Google Pixel 11 Review

The plain Pixel has quietly become the interesting one. The 11 keeps the 5x telephoto the 10 introduced, which nothing else near the price offers, pairs it with a 48-megapixel main and runs all three through the processing that has been the Pixel's real product for a decade. The battery grows to 4985 mAh and Google quotes more than 30 hours; the camera bar is slim enough that the phone sits almost flat in its own case; wireless charging moves to 25W through Pixelsnap magnets.

What it gives up against the Pro is resolution and reach rather than ability. The 6.3-inch panel is 1080p at 3000 nits instead of 1280p at 3600, the telephoto uses a 10.8-megapixel sensor instead of a 48-megapixel one, and the selfie camera falls from 42 to 10.5 megapixels. Tensor G6 is the same chip as the Pro, so the same caveat applies: fine at everything, behind Qualcomm in games.

The complication is the price. At $899 the Pixel 11 costs a hundred more than the Pixel 10 did and exactly what a Galaxy S26 costs, and the 256GB floor is the reason Google gives for it. It is still the phone to hand someone who wants seven years of updates and pictures that need no work, which is most people.