Google’s Pixel 11 is a very good phone, but it is not a very new one. That is the takeaway from WIRED reviewer Simon Hill, who scored the $899 handset 8/10 and called it a slick, refined step forward from the Pixel 10, though only a small one.
If your phone is around three years old, the Pixel 11 deserves a spot on your shortlist. If you already own a Pixel 10, Hill sees no real reason to switch.
The changes are modest. The Tensor G6 chip is supposed to bring 20 percent better power efficiency, the main camera sensor is larger, and wireless charging is faster thanks to Qi2 25W support. Base storage also rises to 256 GB, which is why the starting price sits at $899. Hill notes this is not technically a price hike, since the 256 GB Pixel 10 cost the same.
The design is slightly refined, with a thinner all-glass camera bump that lets the phone lie flat in a case. Colors include Hibiscus (hot pink), Pistachio (warm green), Frost, and Obsidian, while Indigo is gone.
The 6.3-inch OLED screen is unchanged. It reaches 3,000 nits, but it still has no variable refresh rate and defaults to 60 Hz, so the smoother 120 Hz mode has to be switched on in settings. The battery is also only 15 mAh larger at 4,985 mAh, although Google claims up to 30 hours of battery life.
Gamers should look elsewhere. Hill found Wuthering Waves playable but stuttery, with dropped frames in combat and a warm phone after an hour.
The camera is the main draw. The triple rear setup feels faster than last year’s, and the new Camera Looks let you shift colors and shadows before you shoot. Magic Capture records video and stills at the same time without watching the viewfinder. The 5x telephoto stood out for Hill, and the 30x zoom uses multiple images rather than generative AI.
The Gemini Intelligence features are the other highlight. Messages can turn meet-up texts into calendar entries, Gemini can pull flight numbers from Gmail, and Circle to Search now works straight from the camera viewfinder. Hill says AI cannot be switched off completely, though you can turn off Gemini and individual features.
For software and photography at this price, Hill calls the Pixel 11 tough to beat. The Galaxy S26 and iPhone 17 are faster, and unless you care deeply about photography, he sees little reason to pay extra for a Pro model. His verdict is that the Pixel 11 is the value sweet spot in Google’s lineup, at least until next year’s A-series arrives.
Robert Haba is the founder and editor-in-chief of Droid Tools. A lifelong gadget enthusiast with over a decade following the Android ecosystem, he built this publication to cut through the noise and give readers honest, real-world coverage of the tech they actually use.
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