, maybe a quicker way to access the function. To get deeper into the controls and adjustments, you have to tap the Settings icon, then “Looks,” and then choose the settings. Maybe something a little less cumbersome would be my preferred option, just a drop-down above the shutter or a slider carousel just below the zoom controls. Right there at your fingertips.

I can already see that Magic Capture is going to be amazing for families and, in particular, when handing your phone over to someone you might not be confident will get the photo you want of an important moment.

Just point the camera at the subject and let the phone do the rest feels counterintuitive to anyone who takes their photography seriously, but for the less confident, this Top Shot upgrade does a fantastic job. I liken it to when I’m shooting high-frame rate videos and just pull stills as photos; this is just letting AI make the selection. It works well in my limited testing.

How long is long enough for a battery?

I’ve been impressed in recent years with how the base Pixel has handled even my busiest of days. The Pixel 11 is the same once again. In my week using it as my main device, I’m getting impressive longevity despite not being a quantum leap.

While screen on time is never a really solid metric, expect six hours as a minimum if you have mixed use. Think Android Auto with some GPS, texting, maybe a brief call, lots of browsing, light gaming, it’s all pretty rudimentary today. I feel like background processes aren’t sapping at this phone like maybe the older versions suffered.

With charging, I have tried Extreme Charging Mode, but it still feels so slow and outdated compared to the competition. I hoped we might get 25W charging with Pixelsnap this year, but alas, no changes to the 15W speed introduced last year.

Initial thoughts

I don’t quite think a week is enough to give a substantial verdict on the Pixel 11. There’s much more to test, but I already think it’s really tough to recommend to anyone without a working phone made in the last 2-3 years – especially if you’re content.

There is a growing overreliance on the AI functionality, functionality that isn’t moving the needle unless you want something specific. Google has always been a software company, and after nailing the fundamentals with the Pixel 9, it leaned more heavily into software tuning rather than attempting to make major hardware gains.

The Pixel 11 is a good phone but expensive phone. One that is tough to evaluate without all the other market factors that make it such. In a few months, it’ll become a much better buy by virtue of discounts and sales, as it has always been with Google hardware for better or worse.

We’ll revisit the Pixel 11 a few weeks from now once we have a better opportunity to test drive every component and then again in a few months to see how updates have altered any aspects of the device.

If you are still interested in picking up the Pixel 11, you can get extensive trade-in deals that’ll knock the $899 start price down at the Google Store, Amazon, and Best Buy below:

Pixel 11: Google Store | Amazon | Best Buy

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