Google Pixel 11 Pro review

Pure Android 17

The Pixel 11 Pro boots Android 17 out of the box. Google promises 7 major OS upgrades and 7 years of security patches, which is the longest software support you can get on an Android phone, aside from Samsung, of course, which has the same software update policy.

Visually, Android 17 itself isn't that different from Android 16. Still, there are a couple of new features that are worth talking about, some of which we didn't see in Samsung's One UI 9.

For starters, Google is making it way easier to transfer all your data from your old phone to your new Android 17-running Pixel. The improved data sync feature is mostly useful to users switching from iOS to Android, though. It can now transfer way more stuff, including not just simple data like pictures and videos, but also eSIMs, messages, saved passwords and app data where available.

Additionally, Android's Quick Share feature now works with Apple's AirDrop feature on iOS and iPad. It's now easier to do cross-platform data transfers.

Home screen • Notification shade • Quick settings

There are a few UI changes in Android 17 too. For example, the Wi-Fi and Mobile Data quick toggles have finally been separated. The frosted look of the Notification/Toggle center, as well as the volume and power menus, has been enhanced to look, well, better. You can freely resize any of the toggles to make them longer or shorter horizontally.

Recent apps • Settings • Settings

Rich themes don't seem to be supported yet, though the UI says they are coming. The current customization features only allow applying a consistent color tinge across the UI and hiding app labels for a cleaner homescreen look.

However, you still can't get rid of the app launcher and have everything on the homescreen. And you can't select several icons on the homescreen to move en masse to another homescreen pane. There is also no way to remove the persistent search bar at the bottom of the homescreen or quickly uninstall an app from its homescreen icon, so Google still has some way to go to make their launcher more user-friendly.

Themes and icons

Android 17 can turn any app into a bubble (floating window). You press and hold on an app icon and the option will reveal itself. You can stack several bubbles on top of each other and keep them in the corner of your screen for easy multitasking.

App Bubbles

Screen Reaction is a new feature where your phone records both your screen and your face, so it can capture your reaction to whatever you are reacting to - video, photos, reels, shopping stuff, gaming, etc. Basically, it is an advanced screen capture that allows you to turn the selfie camera on, capture audio from the device and from around you, and even show your touches. There is a neat menu that allows you to choose what exactly you'd like to capture.

Screen record with reactions

Then there is Magic Capture, which is a part of the Pixel Camera app. Once you hit the button, your Pixel starts capturing a video. Then it takes multiple photos, chooses the ones it deems best, edits them (crop, straighten, unblur) and saves them for you.

Magic Capture

Of course, we can't go by without some AI improvements as well. Google's apps now "talk" to each other and share data, with Gemini linking them all together. For instance, your Messages app knows about your calendar dates and your Contacts app reads your messages. This way Gemini can have a better understanding of your appointments and plans as well as better context of your usage overall. You can then task Gemini to do a bit more complex tasks like setting up a Calendar entry or booking a spot at your favorite dining spot. Gemini Intelligence can even suggest actions on the fly, similar to Samsung's Now Nudge, though it appears to be equally unreliable to spawn on its own.

Last but not least, all Pixel 11 phones now get the new HiLight feature, which is essentially an LED notification light that surrounds the LED flash on the back. It will light up when using hands-free Gemini or when you have an incoming call from one of your favorite contacts. The LED array is RGB and looks nice.

The implementation here could have been much more versatile. For starters, the HiLight is on the back of the phone, so if you are used to placing your phone on with the screen facing up, the feature will essentially be useless. Another problem is that it's not truly a "notification" LED. You can't use it for notifications, at least not in the current state of the software. It doesn't light up for anything else other than Gemini responses and when your favorite contact is calling. It's almost like Google deliberately limited the functionality here.

HiLight settings

Benchmark performance

The entire Pixel 11 series runs on Google's latest chip - Tensor G6. It's based on the same 3nm manufacturing process as the previous Tensor G5 chip. With this new model, Google promises better efficiency and a 50% increase in AI computational power. It's based on the same 3nm manufacturing process as the previous Tensor G5 chip, but omits one of the CPU cores.

The new Tensor G6 employs a 7-core CPU. The configuration packs 1x4.1 GHz ARM C1-Ultra cores, 4x3.4 GHz ARM C1-Pro cores and 2x2.65 GHz ARM C1-Pro cores. All seven cores are clocked significantly higher than before, though.

The GPU at hand is IMG CXTP-48-1536 by Imagination. Previously known as PowerVR, Imagination's graphics chips are the proverbial underdogs in the Android market. And while Tensor G5 used a modern Series D GPU, the Tensor G6, for some reason, goes for older Series C architecture, which has even worse support across game developers and does not even support ray tracing.

Memory-wise, the Pixel 11 Pro relies on either 12GB or 16GB of RAM, depending on the storage configuration. We can't miss pointing out that last year, all storage tiers had 16GB RAM. In contrast, here, the base 256GB storage comes with 12GB of RAM, and only the 512GB and 1TB variants get 16GB of RAM. In all cases, the storage is UFS 4.

It was about time for Google to ditch the 128GB base model, as 256GB has been a standard even in the mid-range class for some time now.

The new Tensor G6 SoC seems to offer one of the biggest performance jumps we've seen from a Tensor chipset in a while. At least when it comes to the CPU. The new silicon outperforms last year's Tensor G5 by more than 20% in multi-core scenarios and by almost 20% in single-core tests. There's a sizeable increase in combined workloads like AnTuTu 11, too.

However, the GPU performance has barely budged. In fact, it shows roughly the same performance as before. Moreover, with the new GPU, ray tracing isn't supported even at the hardware level.

Despite the CPU gains this year, Google's hardware is still behind the curve when put against rival solutions from Qualcomm, MediaTek and Apple. Their flagship chipsets are significantly more powerful than Google's Tensor G6, which doesn't sit well with us when comparing true flagship phones.

Of course, we can't miss pointing out that the Pixel 11 Pro runs incredibly smoothly, and Android 17 is very responsive even on our unit with 12GB RAM.

Early reviews observed graphical glitches and performance issues in some game titles, but as of writing this, almost all game titles we tried ran just fine, including Genshin Impact, Arena of Valor, Honkai: Star Rail, Wild Rift, Wuthering Waves, Zenless Zone Zero, Call of Duty, Diablo Immortal, Asphalt: Legends, PUBG, Rocket League Sideswipe, Roblox, and Brawl Stars.

It was not all roses and sunshine, of course. Fortnite had choppy frame rates at the highest settings. Delta Force didn't even allow you to set anything above Standard graphics quality. Alien: Isolation was entirely incompatible with the Tensor G6, so the Play Store didn't allow us to download it.

Performance stability under stress

This year's Pixel 11 Pro is said to have improved thermal performance compared to last year's 10 Pro, however, when we put the phone through our stress tests, it returned largely the same performance stability as the Pixel 10 Pro, so there is no major improvement.

Not that 67% stability in the 3DMark stress test is anything to scoff at, but you have to keep in mind that in this graphics test, the Tensor G6 top score ranks around the level of the Dimensity 8300 from 2023 or the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 from 2022.

CPU and GPU stress tests