One user managed to fix the Pixel 11's HiLight limited feature just a week after launch, showing how Google took its eye off the ball this generation
The Pixel 11 series launched last week, and to say that Google’s new phones have been met with a lukewarm reception would be an understatement. I thought Samsung was the worst offender when it comes to incremental updates but the Pixel 11 range makes the Galaxy Z Flip 8 feel like a breath of fresh air.
Sure, the screens on the Pro-level Pixels are brighter, and there have been a few camera tweaks to help users capture even better photos than before, but there’s a hefty price tag thrown into the mix, and on the Pixel 11 Pro XL and the 11 Pro Fold, batteries are smaller than before.
To make matters worse, the big new hardware addition, HiLight – an LED notification light on the back of the phone – is severely limited in what it can actually do. At launch, the feature lets you know who’s calling you (as long as you remember which colour has been assigned to the person in question) and shows that Google Gemini is actively listening to you. That’s it.
Luke Baker
Given that Nothing has already shown off a much better version of backlight notifications through its Glyph Light system, it beggars belief that Google hasn’t followed suit. If you were thinking that Google deserved the benefit of the doubt and that the limitations of HiLight were down to the software onboard, let me break some bad news to you. Someone has gone ahead and hacked the thing, showing that it can be used for far more than it’s currently doing.
The question now is, why didn’t Google implement this from the jump? Has the company given up when it comes to hardware? Unfortunately, I think the answer is yes.
The big AI gamble
As disappointed as I am in Google’s hardware output this generation, the same can’t be said for its software. During its big unveiling of Android 17 and all the upgrades therein, I was impressed with the way that Gemini could be used to carry out app actions on the user’s behalf.
Even smaller additions such as Pause Point felt like an intentional update that really understood what users want from a smartphone in 2026. The flip side of this is that it shows where Google’s focus is right now.
At this point, Google has pumped billions upon billions of dollars into AI and its Gemini platform, and it’s simply too far down the rabbit hole to change course. Either it goes all-in on making its version of AI the best, or admits a defeat that could have colossal ramifications for the tech industry at large. It’s not an enviable position to be in, particularly as the path that Google has charted is partly to blame for its hardware neglect in the first place.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
The AI-fuelled RAM crisis has made tech more expensive, so there’s less incentive for the likes of Google or Samsung to tinker with products too much and potentially raise the cost to the consumer even further. We’ve already seen a few cost-cutting methods from Google this generation, from reducing the starting RAM in the Pixel 11 Pro to using a previous-gen chipset in the Pixel 10a, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
It’s a shame because, at its core, HiLight is a pretty solid concept. I do like the idea of keeping my phone face-down on a table so that I’m not constantly tempted to doomscroll, but if it the feature doesn’t keep me in the loop with all the notifications I need, then what’s the point? My hope is that Google takes the reaction to the Pixel 11 range as a wake-up call, and finds a way to better marry hardware with software in future phones.
If it’s stuck for inspiration, it could take note of what Nothing has achieved with its Glyph Lights. Alternatively, there’s the fascinating TCL Nxtpaper range with its e-ink toggle, which makes the phone more like a e-reader, and there’s a similar slider on the Fairphone (Gen 6) that morphs the handset into a dumbphone for those who want to step back from the digital world. There’s no shortage of companies doing very interesting things with hardware right now. I just want Google to be one of them.
