I’ve been in the Pixel line for quite a few generations now. I’m currently using a Pixel 10 Pro. Here are my thoughts as a current Pixel 10 Pro about the released specs and initial reviews, in the context that I would likely get the Pixel 11 Pro base model.
The following things are identical or nearly identical from the 10 Pro:
Phone size
Weight (11 Pro is .1 ounce less)
Resolution
Refresh rate
Contrast Ratio
Color Depth
Battery size (11 has 20 mAh less)
Wired charging speed
Water resistance
Front camera specs
Rear camera specs
Changed for the good:
Base level storage 256GB (previously 128GB)
25 watt wireless charging (up from 15 watts)
30+ hour battery life (up from 24+)
Screen brightness 3600 nits (up from 3300)
New LED indicator on camera bar (although at launch it has comically little purpose and isn’t opened up third party notifications)
Tensor 6
Titan M3 security coprocessor
Things that got WORSE:
12 GB RAM for base level Pro model (down from 16GB)
Temperature sensor removed
Base level Pro model price increase of $100
If I were in the market for a new phone, I would consider the Pixel 11 Pro with the right discounts. However, I would also consider the iPhone 17 Pro, which is the same MSRP. The big attractor for me with the iPhone is the battery life. I’m tired of running into battery issues with my Pixel 10 Pro.
When it comes to my current situation if the upgrade were FREE (after discounts and trade-in), I would still keep my Pixel 10 Pro for the RAM. There isn’t a strong case for me to want to move to the Pixel 11 Pro.
Thanks for the analysis and for sharing your thoughts. From a case/accessories perspective, I love that they kept the dimensions the same. It’s also nice to see a bump in wireless charging speed, storage, and battery life. But it does seem like there aren’t a lot of reasons to make it stand out from the last version, so it seems like a non-notable release.
I’m now on my 3rd time using one of Google’s A series Pixels, as I find they’re great for what I need and much more budget-friendly (especially if you buy them on sale or refurbished/used). The 10a was even more of an insignificant release compared to the 9a. Reviewers were scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with differences.
As much as I enjoy technology, I’m actually fine with minor releases like this. Some years, there are incremental improvements, and others have more significant things. But a lot of consumer technology has gotten to a place where you don’t have to buy the best to have something that’s a quality product. I think it’s good for us to be aware of the marketing hype and be thoughtful about what we purchase. I’m really pulling for phones to start having user-replaceable batteries again, as I think this would really extend how long people are able/willing to keep using a phone. I recently had to do a screen replacement on my wife’s 6a because I cracked it taking it apart to replace the battery.
I had been happy with the A-series Pixel until my kids got into soccer and Cheerleading. I found that I really needed the 5x optical zoom on the phone to get decent pictures from the spectator areas. That’s the main feature that pushes me into the Pro.
I don’t mind incremental/evolutionary upgrades, but it’s weird to see some downgrades as well. I’m at least pleased to see some headway made on battery life.
I haven’t been very excited about yearly phone releases for quite a few years. I haven’t seen a must have feature, well, probably since the first gen Pixel. I’m pretty much on a three year update cycle. That seems to be when battery degradation becomes a factor for my family members and myself.
I did get my son an iPhone 17 Pro recently (battery degradation on his 14 Pro). He makes a lot of short films for his high school, and there are a lot of third party filming accessories (do we still call it filming?) for that phone. As for me, the Pixel 9a is more than I need.
