Google Pixel 11 Pro XL

The Google Pixel 11 Pro family gives you a true choice of size without any compromise between the models. Camera hardware improvements are notable over the Pixel 10 Pro, and Magic Capture is one of the best camera features I've used on any phone to date. New Gemini features like Rambler are truly wonderful additions to the Android experience, and several other standout features mark a solid software release. But Pixel phones have been too expensive lately, and this year's $100+ price increase makes that worse. With less RAM than last year, a GPU that still doesn't support the latest Vulkan APIs, and a poor PWM rate on the display, this one's hard to recommend.

The Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL are not bad phones by any means, but there's a lot to be desired about the kind of upgrades Google has added to its latest flagships. The number of upgrades are minimal, battery life is mediocre and the raw performance power is just as weak as ever. That said, there are some excellent improvements to the cameras, the brighter display proves its worth and there are some excellent AI features that are (currently) exclusive. However, they aren't enough to make the Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL the must-have phones of 2026.

Long-time Google fans will lap up the Pixel 11 Pro XL’s sharp looks, AI-infused cameras and all-round ability. It’s not a huge annuasl upgrade, though, and Gemini’s new skills have limited appeal.

Overall, Google made the Pixel 11 Pro into a Gemini machine, but it's leaning too heavily on the AI in my opinion, and not enough on the machine. We've seen this first with Motorola, then Samsung, and now Google all leaning heavily into software improvements over genuine hardware upgrades in their 2026 phone models, and it's illustrating a disturbing trend.