A week with the Pixel 11: 5 upgrades I already fell in love with

It's been a week since the Google Pixel 11 was announced, and a week since I've had my very own Pixel 11 in its recyclable box and cool Pistachio color.

This "baby Pixel" as I like to call it, or the base model, is the one I've been excited the most about this year. On paper, it takes everything that made the Pixel 10 so good in 2025 and makes it even better, with upgrades right where they matter the most.

In reality, I suspect it'll be the phone I recommend the most over the next 12 months because it provides the most value out of the entire lineup without breaking the bank, and while still offering some excellent features, like a zoom camera and the latest Tensor G6 processor.

But before I write my full review of the Pixel 11, which needs way more testing time than one week, I need to highlight a few changes that have already won me over.

Related

I've owned every Google Pixel, and here's what actually excites me about the Pixel 11

Google is cooking something special

Posts 12
By  Rita El Khoury

256GB of storage is a great start

No one wants to worry about storage

I can already hear the counter-arguments raining: "I don't need 256GB of storage! Everything is in the cloud! I don't take photos or videos! Why should I pay more for a feature I won't use?"

Look, every phone out there, whether it costs $100 or $2,000, has something extra that you — personally — don't necessarily use, but the majority of buyers will need and use. 256GB of storage sits squarely in that category, in my opinion.

The Android system is already taking up 15GB of storage on my Pixel 11, and apps like Play Services, the Pixel Camera, and Google Search are already up to more than 1GB each. They will balloon further the more data they accumulate, and the more AI I use.

I've already used up 71GB of storage on this phone by just installing my apps, without moving any other data, and without taking more than a dozen photos and videos. If I ever plan to shoot some 4K video, I expect I'd be over 128GB in a couple of months. That's why starting out with 256GB of storage matters.

Better zoom, better portraits, better camera looks

This is the best "cheap flagship" camera setup

I don't know if we can call the Google Pixel 11 a "cheap flagship," but at $899, it certainly is one of the least expensive options among the more expensive flagship phones you can buy. And at that price, in the US, there isn't much competition with a decent 5x zoom camera.

Google has gone this year and improved it further. It can now go all the way up to 30x, and while that gives very questionable photos, the results are much nicer at 10x and 15x, which used to be a little less reliable last year on the Pixel 10.

On top of this, the Pixel 11 gets many of its Pro siblings' new camera features. I can shoot portraits at 5x now, instead of just 1x-2x. The new Magic Capture works decently well in my testing, but I'll report once I give it a proper run for its money over the weekend.

I'm also firmly in love with the new Camera Looks feature. I know it sounds like simple "filters" but I've found that the Vanilla look brings a bit of extra warmth to the photos — something Google's Pixels have been severely lacking over the last few years. And if I don't like it, I can tailor it to my preference.

The fact that I can change how pics look from the get-go, without having to dig into Google Photos and painstakingly edit them, one by one, is a huge time-saver and a big boon for someone like me who shoots 3,000+ pics a year and disliked the Pixel 10's flat colors.

The flatter camera bar is actually nice

I did not expect to like it this much

Google made a whole fuss about flattening the camera bar on its phones — it was even mentioned during the Made By Google livestream — but it's something that I chalked off as insignificant.

When I saw the Pixel 11 lineup in person, I went looking for that flat bar and didn't see it. It seemed to protrude just as much as on last year's models. Turns out this is only a change on the base Pixel 11, and not the Pro or Pro XL units, and I was looking in the wrong place.

And now that I've had the phone in my hand and inside a case, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually like it! The phone wobbles less on a table, especially when it vibrates. There's less risk of it sliding and gliding and falling on the floor. That's already a win.

Better yet, once I put Google's official case on, it fell nearly flush with the camera bar module, making the entire phone + case combo sit flat on my desk. Always. I shouldn't be happy about this — it makes no difference whatsoever to how I use my Pixel 11 — but I love it.

Faster wireless charging is also better

Qi2.2 with 25W makes a difference

Although the upgrade from 15W to 25W wireless charging doesn't seem too big on paper, it certainly makes a difference in my experience.

Last year, Qi2.2 didn't just make the Pixel 10 Pro XL charge slightly faster on wireless pads and power banks, it also caused less heat dissipation and kept the phone cooler during the process.

I've noticed this same effect on the Pixel 11 this year. With Qi2.2 25W and my Pixelsnap charger with Stand, or any of my Ugreen or Baseus chargers and power banks, the phone fills up decently fast and without getting too toasty. That's always a win for Pixels.

I like that bright display

My camera doesn't lie

Each time I've tried to take a photo of the Pixel 11, I've had to turn down the display's brightness to do that, because it is very bright. Up to 3,000 nits, and similar to my Pixel 11 Pro XL.

This isn't the kind of difference you will notice indoors or in dim environments, or in the foggy Parisian weather we've been having. But on a bright day, under the searing sun, like last Sunday, I was able to use the Pixel 11 without having to hold my hand over it to shade it and see what was on the display.

Google has also vastly raised the durability of its screens. There's a new Corning Glass Victus 2 glass on top of the display, which should be scratched less easily than the Pixel 11 series.

Related

The Pixel 11 Pro is so good at being last year's phone, Google should have left it alone

Good where you expect, but also frustrating where you expect too

Posts 1
By  Andy Boxall

This will be a perfect upgrade from the Pixel 8 or 9

Look, no phone maker is angling its phones today as upgrades to last year's models. People wait two or three years between upgrades, and the Pixel 11 is likely to be the next phone for someone who has a Pixel 8 or 9. And for them, the changes will be huge.

An additional zoom camera, a much faster processor, a lot of AI smarts, a nicer and more durable design, a ton of new camera perks and features, fast wireless charging with built-in magnets for an entire ecosystem accessory, and on and on.

The Pixel 11 is a simple upgrade over last year's Pixel 10, but it fills in all the missing gaps and brings improvements in all the areas that matter. I can't wait to test it out more to have a more solid opinion about all the smart AI additions, too.

Google Pixel 11

SoC
Google Tensor G6
Display type
Actua display
Display dimensions
20:9
Display resolution
1080 x 2424

See at Amazon $899 at Best Buy $899 at Google Store
Expand Collapse