I've been using Pixel phones for the past five years now, starting with the Pixel 6 Pro. Over the years I have learned to live with the various disappointments that come with Pixel hardware, for the simple fact that Pixel software is the only mainstream mobile OS that I actually like using. But it's getting to the stage where Google's decisions are becoming indefensible.
Google just had its annual "Made by Google" event, and with it came the official launch of the Pixel 11 series of phones — plus a new Pixel 5 watch and a Pixel Tag Bluetooth tracker. I haven't spent a lot of time with the new Pixels yet, but my overall impression based on what Google has revealed is that it's an incredibly lazy upgrade.
It's not as lazy as the Pixel 10a, which was easily one of the worst "upgrades" I've seen a phone company try and hawk throughout my career. But it isn't far off, and it's enough to make you wonder why Google is still bothering to make phones.
The Pixel 11 problem
If you look at the Pixel 11 series and compare it to what's come before, you'll notice that there isn't a whole lot of difference between them all. I'm not just talking about the design, which has only had minor tweaks to the camera bar and, in the case of the Pro models, a new scratch-resistant coating on the display.
The upgrades we're actually getting feel as though Google is phoning it in because they have to release something.
The hardware is more or less the same on paper, and the upgrades that we do get feel like the absolute bare minimum of what Google could actually offer. There's the usual incremental stuff, like the Tensor G6, and the brighter Super Actua Displays, alongside small quality of life upgrades like 256GB of base storage and faster 25W wireless charging speeds.
Those last two were also found on the Pixel 10 Pro XL last year, which means that the largest Pixel 11 model really got the short end of the stick when it comes to new stuff.
Pixel 11: Where are the big camera upgrades?
I have very mixed feelings about the camera, because at first glance it seems as though things are identical to the Pixel 10 Pro. That's not entirely true, but considering the Pixel 10 Pro's cameras were the same as the Pixel 9 Pro's, and produced photos that were indistinguishable, the lack of new hardware is still rather disappointing.
The Pros' main lens is the same, though the official specs show that the ultrawide and telephoto lenses both have larger sensors. This means both lenses will capture extra light, which improves low-light performance and captures much cleaner images in a variety of conditions.
The Pixel 11 also promises to have a larger sensor on the main lens, though the rest of the cameras don't seem to have changed.
To make matters worse, the cheapest Pro models, which have 256GB of storage, have actually had a RAM downgrade. Considering RAM is essential for on-device AI, the loss of 4GB is just another proverbial kick in the head.
I don't imagine that the Pixel 11 will be a bad phone, but there's nothing really exciting about these devices. In fact, the upgrades we do have here feel as though Google is phoning it in because they have to release something.
Obviously, things might change once we can test the Pixel 11 and find out whether it's had a magical boost to performance or battery life. But until then it feels as though everything has been put together with cool disinterest, if not active laziness.
It feels like Google is getting lazy
There's far more to a new phone than having a bunch of flashy hardware, and you can't have incredible game-changing upgrades every single year. But it still feels as though the Pixel 11 series lacks the thing that would actually make the phone appealing to people. Because the Pixel 11 Pro's HiLight feature sure as heck doesn't make me want to drop over a grand on a new device.
The Pixel 11 isn't nearly as lazy as the Pixel 10a, which was left with the same Tensor G4 chipset as the Pixel 9a. Back in February, I claimed that there was no good reason to buy a Pixel 10a, at least not while the Pixel 9a was still on sale, and I stand by that assessment.
If Pixel phones are supposed to be the idealized version of what an Android phone can be, then Google seems to be doing a pretty shoddy job of it.
I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that the Pixel 11 is a pointless upgrade. It's certainly uninspiring and lacking in any exciting qualities. Even the new AI features, which Google has spent a great deal of time and money pushing with each successive Pixel launch, are rather disappointing this year. Not in terms of what they can do, but because there are so few of them this year.
Rambler sounds great, especially since Apple's own AI-powered dictation model is coming as part of iOS 27, and real-time speech-to-speech translation will never not be useful. Gemini Omni is not something I personally care about, but if it improves the quality of Gemini's generative capabilities and makes them easier to use then I can certainly see the importance of it. Similarly, 120x Super Pro-Res Zoom is a nice upgrade to the existing 100x zooming capabilities
But that's all there is, and like the hardware side of things it feels like Google just does not care about what the Pixel 11 series has to offer on the software side. The same is true for Android 17, come to think of it, and off the top of my head I can't recall anything particularly noteworthy in the update. I certainly didn't notice any change when my phone auto-updated during the middle of the night.
Figuring out a way to make people care about your next wave of devices, and the software running on it, is the end goal. But first Google needs to get off its behind and actually put the effort in.
Bottom line
The question I keep asking myself is this: Why should anyone go out and buy one of these phones? And honestly, I'm really struggling to come up with a solid answer. People that are still rocking older Pixels, such as a Pixel 6 or Pixel 7, would probably gain a lot here — especially if battery life is anything like the Pixel 10 series.
Pixel 8 would be borderline, but Pixel 9 and above? These phones haven't actually changed that much over the past two generations to warrant upgrading. Your best argument would be for non-users, since the standard Pixel 9 only offers two cameras, but even then you have to ask whether the money you're spending is worth it.
Last year I admitted that swapping a Pixel 9 Pro for a Pixel 10 Pro was a mistake, and the new phone didn't offer enough to make the switch worthwhile. The Pixel 11 Pro takes that to a whole new level, and I know for a fact that my Pixel 10 Pro is more than good enough to last me until the launch of the Pixel 12 Pro next year — and likely beyond that.
If Pixel phones are supposed to be the idealized version of what an Android phone can be, then Google seems to be doing a pretty shoddy job of it. And it could fix that problem by actually making a phone that elicits a response beyond "huh, ok then."
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